Future Definition and 789 Threads

The future is the time after the present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently exists and will exist can be categorized as either permanent, meaning that it will exist forever, or temporary, meaning that it will end. In the Occidental view, which uses a linear conception of time, the future is the portion of the projected timeline that is anticipated to occur. In special relativity, the future is considered absolute future, or the future light cone.In the philosophy of time, presentism is the belief that only the present exists and the future and the past are unreal. Religions consider the future when they address issues such as karma, life after death, and eschatologies that study what the end of time and the end of the world will be. Religious figures such as prophets and diviners have claimed to see into the future.
Future studies, or futurology, is the science, art, and practice of postulating possible futures. Modern practitioners stress the importance of alternative and plural futures, rather than one monolithic future, and the limitations of prediction and probability, versus the creation of possible and preferable futures. Predeterminism is the belief that the past, present, and future have been already decided.
The concept of the future has been explored extensively in cultural production, including art movements and genres devoted entirely to its elucidation, such as the 20th-century movement futurism.

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  1. U

    Is there only one possible future? Is free will an illusion?

    Hello, I've just joined this forum, and I hope this is the correct place to ask these questions ... Anyone want to talk about time? I love thinking about this notion ... Einstein believed in ‘block time’, that the future is already there, that there’s no difference between the past, the...
  2. Q

    Are Dreams a Window into the Future? Exploring the Mysteries of Dreaming

    :cool: Did anyone have a dream come true - So true that it's just plain weird? ... maybe even beyond explanation? :smile:
  3. A

    No future? (I never studied chemistry. Am I finished?

    Hi I am in my final year of A-levels (Grade 12), and have applied to some universities home and abroad for Electrical Engineering (for States and Can., Fall 2004). Universities in Pakistan won't let me apply for ANY form of engineering (even mechatronics). I always thought Elec. Engineering...
  4. D

    Help Needed: High School Math Test Decides My Future

    My school is making the students take a test that compares us with all the other schools in our area. It includes mental mathematics, number sense, reasoning etc. Unfortunately, I forgot a lot of the way to solve these things and a few are 'trick' questions. I need help on the ones I am...
  5. P

    Can Physics and Mathematics Predict the Future?

    :eek: I read a newspaper a few days ago.. the Articles was about some physics teacher, who mathemtically preicted when the country war was going to end, and it really happened! :eek: how do you apply physics and mathematics to predict the future ? :confused: Teach me please
  6. pelastration

    News What about trust in future US Intelligence & Claims?

    Would you trust the future US Intelligence & Claims? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3596033.stm Powell admission on Iraq 'labs' There is still no sign of WMD in Iraq US Secretary of State Colin Powell has admitted that evidence he submitted to the United Nations to justify war...
  7. Ivan Seeking

    Future travel: How will we get around?

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3580337.stm
  8. I

    Exploring Chaos Theory: Can Future Systems Be Predicted?

    I am not too sure where to post this,and so have decided on the general category. My question is on the Chaos theory. A very basic question as I have only recently come across this subject. Am I right in assuming that: The future of a system is not predictable if the initial variables(that...
  9. R

    Can a Robot be Programmed to Remember its Future?

    There is an interesting article I have just read which details a neat perspective of :The Physics Of 'Now'. Just a simplified overview I want to ask this question:Can a Robot remember its Future?
  10. Ivan Seeking

    U.S. Air Force Plans for Future War in Space

    http://space.com/businesstechnology/technology/higher_ground_040222.html
  11. S

    Children w/ real visions for the future

    I heard in the news that most children between the ages of 5 and 10 years who have an incredible mind(some that attend college or university) are mostly located in South America. Supposedly this is due to the location of South America. Could this be true? These children are incredible because...
  12. S

    This is kind of WAY in the future but nevertheless:

    Eventually, assuming we survive that long, we will face the problem of the Universe's "big crunch" or "big freeze" (if you care to use those terms...). So what possible action could we take when we reach that point? I realize we aren't anywhere near the level of technology we would need to be...
  13. J

    Towards a Type 1 Civilisation. How do you want your future?

    Dr. Kaku, Carl Sagan, and the majority of the scientific community recognises the need for society (esp. in the United States) to wake up to the threats that human activity, through pollution and nuclear energy, pose to the future of humanity and the planet. Not to mention future threats from...
  14. Moni

    Exploring the Future: Beyond Robots in Sci-Fi Writing

    Hmm... I write Sci-fi in my little country :) Most of my sci-fi are of Asimov type Robots ;) Now I want to know other than robots what else can dominate the future world ? Can you help me?
  15. N

    Open Source Hack And Patch Future Of Linux

    OPEN SOURCE HACK AND PATCH WEBSITE the game hacking and pathcing linux system each hack and patch comes with a set of points points are awarded base on how many hacks and patch each use will climb a top 100 board to see who is the best. Patcher is the new term of the future no hacker. It would...
  16. U

    Nick"Nick's Pursuit of Physics: Choosing a Trade & Preparing for the Future

    Hello all, My name is Nick and I'm a 14 year old freshman in high school. Since I first heard Michio Kaku on Coast To Coast AM a few years back I've dreamed of being a physicist. Naturally I've been into science and the sciences as my father is an enviromental science teacher at my local...
  17. R

    Exploring Our Changing Gene Pool: Will Humans Look the Same in the Future?

    The Earths population is a vast pool of differing Genes if we take peoples from all societies. I have noticed from old Photographs that Humans, their facial features, seem to be becoming more and more similar? Taking all the photos I have seen, for instance if I look at an old photo of say south...
  18. ambient

    How Can Time Travel Affect the Past and Future?

    I do not pretend to be a genious mathematician, but the theories discussed here intrigue me. I would imagine that majority of people who come to this forum are very familiar with Dr. Kaku's work, and similar work of other scientists. My question is, can past or future be altered? You...
  19. E

    Exploring the Effectiveness of Centrino: Understanding Its Future

    do you think that this new processor is really effective! what is the future of it ?
  20. A

    Can We Time Travel to Earth's Past and Future?

    hello all! here is my question. Is it theoretically possible to time travel to the Earth's future and it's past? thx
  21. I

    Fuel of the future is antimatter

    Recently read in an article that the fuel of the future was antimatter... My question is how would they contain antimatter to get it to react with only the matter that they wanted it to react with. You wouldn't be able to put it in a container, wouldn't it collide with the matter and completely...
  22. I

    Predicting Future System State Without Time

    Is it possible to predict the future state of a system without using time as a factor?
  23. M

    News Where Is the Exact Border for Israeli Export Labels to Europe?

    Ok, when Iraq becomes democratic, I am thinking democracy will spread like wildfire to the rest of the Middle East... Would the war in Iraq still be wrong even if there were no WMDs? *If your answer is that it is still wrong, be prepared for a wave of demogoguery...
  24. J

    Having trouble deciding biology subjects (looking for the future)

    I've just finished 1st year of my science degree, supposedly where they give you a taste of everything possible, and you get to decide what to specialise in. The problem is, I like pretty much all of it ! I'm having real trouble with what majors to choose from. I know I want to major in...
  25. T

    Future Small Arms: Debunking Theories & Understanding Gravitons

    A couple of weeks ago on another forum (RPN), I brought up a couple flaws in the technology they were using in their role play world. But I get ahead of myself. RPN is a roleplay board that I visit fairly often, as I do have a penchant for RP, especially good RP. However my hatred of purely...
  26. J

    The quantum computer: computer of the future

    Has anyone heard of RSA? Its the cipher used by the NSA, CIA and probably most other government agencies. Its a cipher that uses one way arithimetic(easy to do almost impossible to undo). Anyway a type of computer is being developed to crack this form cipher called the Quantum computer and I was...
  27. C

    Crazy time machine guy from the future?

    does anyone know the physics forums that this guy is supposed to post on? He's supposedly from the near future and has a blueprint of a working time machine he built, lol. Anyone know?
  28. T

    Dream of the Future: Imagining Possibilities

    Is dreaming of the future actually dreaming of the future or perhaps dreaming of what the future that you want?
  29. C

    Can sensory apparatuses unlock the secrets of the Deep Future at Starlab?

    Starlab ... a place where 100 years means nothing Starlab NV/SA was a privately funded, Blue Sky research institute in Brussels, Belgium. At the time of its closing on June 12, 2001, it employed over 100 scientists from more than 30 nationalities, many of them leaders in their respective...
  30. Greg Bernhardt

    Future of Warfare: Types & Possibilities

    What type of warfare do you feel is next? We have military units, nuclear, chemical, biological, and electrical.
  31. Dal

    Future Offspring: A Glimpse of Our Descendants?

    Just wondering what our offspring will look like in a few thousand years from now. Well they look like this? http://www.mufor.org/photos/grey2.jpg Look at it. It seems like an evolved monkey to me. I mean, the small nose and mouth, the big head, the big eyes, they all seem fit for...
  32. Simfish

    Possibility of Betelgeuse exploding in near future

    Hi, If you don't already know me, I am Simfishy, and am new to the forum. I am only 14 year old, and an amateur in the field of Science; so I don't know very much about many of the more complex fields. However, I will try to contribute to the forum with what I know, and if I am doing...
  33. M

    What are you going to do in the future?

    what are you going to do in the future? for me i still have 6 monthes to graduate then i am thinking to go to europ to take the MA ... maybe in england then i will go to onther country to take the PHA ... and then i will still down in onther country "i will go around europ!" i will live in...
  34. A

    Future Humans: What Changes Will Come?

    I asked this question a while ago on another BBS. What changes do you think will be made to humans of the future? Here are some ideas: Spare parts available in hospitals at a moment's notice. Cosmetic alterations to the body to the extent of making humans appear completely alien...
  35. M

    Question: Can Monte Carlo Simulation Predict Human Brain Activity?

    Future is not unpredictable. The day is not far away when human brain will be predicted with the use of Monte Carlo Simulation.
  36. R

    IN the Future Blackholes or Wormholes

    [SOLVED] IN the Future... Blackholes or Wormholes Say that in the future mankind was able to master Black hole or Worm hole technology. Kinda like in Event Horizon technologically. Is it possible to master such a power? We could develope Black Hole Vacum Cleaners, Black Hole dumps, etc. If a...
  37. J

    The Future of Car Power: Exploring a Promising Invention

    I saw on TV a while ago a program that explored some of the possible ways in which cars could be powered in the future. One of these was particularly interesting. It involved using a special powerful light that is surrounded by solar panels. The light given off is used by the panels to produce...
  38. P

    How holographic technology will progress in the near future

    I have heard a lot about how holographic technology will progress in the near future, and have looked at how complex the equipment needed is. Will it be possible in the near future to have holographic projecters in the home, for example instead of TVs? How hard would it be to film and show a 3D...
  39. N

    What will people of the future look back at and refuse to condone?

    In 100 years or so, I think people will look back at how we live today and fail to comprehend, or be angered by, our seeming reluctance to do anything about world poverty, starvation and disease. Just as we look back at slavery and refuse to condone it, future generations will be angered at...
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