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What technological advancement do you look forward to the most?
| 22% | 54 votes |
| 1% | 3 votes |
| 33% | 79 votes |
| 3% | 8 votes |
| 23% | 55 votes |
| 4% | 11 votes |
| 2% | 6 votes |
| 8% | 19 votes |
[ Voting Booth | Other Polls | Back Home ]
- Don't complain about lack of options. You've got to pick a few when you do multiple choice. Those are the breaks.
- Feel free to suggest poll ideas if you're feeling creative. I'd strongly suggest reading the past polls first.
- This whole thing is wildly inaccurate. Rounding errors, ballot stuffers, dynamic IPs, firewalls. If you're using these numbers to do anything important, you're insane.
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What technological advancement do you look forward to the most?
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Advancement in position.
(Score: 4, Funny) by WizardFusion on Tuesday June 17 2014, @03:45PM
A perpetual motion device allowing unlimited energy
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 17 2014, @04:21PM
Dammit man, unlimited energy encapsulates almost all the other answers.
Just throw a bunch of energy at the problem until it works. And batteries would be useless, we could have planet-wide wireless charging if we had infinite energy.
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Wednesday June 18 2014, @01:58PM
FTFY.
(Score: 2) by Woods on Wednesday June 18 2014, @02:56PM
Now this is some good Tesla reading, thanks for the links!
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday June 20 2014, @04:51AM
Or until the one creating problem is dead, carbonized then transformed in a glassy substance. Like the drunk neighbor throwing over the fence some PJ (that's Peta Joules - like in "some TNT-megatons") at you because you smiled a bit weirdly at him this morning when you took out the garbage (or were jogging, or whatever you were doing this morning when you smiled at him in a crooked way because of your tooth-ache)
Or, you know, transform the entire planet into a superhot plasma because of a few drunk neighbors.
https://www.youtube.com/@ProfSteveKeen https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Tuesday June 17 2014, @05:04PM
In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 18 2014, @08:55AM
were the laws of thermodynamics inscribed on a stone tablet at mt sinai as well?
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Wednesday June 18 2014, @02:01PM
No, Schroedinger found them in a box by accident. Together with an undead cat.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Tuesday June 17 2014, @05:22PM
We have one. It's called a "daystar". Not infinite in galactic timeframes, but infinite compared to us. It's been running for several billion years and will run for billions more.
Mad at your neighbors? Join ICE, $50,000 signing bonus and a LICENSE TO MURDER!
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Jeremiah Cornelius on Tuesday June 17 2014, @07:47PM
I have time travel. It's unidirectional, and not too fast - but reliable.
I began this journey in 1964.
Space travel? It's a good device in fiction. If new frontiers made better men of us all, or solved problems of the human condition, then the American continent would be inhabited by enlightened beings, not the ghosts of native inhabitants and the descendants of their death-camp guards.
Instead, I believe that looking for new horizons is more often an indication of the same disposition and character that produces selfish exploitation and ennobles greed.
As Charles Bukowski succinctly put it, in his timeless story The Fuck Machine:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6391042/Charles-Bukowski-Short-Stories-Collection [scribd.com]
You're betting on the pantomime horse...
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 18 2014, @02:40PM
> A perpetual motion device allowing unlimited energy
So a two-year old then?
I can build you one of those. I'll need Natalie Portman and a bag of hot grits.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 19 2014, @12:47PM
Without gears, sacred order of holy knights and century-long global war, hopefully.
(Score: 1) by jelizondo on Tuesday June 17 2014, @03:45PM
Space travel even at snail's pace, but sustained outgoing travel, to other bodies in the solar system first and then, to other stars.
Just looking at the video of the arrival of the Mars Rover, gave me much pleasure; I look forward to seeing humans on Mars, even if I know I'm too old to even try to go myself.
I think the spirit of discovery and adventure needs to be fed, lest we become too contented with what we have...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 17 2014, @05:12PM
I don't even care so much about going to other places. I want to be able to make it to orbit before I die.
(Score: 1) by redneckmother on Wednesday June 18 2014, @09:33PM
Depending on your disposition and personality, there are those who might be willing to make that happen. I have too many enemies to make such a wish.
Mas cerveza por favor.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Tuesday June 17 2014, @05:30PM
I wondered why so many picked "space travel". I mean, we already have it. Perhaps a better choice would be "human travel to other planets or stars"?
We have holograms, too, but I'd like to see digital holography. It's doable with a high enough resolution LCD screen backlit with a laser. They had film holograms in a physics class I took back in pre-digital times, they're really cool.
I don't care about flying cars, but I'm waiting for a self-driving car. Hopefully they'll have them before I'm too old to drive.
Mad at your neighbors? Join ICE, $50,000 signing bonus and a LICENSE TO MURDER!
(Score: 1) by Tramii on Tuesday June 17 2014, @06:00PM
When I voted for "space travel", I was thinking more along the lines of Virgin Galactic then say, NASA.
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Tuesday June 17 2014, @08:11PM
I didn't vote for space travel, because I consider that too poorly defined. If the choice had been "space habitats" I would have voted for it. It is the choice with the greatest effect over the long term, and the longer the term the more extreme the effect becomes.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Tuesday June 17 2014, @04:59PM
I voted for space travel, 'cause the 1940's called and the Russians are wondering what to do with this guy 'Yuri Gagarin'.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. I have always been here. ---Gaaark 2.0 --
(Score: 2) by Blackmoore on Tuesday June 17 2014, @06:08PM
I still want my flying car.. or a teleporter.
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Wednesday June 18 2014, @02:05PM
Do you want your neighbors to also have flying cars that could crash in your backyard or on your head? Thought so. That's the reason why there won't be any (manually operated, mass market) flying cars : ((
(Score: 2) by VLM on Wednesday June 18 2014, @04:04PM
That and the extermination of the middle class.
So if you're a member of the monarchy you won't need a flying car or a driving plane because you'll have fleets of sports cars and private jets and private spacecraft.
The other 99.9% of the population can eat cake and wonder how / if they'll get medical care of any sort.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by zocalo on Tuesday June 17 2014, @06:13PM
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by elf on Wednesday June 18 2014, @03:19PM
I agree with this, most of the options aren't realistic in my life time....but having a phone that can last more than one day with out charging....that's something I could look forward to!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Grishnakh on Thursday June 19 2014, @04:12PM
We're not that overpopulated; the advanced countries all have ZPG, and the growth rates usually slow to a crawl in places as people become educated and have better access to resources.
Advances in medicine and improving lifespans will be important in the future so that society gets more out of its investment in people.
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Tuesday June 17 2014, @09:32PM
As much as I wanted to vote for space travel or super capacity batteries, I chose "Preventing/curing disease". I am a bit surprised it has not garnered more votes, nothing is more important than health.
Second to that would be super capacity batteries. Because, electric cars!
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Wednesday June 18 2014, @02:08PM
Who needs batteries, if we can have small, portable fusion devices (or, more realistically/timely, fuel cells).
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Wednesday June 18 2014, @02:34PM
If we want to talk about the present, batteries are what we have and what we need to improve. Portable fusion is pretty much science fiction at this point in time.
(Score: 2) by Geotti on Wednesday June 18 2014, @05:21PM
Fuel cells are pretty real, though mostly commercially unavailable.
(Score: 2) by isostatic on Wednesday June 18 2014, @10:13PM
nothing is more important than health
Lot of Americans would disagree with you. I hear that if you're in California and unfortunate enough to have a heart attack, you'll be left broke and destitute with a bill that's probably large enough to trigger another heart attack!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 19 2014, @11:17AM
I hear that the entire population of California works for Google, so no worries, their medical bills will be covered by Hipster Health Maintenance.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday June 19 2014, @04:22PM
We don't really need better batteries, or electric cars. What we need is SkyTran [wikipedia.org]. Electric cars don't fix other big transit problems, namely how slow roads are (and road speeds), and how much time we waste at traffic lights and in gridlock. They don't fix the problem of driver error causing accidents and deaths (though driverless cars promise to fix that, but this is an orthogonal issue). And electric cars like the Tesla still need a huge amount of energy to transport 1-2 people around, because they also require moving around a 5000-pound vehicle and overcoming the high friction of rubber tires. They don't fix the problem that you can't stack roads on top of each other. They also require a massive initial investment (or loan), and ongoing maintenance and repairs (though significantly less than gas-powered cars).
SkyTran solves all those problems. For the energy used by two hairdryers, you can propel 1-2 people at 100 mph in an automated pod, without stopping at any intersection, or having to have the money to buy and maintain your own vehicle. Pods ride along elevated maglev rails, so you don't have to ruin the landscape with wide asphalt roads, and you can stack them up if you need more capacity. And unlike regular public transit, the cars operate on-demand, rather than on a fixed schedule, and you don't have to share with other people.
If we built out SkyTran in our urban and suburban areas, we'd use far less energy on transport, nationwide, than we do now, or we would with electric cars even. We also wouldn't need an enormous amount of lithium to make batteries, since it's grid-powered and requires no storage. Electric cars would still be good for places where SkyTran isn't feasible (more rural areas), and electric trucks would be great for delivery vehicles, contractors, etc.
(Score: 1) by erkgmer on Wednesday June 18 2014, @02:21AM
Right guys? Guys?
(Score: 2) by mhajicek on Wednesday June 18 2014, @02:57AM
Not body mass index. Brain machine interface. Cognitive augmentation, culminating in mind uploading. Overclock me Scotty!
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 2) by rts008 on Wednesday June 18 2014, @11:59AM
Decent batteries!
I'm sick and tired of being tethered via cable to an electrical outlet for almost everything.
About the only things that piss me off on a daily basis are self-closing doors, and electric cords needed to be attatched to tools and equipment.
It's only got worse since playing Fallout, and being exposed to the concept of microfusion cells.(Fallout 1, back in the 1990's)
(Score: 1) by unauthorized on Thursday June 19 2014, @03:16PM
Life extension. Not that I'm holding my breath in a world where more money is thrown at cat video sharing services.
(Score: 1) by kaganar on Friday June 20 2014, @03:48PM
Really, for me it's a tie between fusion and quantum computers.
And my two cents on all the others: