Betty:

What will happen in the next century? Good question.

Obviously the computer will become more integrated into daily life - shop groceries etc online so one does not have to get up out of the chair. We could become a nation of sitters.

Travel to other habitable planets will become more commonplace and we will find other planets we can go to in case ours is in the way of a meteor. The opening up of space will challenge traditional beliefs in ways we don't yet anticipate.

Diseases such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons will be conquered and treatable as will be depression, panic disorders or other mental illness. Drugs will be designed to target specific disorders with fewer side effects.

Schools my grandchildren will attend will be very different than the current public elementary and high schools. Colleges will find new methods of teaching - out with the lecture style.

High speed trains and other forms of transportation will come into being and cut time of travel considerably. Airplanes will have seats that accomodate our larger bodies! Air and train travel will be more common than driving and cheaper.

Gwen:

What is coming in the next 100 years? Well, I will die most likely and I bet the rest of you will too.

-Seriously, I think people will work more and more at home;

-violence and crime will get worse;

-parents will lose the few parenting skills we now have and the school will take care of it all;

-technology will be so different that we can't even conceive of the things that will be available and will occur;

-the environmentalists will finally be taken seriously because the fire ants and grasshoppers will have taken over.

Chris:

1) We will develop "human/dolphin" translating software.

2) There will be organ farms where vital organs for transplant will be grown.

3) Spinal cord injuries will be reversible.

4) There will be yet another "Rocky" movie.

Frank:

-We will have discovered ways of producing cheap, limitless supply of energy available anywhere in the world.

-We will have worldwide agreements about how to preserve the environment to enhance our living conditions.

-There will be international communication systems instantly available to anyone in the world, and a common language for using these.

Karen:

I think the future will continue to become more dependent on technology and an information gap will emerge between those who have access to this technology and those who don't. This gap will increase, and with it an increase in the divide between rich and poor.

Pete, Kristin and Gentry:

Top 10 predictions for 100 years from now, by Gentry, Kristin and Pete

10. Average lifespan of 150 years, social security at 115.

9. Global warming causes Alaska to become the new sunshine state.

8. Trains come back as the first choice in transportation (Gentry).

7. Average NFL lineman is 8'6" tall and weighs 600 pounds.

6. Majority of humans move to colony on Mars leaving earth as vacation spot.

5. Huge earthquake rocks southern California separating it from the rest of the United States. Most of country happy about this.

4. Car/plane combo powered by crystallic fusion takes over.

3. Small pocket of unknown dinosaurs quickly multiply and take over to rule the world (Gentry).

2. Cure for Alzheimer's found. Reagan narrowly defeats Dole for president at age 120 and as a democrat.

1. Chicago Cubs win their first world series in almost 200 years.

Margy:

1. we will land humans on Mars.

2. we will find cause & cure/prevention for many more diseases, such as Alzheimers, Parkinson's, diabetes, and - yes - the common cold

3. automobiles will no longer run on conventional fuel, or at least get 250+ MPG, and will have some auto-pilot functions

4. we will have had some women presidents in this country, as well as some black & hispanic presidents

Loey and Gary:

Gary: 1) we will be genetically engineering and designing our pets by 2100 and 2) the internet will result in the end of personal freedom

Loey: women will be in charge

Phyl:

Predictions for the next hundred years. Hmmm.

-The Hiebert sibs will get older and I will have to send around Roger Rosenblatt's rules for aging.

-Many new medical cures will be discovered but the smart litlle bugs will stay one step ahead.

-According to one report, world population will peak and then start declining, provided the third world gets richer, which may or may not happen.

-Somebody will come up with bandaids that you spray on those inconvenient places where ordinary ones won't stick, like finger ends; and which will be absorbed when the cut has healed.

There will be a woman President (not a Hiebert, we're too idealistic), and otherwise things will go on pretty much as usual with a multitude of news in the newspapers and endless weighty but nonproductive discussions on TV.

-Maybe our closet will get cleaned up.

Jo:

1. You'll be able to design anything on your computer, press a button, and the finished product will drop into your Out Box.

2. Genetic disorders will be alterable at the earliest stage of pregnancy.

3. All your possessions will have a microchip attached to them so that you can program them to light up and beep at you when you can't find them.

4. People will realize that close human relationships are more valuable than money.

Steve:

The past century was about hardware and software technology. I believe the next century will be the century of biotechnology.

Once we figure out the details of animal and human genes, we will begin to fiddle around with them. Until now, biological evolution has taken generations to make any changes, but once you begin to mess with the genetic material itself, changes will happen within a single generation.

Michael:

1. Everyone in the country will know the in's and out's about Autism.

2. There will be a high political office holder who has Asperger's Syndrome.

3. Chelsea Clinton's grandchild will run for political office and win.