A Light Look at the Future, With Wired Magazine

"Found: Amusement Park Ride From the Future"
Wired Magazine (November 17, 2009)

"Click on the thumbnails below for a closer look at amusement park rides in the year 2019.

"What do you think our world will look like in 10, 20, or 100 years? We need your help creating a new artifact from the future for every issue of Wired magazine. Each month, we'll propose a scenario and ask for your prognostications. Sketch out your vision, then return here to upload your ideas, see other submissions, and vote for your favorites. Check out this month’s challenge...."

We've got your "Space Falcon Interstellar Rocket Coaster" - and that's not a typo.

And, perhaps more believably, "resuscitation equipment embedded in the ride" - in another decade or so? This may not be any less likely than the idea that airports will have do-it-yourself defibrillators scattered around, the way fire extinguishers used to be.

Ultradramamine hypospray? In a way, I'm surprised we don't have that now. Or maybe I've missed something.

This month's challenge is "Found Photoshop Contest: The Future of Over-the-Counter Medicine"


(Photo Illustration: Jon Snyder, via Wired Magazine, used w/o permission)

It looks like fun: and I'm glad to see that Wired seems to be taking this spate of (goofy?) predictions as light entertainment. Futurologists notwithstanding, I haven't seen all that much to indicate that we're particularly good at telling what's around the corner.

Vaguely related posts, about The Future: imagined, and in the R & D stage.

• "The Robots are Coming! The Robots are Coming!"
  (November 4, 2009)
• "The Future: Just Like Today, Only Different"
  (October 24, 2009)
• "Good News, Neural Devices Connect Brain, Computers: Bad News, Same Thing"
  (July 11, 2009)
• "Clothing of the Future: 2000 as seen in the 1930s"
  (June 26, 2009)