The world of science and technology has changed drastically in the past 100 years, and at the pace it is going, it will likely change even more in the next 100 years.
Many scientists have calculated and imagined what the future holds, but there are some individuals with big dreams and unhindered imaginations, whose input and thoughts are not often heard: the kids.
Kids are naturally creative, and their imagination knows no limits. Some of their ideas of the future are far-fetched or silly, but some can give a fresh look at old or discarded thoughts and theories.
A few Calgarian kids gave their thoughts on the future.
“In 100 years I think there will be mind control. For instance, when you are cozy and warm on the couch on a cold night and you don’t want to get up to make tea, you can just use your mind to make the tea,” said Hiba, 8.
“In 200 years I think that if you are in a rush to get to work and your car will not start, you can just teleport yourself to work.”
Some kids had a rather grim outlook on our near future.
“In 50 years, the world will probably be a deserted wasteland with small survivor areas and raiders. This is because not many people will survive climate change,” said Sage, 10.
“In 100 years, the world may go into a cooling phase because there will be less pollution from less people, so there will be lots of water and rain, but mostly still deserts.
“In 200 years, hopefully, the earth will remake itself, and the animals and people would come back.”
Due to this idea, Sage believes there would be many robots in 100 years, but mostly just to collect resources until humanity is back on its feet. The following are the gadgets Sage thinks will exist in 100 years: atmospheric generators, underground light sources, arcologies, and much more advanced robots.
Sage also believes there will definitely be limits.
“Teleportation is way beyond us.”
Munir gave an idea on what big developments might take place in the near future
Some kids were very adamant about certain topics.
“One hundred fifty thousand percent fantasy,” said Aaron, 9, when asked if mind control would exist in 100 years.
Aaron also believes that space travel will be a big thing in 100 years.
“Elan Musk will have colonized Mars by then.”
Jadyn, 9, believes that fourteen years from now, we will have the technology to send someone to Mars.
One topic that received an almost unanimous “no” was the thought of being able to clone humans in 100 years. Almost all thought it would not be possible, would be a bad idea, or would just be very weird.
The topic that received the most eagerness and positivity was robots.
While some young ones do not believe in robots, such as five-year-old Sofia, many kids are excited about what the future of robotics holds.
Jack, 11, thinks robots will be able to be doctors, chefs, and chauffeurs.
Munir, also 11, said robots would play a huge part in security and entertainment by having appearances specific to their jobs: a grown man to guard a bank, or a “goofy eight-year-old” to make people laugh.
Aaron, 9, believes there will be many drone robots used for transportation and radioactive waste disposal and clean-up.
Kids’ imaginations are beneficial
While many of these ideas, theories, and brainstorms were quite different from each other, the one thing they all had in common was the imagination of a child.
There is no doubt that children have wild imaginations. Scientifically, kids are prone to being creative or imaginative, as executive functions don’t fully develop until well into the teen years, according to an Ideas to Go article posted in February of 2017.
Executive functions are cognitive processes that involve a few different aspects: working memory—the ability to hold things in mind; inhibitory control—the ability to stop or suppress an action that might be the first choice; flexibility—the ability to nimbly shift your focus of attention to adapt to a new, or difficult situation.
Stephanie Carlson, a professor at the University of Minnesota, has done studies on this topic.
In one of Doctor Carlson’s studies, kids were rated on their level of fantasy and imaginative play, based on parents’ descriptions. Then the kids were given a task related to executive function, and their performance on the task was rated.
Her conclusion was that there is a correlation between level of pretending and executive function skills. According to Doctor Carlson, in order to pretend, you have to hold things in mind and inhibit reality and the way you normally act on reality.
“For example, if you’re pretending a spoon is a car, you have to remember that the spoon is a car, and you have to resist the inclination to put the spoon in your mouth. This is calling upon and exercising your executive function,” said the Ideas to Go article.
A Newsweek article entitled, “The Creativity Crisis,” gave scientific reasoning of exactly how the two work together.
“When you try to solve a problem, you begin by concentrating on obvious facts and familiar solutions, to see if the answer lies there. This is a mostly left-brain stage of attack. If the answer doesn’t come, the right and left hemispheres of the brain activate together. Neural networks on the right side scan remote memories that could be vaguely relevant. A wide range of distant information that is normally tuned out becomes available to the left hemisphere, which searches for unseen patterns, alternative meanings, and high-level abstractions.”
Fact-finding and research, alongside imagination, are all critical elements in the creative process.
Dr. Carlson’s conclusion is that practice in pretending helps you find new ways of seeing an issue, and results in more creativity and better problem-solving.
Keeping imaginations sharp would be a highly useful tool in creative thinking and problem solving. Unfortunately, one study by the American Psychological Association, involving 350 children, showed that kids’ tendency to daydream and wonder declines sharply around fourth grade.
The Ideas to Go article theorizes that a big reason for the drop in imagination is the fear of being wrong.
“Kids don’t worry about whether they’re wrong,” the article stated.
“They bravely forge into new territory, willing to, and assuming they will, often be wrong. However, as we mature, we quickly learn that being wrong often has negative consequences. At school, we’re penalized for being wrong. At work, we’re penalized for being wrong. According to Sir Ken Robinson, an expert in creativity, ‘If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.’”
