Weapons of Reason

"Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present." ― Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

What will happen in the future?  This seems to be a profound question—deep and philosophical.  But, it's actually quite vague.  If we tried to study history by asking "What happened in the past?" we wouldn't get far.  The concept of the future involves not only time, but also place and people, which naturally compounds the difficulty in understanding it.

We need to narrow the scope of this question.  It would be better to ask what will happen in the next century—during our and our children's lifetimes—and to ask where these things will happen.  This question is also wrapped up in personal issues—our desires and aspirations—which makes us susceptible to wishful thinking and other biases that would only confirm our hopes for the future.  This means that it's important to exercise as much objectivity as possible and to put our faith in the weapons of reason: mathematics, science, and logic

What will happen in the future?  This is the topic that I want explore, in the hopes that at least a few more people will think more critically about the experiences we will have and the challenges we will face.