Another Other: An Unlikely Path to a Future United World-and What That Future Would Think about Us

We are separated from the future by a chasm of imagined apocalypses and miracles. We are separated from the technological foundation of our society by a chasm of scale between the individual self and the global manufacturing network. And we are separated from each other by chasms of bias and fear. Despite - or maybe because of - some of our looming apocalypses, our future selves might be less separated from technology and from each other. Population decline, the creation of self-sustaining Throughline communities, and the eventual discovery of alien life create possible futures populated with viewpoints that might see us, the Before Time people, as barbarians or, conversely, as technological gods.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
Daedalus
Published
2025-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1162/daed.a.17
Primary Topic
Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Another Other: An Unlikely Path to a Future United World-and What That Future Would Think about Us

L. T. Elkins‐Tanton
Daedalus
Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
article

Another Other: An Unlikely Path to a Future United World-and What That Future Would Think about Us

L. T. Elkins‐Tanton
article en

Abstract

We are separated from the future by a chasm of imagined apocalypses and miracles. We are separated from the technological foundation of our society by a chasm of scale between the individual self and the global manufacturing network. And we are separated from each other by chasms of bias and fear. Despite - or maybe because of - some of our looming apocalypses, our future selves might be less separated from technology and from each other. Population decline, the creation of self-sustaining Throughline communities, and the eventual discovery of alien life create possible futures populated with viewpoints that might see us, the Before Time people, as barbarians or, conversely, as technological gods.

DaedalusVol. 154(3)
Openalex Percentile: Top 85%
Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
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