Tuesday, May 23, 2006

FOLLOW UP QUESTION OF THE DAY (SEE BELOW)

How likely do you think it is that in our lifetimes roadways will be rendered obsolete and unnecessary? What about telephone poles?

3 comments:

Steve said...

I think chances are 10% in our lifetime (which I estimate to be about 2100 AD at the latest, given medical advances). Almost all of that percentage is based on the very real possibility of personal vertical-takeoff flying craft largely piloted by computer.

sarah said...

more than that- at least 40 percent.

Rocket Surgeon, Phd said...

Our roadways are going nowhere. We've had internal combustion now for well over a century and cities and the economic infrastructure of America were built at the whim of that pavement.
They might be altered somewhat (I've come up with a great idea to ease the fuel crunch using a technology based on the principle of drafting) but roadways will always be there.

As for telephone poles, their time is nigh but I hope a forward-thinking city planner devises to keep them because all those man hours spent surveying, erecting and splicing could become quite handy someday for reasons we might have a hard time understanding or forseeing right now.

Also, They're turning more from eyesore to quaint even as we speak...