Noah in the Future

As a parent it's often interesting to think about the future through your kid's eyes. One way I've done this over the last ten years since my son Noah was born was to think about the year I was the same age as him (i.e. I was ten in 1972) and the year when he will be the same age as me (i.e. he will be 49 in 2051). It's amazing - and sort of mind blowing - to think about that 79 year spread and how different those worlds were and will be. It's even more of a mind bender if you throw in your own father's life span (i.e. he was ten in 1923). As a kid you think of history as being exactly that, history ... i.e. things happening a long, long time ago in a galaxy far away. But as you get older you realize that you experience and witness incredible change within your own lifetime. Although many things haven't changed (and never will; why we can still value Bach, and Rubens, and Cicero et al) many things have. Cars, food, clothes, work, entertainment, sport, travel, technology, etc etc were all sooooo different in 1972. (btw; I watched some games of rugby from 1972 on Youtube the other day and couldn't believe what a different game it is from today!). Imagining how things - and most importantly for us here at WorkingFuture, work - will be in 2051 is incredibly challenging, difficult, and fun! This article from Daron Acemoglu at MIT does a great, detailed job of mining this rich seam of thought. Fascinating stuff. http://thebrowser.com/articles/world-our-grandchildren-will-inherit