Mind-blogging Predictions for the next 25 years
From gun powder to MQ9 Reaper Drone (manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, GA-ASI) the Laser Avenger and the MAARS Robot . From the time DNA was identified as the hereditary material to the Maturation of the human genome initiative after the development of large scale, high-throughput techniques which are at the foundation of pharmacogenomics and toxicogenomics today. This shows how science has evolved, this is probably more reflected among us from steam-powered vehicles of around 1769 to today's Electric cars of instant torque, greater efficiency and regenerative braking. The difference between a Tesla Model S electric motor and an Internal Combustion Engine is not quite a subtle one. Compared to a modern electric drivetrain, the internal-combustion engine (ICE) is far more complex – it requires a crankshaft with counterweights to translate the linear motion of the pistons into rotational motion, a flywheel to smooth power output, a DC motor for starting, an alternator to charge the battery, a cooling system, and a host of other gadgets that an electric motor doesn’t need. An induction motor, which produces direct rotational motion and uniform power output, is smaller and lighter, and doesn’t need a complicated transmission to connect it to the drive wheels.
American author, inventor and futurist Raymond Kurzweil has become well known for his predictions about artificial intelligence and the human species, mainly concerning the technological singularity. You know already that we are living in the most exciting time in history and half of what was once considered science fiction have become scientific realities today.
According to Kurzweil in 1999, he predicted that people would be able talk to their computer to give commands by 2009. While still in the early days in 2009, natural language interfaces like Apple’s Siri and Google Now have come a long way. Also in 2005, he predicted that by the 2010s, virtual solutions would be able to do real-time language translation in which words spoken in a foreign language would be translated into text that would appear as subtitles to a user wearing the glasses. Well, Microsoft (via Skype Translate), Google (Translate), and others have done this and beyond. One app called Word Lens actually uses your camera to find and translate text imagery in real time. These are real examples of how scientific predictions and expectations have become realities today.
In the past scientific discovery depended on trial and error approach, which is a fundamental method to problem solving, discovery at the time relied on careful observation and making reasonable guesses and inferences. The trial and error approach is characterised by series of tests and experimentation and the scientist had to rely on his series of lengthy experience from his tests, in other words, he depended more on 'how not to' and this approach hindered scientific progress because of them times progress was determined by the researcher if he continues until success or if he stops trying. This is not without the fact that the scientists benefits from the experience accumulated in his series of tests which is at the foundation of discovery today.
The fundamental principles of scientific methods abounds and are at the foundation of discovery, from formulating a hypothesis, designing an experiment to test the hypothesis, and collecting and interpreting data. In addition, more particular principles characteristic of specific scientific disciplines influence the methods of observation; the acquisition, storage, management, and sharing of data. But today the processes of discovery have been better finetuned with highly throughput models and simulations with close approximation to real time events, although simulation and modelling are not without their challenges, it is expected that simulationsband models will be better established to suit a wide range of experiments with a near ninety-nine percent accuracy. This will cause a paradigm shift that will accelerate science and discovery to the next level.