Our Next Fifty Years

I frequently hear that due to technology advances, change is occurring faster and faster--implication being that technology is what is leading to change.

While there is certainly an element of truth in the statement, as I further reflect, I question if the cause of change has less to do with technology and instead related more directly to growth in population. I also wonder what this increasing rate of change will mean, globally speaking, to our industries, our businesses, and to various professions.

Please allow me to elaborate.

Everything we see and experience in our outer world, all that is touched by human beings, is a manifestation of individual and collective thoughts. Furthermore, these thoughts are not necessarily linear but rather they interact in various ways leading to change occurring at exponential rates.

If this holds true, I can't help but wonder what the next 50 years will bring as our total global population continues to grow. In fact, to get a sense of this, let's look at the population trends, year vs. total global population:

1700--600,000,000
1800--900,000,000
1900--1,500,000,000
2000--6,000,000,000
2015--7,000,000,000 (projected)
2050--10,000,000,000 (projected)

Between now and then next 50 years, even though the overall population growth rate is declining, we'll still add a signification number of beings to this planet, each with their unique thoughts, ideas, and creativity.

Assuming our planet can sustain this load, I wonder how these various additional thoughts will interact and what will manifest as a result. If say the last 50 years serve as an example of this, I can only assume that we're all in for heck of a ride ahead.

What are your thoughts on this? What do you see ahead?