The Future: The Thinking Starts Today

There are always inventions that seem unattainable for the time in which we live. This may be because the technology has not advanced enough or doesn't exist. Perhaps it is impossible (a time machine seems pretty far off in the future). There are also always innovations that are not successful until the next century. For example, Thomas Edison's light bulb wasn't really useful until 40 years later when electric utilities were stable and profitable.

So, what new innovations are people working on now? What innovations are going to change how you live your everyday life? 

Here's a description of 32 Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow that I found on The NY Times' website. It splits the innovations into six categories: Morning Routine, Commute, Work, Play, Health, and Home. I'm just going to pick a few of my favorites to discuss, but you should definitely read up on the rest.

Number 4: The Morning Multi-Tasker

"The problem with laptops and tablets, says Mark Rolston of the design firm Frog, is that they’re confined by a screen. He wants to turn the entire room into a monitor, where you can have the news on your kitchen table while you place a video call on your fridge. And when you’re done, you can swipe everything away, like Tony Stark in “Iron Man.” Clay Risen

I think the picture on the website will help to understand this innovation the best.

I haven't decided if this is something I really would like to see. It seems a bit extreme for the internet to be so integrated into out daily lives. Already I rely very heavily on my phone and laptop. I'm not sure how a room being turned into a monitor would affect my psyche.

Number 16: Your Body, Your Login

"A team of Dutch and Italian researchers has found that the way you move your phone to your ear while answering a call is as distinct as a fingerprint. You take it up at a speed and angle that’s almost impossible for others to replicate. Which makes it a more reliable password than anything you’d come up with yourself. (The most common iPhone password is “1234.”) Down the line, simple movements, like the way you shift in your chair, might also replace passwords on your computer. It could also be the master key to the seven million passwords you set up all over the Internet but keep forgetting." Chris Wilson

With this innovation projected to be only two years away our relationship with technology is only going to be strengthened. I definitely would be happy to not have to remember so many passwords. However, this also worries me because I don't want to be too dependent on all this technology. I also wonder how accurate this can be, as I don't see how it's possible for me to move my phone to my ear the exact same way every time or move in my chair the exact same way. I don't want to be locked out of my computer because I can't seem to move in it the right way.

Number 20: A World Without Hangovers

"Researchers at Imperial College London are closing in on a formula for a new kind of booze — synthetic alcohol, it’s called — that would forever eliminate the next morning’s headache (not to mention other problems associated with drinking). The team, led by David Nutt, a psychiatrist and former British drug czar, has identified six compounds similar to benzodiazepines — a broad class of psychoactive drugs — that won’t get you rip-roaring drunk but will definitely provide a buzz. According to Nutt, the alcohol substitute would be a flavorless additive that you could put in a nonalcoholic drink. And when you want to sober up, all you’d have to do is pop a pill." Clay Risen

I think the implications with this are pretty clear. I probably wouldn't want to waste my time or money with this synthetic alcohol, but that's because I already am not much of a drinker. It seems like it would be quite useful for others though. Popping a pill to sober up sounds like a simple solution. What do you think? Real alcohol or synthetic?

Number 21: The Mind-Reading Shopping Cart

"In February, Chaotic Moon Labs began testing a robotic shopping cart that acts a bit like a mind-reading butler. To start it up, you can text message the cart’s built-in tablet computer. Now it knows who you are and what you need for dinner. The cart uses Microsoft’s Kinect motion-sensor technology to track and follow you through the store, pointing you — in a synthy voice reminiscent of a G.P.S. navigator — toward products on your list. The system will also warn you if you’ve added something that violates your dietary restrictions. Still only a prototype, the cart isn’t nearly as nimble as its human-powered cousin, but it does have one main advantage. Items you add to the cart can be automatically scanned, and you can finalize your purchase from the device, skipping the checkout line entirely." Farhad Manjoo

This shopping cart will change the way in which we do grocery shopping. It is right in line with our fast paced society. Imagine a grocery store without people and just shopping carts...Perhaps that's a bit extreme. Still, the advantages of this shopping cart are pretty evident. 

Number 29: Reduce, Reuse, Masticate

It’s depressing to think how much food packaging there is in your kitchen right now — all those juice cartons, water bottles and ice-cream containers. But what if you could eat them? “We’ve got to package in the same way nature does,” says a Harvard bioengineer named David Edwards. And so he has devised a way to convert foods into shell-like containers and films that he calls Wikicells. Yogurt will be encased in a strawberry pouch, for instance. You could wash and eat the packaging, like the skin of an apple, or you could toss it, like the peel of an orange, since it’s biodegradable. The newly wrapped ice cream and yogurt will be available later this month at the lab store in Paris, with juice and tea coming within the next year or two.Nathaniel Penn

This is one of my favorites because of how simple the idea is. You would no longer have to deal with throwing out containers and packaging. Right now I sort through packaging to see what parts I can recycle. With this innovation that would be unnecessary. Just eat the package or throw it out (compost perhaps?).

I hope that this post made you reflect a bit on future. Many of these things are not all that far away (with in the next 5 years). It is incredible to see what humans can do with constant thought, to see what innovations come out of it, and to see how they are going to shape our future.