Holten: That was then; this is now

Have times changed? Of course they have. Times always change. The question is what particular chunk of time are you talking about? Or have they really changed? For example, tell me which nation this reminds you of: It threw off a foreign power to establish itself and as a result controls a large land mass.
In addition it controls a lot of land outside of its borders, has a legislative, executive and judicial branch and a system of checks and balances to insure that no single branch of the government is too powerful. Despite that, its citizens are quite apathetic when it comes to politics. It has a sizeable number of poor and unemployed within its borders that its government has to prop up, which is a big drain on its finances. The citizens have a lot of individual freedoms including trial by jury, a policy of “innocent until proven guilty,” right of appeal and many others. It has a senate that is controlled mostly by people who are wealthy and self-serving. They are career types from the elite who focus on pork-barrel money bills. And they import many more products than they export so money flows out of the country and the national debt rises as a result. Religion is important but so is religious tolerance. Plus, any proposed law that seems unfair can be declared unconstitutional. What nation does this sound like? The United States doesn’t it? It was actually ancient Rome, so maybe even at the time of Christ things weren’t quite as different as you might think. After all, he was basically martyred by political figures hell bent on maintaining power. How is that so different from today? One can conclude that, overall, things might not change as much as you think. Still, scientists say there are some things that are going to change a whole lot. For example, did you know that in the future vaccines will wipe out drug addiction? That’s right. Someday vaccines will persuade the body to create antibodies that will neutralize drugs before they can get to the brain. Won’t that be nice? Imagine the effect it will have on crime. In the future, around 2050 or so when there are nine billion people on the planet, we will have “farmscrapers” producing our food. In other words future farm production will depend on vertical farmscrapers that will grow pesticide-free crops year-round in urban areas and make them available right away, greatly reducing the need to ship foods. And get this: Scientists are now working on robotic red blood cells called respirocytes that’ll hold 10 times the amount of oxygen as normal red blood cells. You’ll be able to hold your breath underwater for 10 times as long, and if you’re a retiree carrying around an oxygen tank, you can toss that away. According to scientists, within 50 years doctors will successfully transplant a lab-grown human heart. Plus, we will fly commercially without a pilot behind the wheel and within 60 years data will be planted directly into our brains. In the future we will use much less highway space because cars will be linked together behind a pull-truck, eliminating the space between cars and greatly increasing efficiency. But best of all, at least in my mind, is that in the future we will wear clothes that will clean themselves. In other words, clothes will have a titanium dioxide coating that will help materials shed stains and eliminate odor-producing bacteria, allowing you to turn that laundry room into a disco, pub or hideaway from your spouse. All in all, it is called technical progress, which will alter lives but ultimately not alter life. For as Rita Levi-Montalcini, the Italian Nobel Laureate who was honored for her work in neurobiology once said, “Progress depends on our brain. The most important part of our brain, that which is neocortical, must be used to help others and not just to make discoveries.” Holten is the executive director of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. He writes a weekly column for The Dickinson Press.Have times changed? Of course they have. Times always change. The question is what particular chunk of time are you talking about?Or have they really changed?For example, tell me which nation this reminds you of:It threw off a foreign power to establish itself and as a result controls a large land mass.
In addition it controls a lot of land outside of its borders, has a legislative, executive and judicial branch and a system of checks and balances to insure that no single branch of the government is too powerful. Despite that, its citizens are quite apathetic when it comes to politics.It has a sizeable number of poor and unemployed within its borders that its government has to prop up, which is a big drain on its finances.The citizens have a lot of individual freedoms including trial by jury, a policy of “innocent until proven guilty,” right of appeal and many others.It has a senate that is controlled mostly by people who are wealthy and self-serving. They are career types from the elite who focus on pork-barrel money bills. And they import many more products than they export so money flows out of the country and the national debt rises as a result.Religion is important but so is religious tolerance. Plus, any proposed law that seems unfair can be declared unconstitutional.What nation does this sound like? The United States doesn’t it? It was actually ancient Rome, so maybe even at the time of Christ things weren’t quite as different as you might think. After all, he was basically martyred by political figures hell bent on maintaining power. How is that so different from today?One can conclude that, overall, things might not change as much as you think. Still, scientists say there are some things that are going to change a whole lot.For example, did you know that in the future vaccines will wipe out drug addiction? That’s right. Someday vaccines will persuade the body to create antibodies that will neutralize drugs before they can get to the brain. Won’t that be nice? Imagine the effect it will have on crime.In the future, around 2050 or so when there are nine billion people on the planet, we will have “farmscrapers” producing our food. In other words future farm production will depend on vertical farmscrapers that will grow pesticide-free crops year-round in urban areas and make them available right away, greatly reducing the need to ship foods.And get this: Scientists are now working on robotic red blood cells called respirocytes that’ll hold 10 times the amount of oxygen as normal red blood cells. You’ll be able to hold your breath underwater for 10 times as long, and if you’re a retiree carrying around an oxygen tank, you can toss that away.According to scientists, within 50 years doctors will successfully transplant a lab-grown human heart. Plus, we will fly commercially without a pilot behind the wheel and within 60 years data will be planted directly into our brains.In the future we will use much less highway space because cars will be linked together behind a pull-truck, eliminating the space between cars and greatly increasing efficiency.But best of all, at least in my mind, is that in the future we will wear clothes that will clean themselves. In other words, clothes will have a titanium dioxide coating that will help materials shed stains and eliminate odor-producing bacteria, allowing you to turn that laundry room into a disco, pub or hideaway from your spouse.All in all, it is called technical progress, which will alter lives but ultimately not alter life.For as Rita Levi-Montalcini, the Italian Nobel Laureate who was honored for her work in neurobiology once said, “Progress depends on our brain. The most important part of our brain, that which is neocortical, must be used to help others and not just to make discoveries.”Holten is the executive director of the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. He writes a weekly column for The Dickinson Press.