Brilliant Minds on the Next 50 Years: Instant Expert
yijun
What will be the biggest breakthrough of the next 50 years? As part of
our 50th anniversary celebrations we asked over 70 of the world's most
brilliant scientists for their ideas.
In coming decades will we: discover that we are not alone in the
universe? Unravel the physiological basis for consciousness? Routinely
have false memories implanted in our minds? Begin to evolve in new
directions? And will physicists finally hit upon a universal theory of
everything? In fact, if the revelations of the last 50 years are
anything to go on - the internet and the human genome for example - we
probably have not even thought up the exciting advances that lay ahead
of us.
Delve into those visions of the future by author in the story list of
this special report, or navigate forecasts by topic here:
Life: Ageing, alien life, consciousness, ecology, embryology,
environment, evolution, genetics, health, humans, language,
neuroscience, oceans, psychology, sex and social science.
Space and technology: Artificial intelligence, communications,
computing, cosmology, space and technology.
Physical sciences: Chemistry, energy, materials, maths and physics.
-----------------------------
Gerard 't Hooft forecasts the future
* 18 November 2006
* NewScientist.com news service
* Gerard 't Hooft
A spectacular breakthrough that could take place in my field is the
construction of a theory that not only unites quantum mechanics and
gravity but also predicts every single detail of the evolution of the
universe.
The theory, or model, would have to be "deterministic". It should
describe certainties, not probabilities. I put deterministic between
quotation marks because it would not enable intelligent creatures in
that universe to predict the future, since nothing inside that universe
can calculate things faster than the universe itself.
In such a model, all that is needed are the local laws, the boundary
conditions and the initial state. The rest is mathematics. Most of my
colleagues have good reasons to suspect that such a model cannot exist.
That's why its discovery would be a breakthrough. I for one think it
might be possible, but at present we do not understand how to do the
maths.
----------------------------
Edward Witten forecasts the future
* 00:00 16 November 2006
* NewScientist.com news service
* Edward Witten
Tests of quantum mechanics will continue to improve; my guess is
certainly that quantum mechanics will hold up. Astrophysics and
cosmology will be exciting for this half-century. Even if the present
cosmological picture remains unchallenged, there will be numerous
discoveries involving, for example, extra-solar planets.
Particle physicists may discover the Higgs particle and confirm the
missing part of the standard model - or they may discover a whole new
layer of structure and enter a new golden age. That's anyone's
guess. String theory will continue to be an extremely fertile source of
new ideas. It will still be viewed as the interesting candidate for
quantum gravity, and may even be more or less understood by 2056.
Edward Witten is Charles Simonyi Professor at the Institute for
Advanced Study, Princeton