There is a huge problem with thinking in 20 year time frames right now.
Everything that we, in the developed world rely on is pretty much going away.
In 20 years you will
- Not live in a large city
- You will grow all that you eat in your own greenhouses
- We will definitely know we are in an ice-age.
- What we call money will be something very different.
- gold will have gone to its intrinsic value, a pretty yellow rock
So, if you are planning the next 20 years with the foundation of grocery stores, putting money into the stock market and retiring... well, reality is going to be a lot different.
With such a future change coming upon us, what kind of plans make it 20 years?
All valid points that I agree with. What we know today is not going to be around. Even some of the technologies we are seeing emerge only only temporary measures, an iteration towards something more.
We will see the entire energy sector, as an example change. To what is the question. While the rage is solar panels and wind turbines, that probably will be done by 2040. We might see things like geothermal, mirrors from space, or fusion taking over.
I guess a major part of the exercise is the realization that most everything will change is the key benefit. Most are not aware of this. They believe that the future will mirror the past.
The opportunities could be in things such as molecular assemblers, 3D or 4D printing, and synthetic biology. The biohackers of today will be the ones sitting on trillion dollar (or whatever we use to measure financial value) companies.