Cheaper than a crystal ball and twice as fun, this book by futurist and web creator Watson examines
what "someday" could be like, based on the five key trends of ageing; power shift to the East; global
connectivity; the "GRIN" technologies of Genetics, Robotics, Internet, and Nanotechnology; environmental
concerns, and 50 less general but equally influential developments that will radically alter human life
by the year 2050. Watson gently scoffs at Jetsons-like wishful-thinking technology and flying cars; instead
he predicts the fanciful (mindwipes, stress-control clothing, napcaps that induce sleep) and the useful
(devices to harness the sea to generate energy; self-repairing car paint; retail technology that helps us shop,
based on past buying habits; hospital plasters that monitor vital signs). In between the fun and frivolity,
he prognosticates the frightening: the "extinction" of individual ugliness and free public spaces; the creation
of hybrid humans; a society made of people who are incapable of the tiniest tasks; and insects that carry
wireless cameras to monitor our lives. Part Jules Verne, part Malcolm Gladwell, Watson has a puckish sense
of humor and his book is a thought-provoking, laughter-inducing delight.

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