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A Utopian World
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20218 |
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Section : |
SPECIAL SECTION
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| Issue
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1 / 1992 |
1,401 Words |
| Author
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Morton A. Kaplan
Editor and Publisher |
The world of 2042 turned out to be the utopia that cynics thought was an impossible dream. Medical advances had extended life expectancy to 150 years. Gene therapy had eliminated hereditary diseases. Fetuses were carried to term in artificial wombs, which played tapes of the parents' physical and emotional patterns,
Brain and cognition research could detect failures during postpartum development of the brain circuits responsible for empathy and ethical behavior. These defects could be corrected, before the child reached the age of two, with drugs and social responsiveness that helped the child contribute to its own emotional and ethical maturation. Chemicals were available to aid memory and to facilitate learning. Computer games enhanced reasoning. Languages were learned by the age of seven and physics and calculus by age ten. Native languages were mastered through advanced grammar and writing programs.
Factory and housework was done by robots. Humans functioned primarily in creative (information) roles in the running of manufacturing plants and in the accessing of raw materials, many of them from the seas. Fusion power and very efficient sources of solar power made energy cheap and environmentally safe. The primary economic return stemmed from new products. Individuals or small cooperative groupings using the resources of extremely powerful and intelligent computers produced these.
Information concerning new products was available through cheap computer linkages. Sales bypassed stores and delivery was by automated systems. Many consumers designed their own products and bought time on computerized robotics systems to produce them.
Holographic reality
Holographic plays and movies were called up on home screens or seen in lifelike size in local halls. Advanced computer programs permitted viewers to change both details of plot and the appearance of the characters. This could be done either explicit detail or computers could be ordered to work out the details on the basis of a few general instructions. The characters could even be ordered to interact with the viewers.
The same type of holographic communication was used for business, educational, or family activities. Except for physical touching, and even this could be simulated, small and extended families could have frequent and cheap
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