Delphi 2.0-1

I've been doing a lot more reading now that summer is here (for myriad reasons, it's almost impossible for me to read books during the school year) and, par for course, most of them have been science fiction or fantasy stories.

I like to think that the books I read don't influence the way I think about the world too much (although I'm willing to admit that they certainly do to an extent), but doing all this thinking about the future has led me to certain conclusions.

Here are some of my predictions for the future:

- Brand technology will become increasingly important as cultural and technological progress continues. Today we practically live by brands like "McDonald's", "Kleenex", "Google", "Microsoft", and "Yamaha." In the future, there will be even more options than we have today, but an increasingly elite handful of brands will dominate the world market. This is, in part, related to my next prediction.

- Globalization will continue until multinational corporations have almost entirely overtaken the commercial market. Unsuccessful brands and products will die out. Successful brands and products will be be bought out or merge with existing multinationals. Perhaps one day we'll reach a point where every drink sold throughout the entire world filters its profits back to the Coca-Cola Company or Pepsico. Maybe one day every car in production will be a product of Honda, Nissan, GM, or Mercedes-Benz (or whatever conglomeration they find themselves in). The trends I see indicate that glablization is the "wave of the future" because commerce can't be controlled by any single government, and the pioneer globalized corporations are already well-established while the regulations intended to guide them are still being created.

- As the Internet (especially "Web 2.0") spreads, international literacy rates will begin to decline slightly. In nations and regions too poor to support widespread Web access, literacy concerns will remain largely unchanged. In more developed nations, the easy access to visual and audio media through the Internet (especially as it continues to be integrated into other technologies like mobile phones) will cause people to become less likely to learn to read proficiently, except among the wealthiest world citizens and in academic circles. It will be a generation or two before the effects of this are particularly noteworthy.

- As banking expands to fit the needs of an even further-globalized economy, most transactions will be made via credit. The seeds of this already exist - many jobs offer "direct deposit" options for paychecks, and in many places you can pay for goods with credit or debit cards as well as with cash. I'm not predicting the "downfall" of physical money, just that it will become less useful and therefore less common. One possible side effect (and note that this is only a possibility) is that the decreased demand for physical money will decrease the production of it which could drive the value of those currencies up. Those who have money would consequently be wealthier for it, and those without even poorer. Of course, that's assuming that the value of a given currency is still strictly based on the amount of that currency physically in circulation at a given time (anyone who knows economics - is that the case?)

- The United States will finally adopt an official language. It will be English. Spanish may also be chosen as a second official language. If it is not, there will probably be a large public outcry and either the official language mandate will be revoked, or Spanish will be added as well.

- Increased economic polarization and credentialism will both promote and degrade the importance of a college education. In order to be considered eligible for most positions (other than those at the bottom rungs of the retail/service industries and possibly some manufacturing and construction jobs) an undergraduate degree will practically be necessary. To hold a "successful" job, a Master's degree will typically be considered the minimum requirement, or other terminal degree as available (depending on the particular field).

- There will be a sharp increase in the number of people going to school for medical or biochemical degrees, and then looking not for medical careers, but for jobs in drug manufacturing. Given current trends, I believe pharmaceuticals will become an even more dominant industry in the near future, and manage to stay near the top of the heap for as long as pharmaceutical sales are strong (which will probably be a good long while).

- Unless drastic measures are taken by the parties who feel threatened, Chinese economic development will challenge - if not overshadow - the economies of the West within 10-15 years. The US and EU may even begin considering an economic alliance to compete with Chinese development.

There are a lot more that have flitted through my head this morning and afternoon, too, but I can't remember them well on an empty stomach. If they come back to mind, I'll share them later.

PLUR!