Clothing In The Future

http://www.psfk.com/2009/09/sci-fi-style-clothing-of-the-future.html



In the constantly changing fashion industry, designers are setting their sights on the future of clothing and how it will affect how we get dressed. Back in the 1920s, America’s vision of clothing for the 21^st century was a far cry from the clothing we actually wear today. We still do not wear skintight bodysuits that glow in the dark. But designers and scientists have recently teamed up to come up with clothing that control a person’s health and emotions, or even clothing that will be able to power our electronics.

“Nanotechnology might soon be able to use the wearer’s kinetic energy to convert it into electricity for powering small electronic devices. Practical applications could be in the clothes of hikers and soldiers, powering devices that could potentially save lives, and this could become a regular feature in our clothing to power our mobile phones, MP3 players and more. Scientists are also examining how energy-scavenging fabrics could convert low-frequency vibrations into electricity, without affecting the look of the clothing as nanowires are entwined with fabric fibers.”

            If this is the case, it will be beneficial to the environment as well as our health in the future. Although these fashions may not be available for another few decades to the general public, we can rely on the fact that clothing will provide a new use rather than making us look great.



Do Humanlike Robots Hold The Key To Improve Communication In Patients?



http://en.akihabaranews.com/107813/robot/actroid-f-robot-gets-a-brother-and-an-eye-implant

It appears that Japan has done it yet again. As one of the top countries in producing remarkable advances in modern technology, many people have come to believe that Asians have the best to offer when it comes to technology.

            It’s hard to believe that robots we picture as metallic, industrial experiments have been transformed into humanlike individuals that can communicate with us on a casual level. The esteemed company known as AIST has produced a female robot called the Actroid-F Robot by Kokoro, which looks, talks and has the same facial expressions as that of an actual woman. She carries the presence of a human as well as any real person, because of her ability to imitate movements and make eye contact with someone in which she is speaking to.

The scientists who came up with this idea conducted an experiment that they believe holds the solution to improving communication skills among children with developmental disorders and to help prevent mental decline in elderly patients.

“Because these robots look human, they have a very strong presence. I think their psychological impact on people is much bigger than with robots that are simply shaped like people, or animal-shaped robots. When this robot went to a hospital for a month during a trial, we felt lonely, as if someone had moved out… It’s often said that the more human a robot looks, the more small differences make people feel uneasy. In our research, when we use this robot in the field, we check that it matches its surroundings and doesn’t look out of place. When we tested the robot in a hospital, we asked 70 subjects if having an android there made them feel uneasy. Only 3 or 4 people said they didn’t like having it around, and overall, quite a lot of people said they felt this robot itself had an acceptable presence.”

Although these robots are meant to have much better purposes in the future, this is the first step of many solutions that robots will provide for humans as we become more dependent on technology.



Will We Ever See An End To War?



For as long as humans have been on this earth, two different cultures cannot seem to get along. Disagreements are everywhere and frankly unavoidable whether it’s between two people or two continents. In at least every lifetime there is some sort of widespread conflict, and this shows that human nature is what causes these impulses to fight.  

            War has always been meant to resolve a situation between both parties, but war would not be what it is without several fights breaking out. It makes people forget what they are trying to achieve and turns into an unrestrained mess that can take many years to go away. In those years so much innocent lives and expenses are lost only to result in an even worse situation than before. For example, for nearly ten years the United States has been wrapped up in the War on Terror in the Middle East, and now that affairs have become this rocky with the other side of the world, it’s much too dangerous to just quit. Which brings the question to mind, will we ever escape the threat of war anytime soon?

            As citizens who are bound to have children and families in the future, no one feels secure with the fear of a major attack on American soil on our minds every day. Our children will not feel secure, and in situations such as our conflict overseas there is really no one to blame though it may seem that way. The simple solution would be to remain neutral with other countries, but there is always a group who feel that it is their duty to make sure that a country pays for what they have “done” to them. So the reality is, we can never get ourselves out of war.

How Will the Future Affect Our Environment?

When people think of the future and the environment, a grim vision of the result of global warming comes to mind. In many futuristic portrayals, we mostly see clean, lovely cities that show no signs of any environmental deterioration. But in others, the environment is described as what will end up as a complete wasteland. These types of visions of the future reveal that society either believes that the future will be clean and bright, or dark and polluted. Concern about the environment has recently started a change for the better by making sure that the earth remains at its “natural temperature.” Energy efficiency and recycling has become an important part of preserving the earth’s energy since the threat of global warming has become ever prevalent in our lives.

            Over the years we seem to have forgotten that the atmosphere is the very reason we are breathing. Pollution and improper waste disposal has not only altered, but destroyed the delicate balance of the earth and how it functions weather wise. Our very survival depends on nature, yet we treat it like our dumping ground. But if we consider what earth has done for us, it will only be essential that we return the favor. Not only will our efforts to keep the earth clean pay off in the future, but we can rest easily knowing that it will be better for our own health and the next generation to come.    



Our Future and the Government

Can we really trust the government to fix our complex and disordered society, or will we end up searching forever for someone who can lead us towards the path of an ideal Utopia? Truth is, there is no such thing as a perfect society and we’ve come to accept that. But many people may question whether it’s worth voting for eligible candidates who might otherwise run our country into the ground.

The future does not look so bright regarding the state of affairs between governments twisted in conflict, including between the United States and the Middle East. Since 2001 Americans have been putting their faith in someone who can get us out of the daily situations and disasters we are faced with. To me, I don’t understand why we still vote for a new governor or president every year if nothing seems to be improving. Although not all candidates have the same methods for improving the country, no one can rest easily if their efforts add up to nothing.

We have plenty to thank the government and how safe it has kept our cities and states, but sometimes it seems as though they are digging ourselves into an even deeper hole as our lives progress. As long as people feel that they have to rely on one person to decide their future, I don’t think that all of the world’s problems will be solved.

Racial Equality and Diversity



We have every right to thank leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Abraham Lincoln and other fearless leaders for our racial freedom. Because of the risks they took and the criticism they equally faced in the past we can rest easily knowing that racism won’t be in our future. Or so we think.

The fact is nothing can really go away as far as the time it has been gone. Because of large historical events such as the African slave trade, the Holocaust, Pearl Harbor and September 11, harsh racism and misleading stereotypes have since then blurred the world’s, mostly America’s, perception of different races. Although most humans have learned to accept the diversity in our current society, it still does not mean that racism has completely faded. But if we teach the next generation that there are different and beautiful cultures besides the one they were born into, they can learn to accept diversity much more than we currently do.

I believe that the future will be beneficial for the world because we will have learned that diversity is an essential part of learning and that the values of other races and cultures can teach us more about ourselves than anything.

Will Cancer Be Cured in the Future?

For years scientists and doctors have been searching for cures for diseases such as cancer. Fundraisers and organizations have raised billions; possibly trillions of dollars for research in hopes that it will put an end to this devastating disease. But with all this money being spent, will we ever find a permanent solution to cancer?

            There is nothing more terrifying and crushing than learning that you’ve been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness like cancer. Most feel as if all the hard work they’ve put into their lives have gone to waste as a result of this, because they cannot help but think that the end is near. True, many people diagnosed with cancer have been fully cured with the help of resilient drugs or chemotherapy, but many more have died because of late diagnosis or insufficient medicine. This leaves us to wonder, are we on the brink of finding the cure that will terminate cancer forever or will we spend the rest of our lives putting money into research for something that will never be fully cured?

            Due to remarkable progress of research clinics, scientists have made great steps in cancer biology. More and more people are fighting this terrible disease and survival rates are shooting through the roof every day. So whether or not you believe that this research is going all for naught, the efforts that are being made to end cancer forever is nothing short of a miracle.