Discusses how Orwell's description in "1984" of history being rewritten to suit political authorities is now possible with the computerization of newspapers. The growing availability of computers will reduce the demand for printed newspapers, so permanent records, outside computer memory banks, may ultimately disappear. (AM)

Teens all over the United States and in many other countries are using microcomputers to "conference" on a daily basis. The teenagers use their electronic message systems to discuss many topics, including programing tips, global politics, and philosophy. These computer bulletin boards are preparing teenagers for their future business…

The metric system now enjoys almost total worldwide acceptance, but the United States is still resisting it. Americans need to stop trying to convert "true" English units to metric and learn the metric system by using it. (Author/RM)

Tomorrow's computerized home will be more than a residence; it will be servant, counselor, and friend to each member of the family. A typical day living in this house of the future is described. (RM)

The legendary Soviet economist's classic work, "Long-Wave Cycle," has been republished. Admirers believe that it explains how the world's economy works. According to Kondratieff, the world economy follows cycles lasting from 48 to 55 years. His cycle theory is discussed. (Author/RM)

Discusses how findings from current research on the human brain indicate that the best predictions are made when forecasters draw on both sides of the brain--the intuitive, holistic right side as well as the analytic, objective left side. (AM)

A technological diffusion or user-institution model can identify the negative and positive impact of robotics on job opportunities and productivity. (AM)

Futures--agreements between buyers and sellers to execute transactions sometime in the future at prices agreed upon today--are a convenient crystal ball through which economic prophets can gaze at the future. How futures prices work and how anyone can use them to predict the economic future are discussed. (Author/RM)

Recycling conserves energy, fights pollution and inflation, creates jobs, and improves the outlook for the future of materials. But converting a throwaway society to recycling will depend on finding good markets for waste paper and scrap metals. (RM)

Long-wave economic cycles charted by Nikolai Kondratieff could be used to predict the ups and downs of capitalist economies, including depressions and recessions. However, numerous researchers have cast doubt on the reality of the Kondratieff Wave. Their arguments are presented. (Author/RM)

Yesterday's predictions about the future provide a bridge to the past by shedding light on earlier attitudes and values; they can tell us much about how we became who we are. Predictions from the seventeenth century to the present are discussed. (Author/RM)

Fourteen people who knew Buckminster Fuller as students, neighbors, and co-workers offer remembrances of his personality. They remember especially his ability to communicate with and inspire people of diverse ages, educations, and backgrounds. (IS)

By the 1980s, Skynet 2000 could provide inexpensive portable radio links to and from space. Complexity inversion, the wired sky, and computers in space will enable the network to function. The system will be especially applicable to the needs of less-developed countries. (AM)

The Republican party, political action committees, and the electronic media will play increasingly dominant roles in the political process over the next few decades. No dramatic changes are in store for government and politics in the United States in the foreseeable future. (AM)

High prices, paper that self destructs, and competition from computers and video forms may mean hard times ahead for books. The factor most likely to assure the survival of books into the future is that there is simply no experience in life that matches silent reading. (Author/RM)