by Joe Coffman

Created on: September 29, 2010

What do you think the most significant technological advances will be in the next 100 years, assuming we still exist as a race in the next 100 years? I don’t mean these marginally useful things like faster computers for the masses, or better televisions. Those things will always be incrementally getting better in order to get the public to spend more money. Manufactureres keep updating their products just enough to convince the buyers to toss out the old and buy the newest. No, what I’m talking about is technology that will significantly change our lives. Things that we’ll look back on and say, “How did we ever do this the old way?” Kind of like when we think of people riding around in horse and buddies back in the old days instead of driving cars.

Of course there will continue to be advancements in medical abilities. Diseases will be cured, disabilities will be overcome and we’ll probably live longer. Unfortunately these wondrous steps forward will be expensive and only the very rich will benefit the most.

Better farming technology and agriculture will help provide more food to the world, new, cheaper methods of producing energy will be developed we may even colonize the moon or other planets.

But the thing I’m waiting for is better methods of transportation. Let’s face it, our highways are way too crowded, buses are too slow and forget about air travel, it’s a joke. Air travel used to be something that was a great adventure, but has now turned into a gruesome ordeal not for the faint of heart or claustrophobic. It’s expensive, uncomfortable and often takes longer than driving when you figure in the time spent getting to the airport, waiting to get on the plane, waiting on the runway, waiting to get off the plane, getting your luggage and then driving to your final destination. And don’t even get me started on the rudeness of the airport workers and the other, harried passengers. Everyone is out for their own convenience and to heck with anyone that gets in their way.

What we really need is teleportation. The technology made famous in science fiction stories and movies where your molecules are disassembled at your starting point and reassembled at your destination is the only way to solve the transportation problem. No more waiting as you zip instantly from here to there. No more bustling crowds, rude ticket takers or long boring periods of time when nothing happens. Just set the destination, step into the device and presto, you arrive!

Sure, the technology to do this is probably many years away and will require some sort of major scientific breakthrough, but think of the many benefits to mankind. No more money would have to be spent on building highways, or airports. We wouldn’t have to keep using fossil fuels to drive back and forth. The hassles and tribulations of travel as we know it today would be gone.

Would there be dangers? Sure, in the beginning before the technology was perfected, but one or two accidents where a couple of people get their molecules mixed up has got to be better than a planeload of corpses from a crash landing. Except, of course, if you happen to be one of the aforementioned victims.

The technology to do teleportation is only a dream today, but a hundred years from now is a long time and at the current rate technology is moving, it’s inconceivable that anything that can be done won’t be done.

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