The Future Is Scary And We Should Run And Hide

I’m thinking of a number. How about 3? Now let’s use this number. In 3 years time, what state will the world be in? This is a game we played yesterday in the presence of guest lecturer David Dunkley Gyimah. He told us that in 1995 they predicted the ‘Internet Newspaper’ (although it might have been 2005, I was paying attention but I missed a beat). He then told us his prediction for the future. His suggestion was a multimedia domain. Walk down a street and the news is with you. And not just as a spectator, but also as a producer. Live feeds direct from the scene. 24/7. He told us it was a generation thing. He said that by the time the last generation had disappeared and ours had also collapsed, it was time for Gen Y (because this is Gen X afterall) to experience whatever will be new. For example: my dad sees a computer as a computer, I see it as a multimedia platform and my children may (or may not) see it as a device. The idea of a machine with a primary function will be extinct. Welcome to the paradigm.

                Let’s play it again.

                I’m thinking of a number. This number is 10. Or might be 15 or 38. How far into the sky can you look up until you feel dizzy? The future is scary and we should run and hide, not look for trends and sustain to the idea that what we have now is not good enough. That’s what the people in the pillars want you to think. This line of septic fuzz they call productive analysis will only lead us to one inevitable situation. And personally, I do not desire perfection. Do you? By all means, I am not trading in harsh words to Dunkley’s lecture. I found it uplifting. I agree with the idea of the auteur. In many senses the affiliations that word has had alienenated me. People (mainly film and cinema academics) try and dispel the idea one man can create and control the environment he is working within. So thank-you for that Mr. Dunkley. If anything all of this has convinced me that the future is ours to mould. If only I liked jelly enough to care.