What if we are only Version 2.0?
I’m a computer user. My personal preference is Apple. I started with an Apple //e running Apple DOS 3.3 (Operating System) which finally upgraded to ProDOS before I moved on to Macintosh computers. There I started with System 6 which progressively moved on to its present version System 10. Each of the different Version of 10 had a different name (cats: Tiger, Panther, Snow Leopard, etc. and now mountain ranges (Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan, and on and on). As minor bugs were fixed, you would note that the version number, though the same (10.1, 10.2,…10.12), would add a second decimal increment (I’m presently using MacOS 10.12.4) When a major upgrade was made it was given a new designation number and was named as a totally new OS.
With PCs, it was similar, except for some reason they choose to skip the number 9 completely and though they incrementally fixed bugs in upgrades, they didn’t always visibly show you those numbers (Windows 10 is still Windows 10, though Windows 8.1 was an upgrade from 8.0) of theInternet started with Web 1.0 Tools, then 2.0, then 3.0 and so on. Here is an interesting Ted Talk from 2009 that addresses changes in the Web tool’s versions’ timeline: https://youtu.be/OM6XIICm_qo
Keeping all this in mind, What if humans were categorized and organized in the same fashion.
Consider the prehistoric time of existence as Version 1.0 of the human race. The next 
major change would be the one that we are in now, Version 2.0, moving from an agrarian society to an industrial society to a technology-based one. We’ve advanced with all our minor fixes and issues to where we are now – Version 2.20.17.
We’ve been version 2.0 for a long time and may be getting close to that major upgrade to Version 3.0. What do you suppose that society will look like? There are 2 scenarios, that I see. There is either a major apocalypse, in which case those that survive, if any, will probably have to fall back to Version 1.0 or we will push forward with another new phase that goes beyond the technology in the direction where we seem to be heading. I’m going to speculate on the second of these.
Some of the things that we are doing today in Version 2.20.17 are actually Beta versions of 3.0. Our overdependence on technology will continue to increase.Technological products will get smaller and smaller. I wouldn’t be surprised if DNA technology will be heavily incorporated in version 3.0.
With the increase in technology, you will see a change in the physical appearance of humans. They will either be more fit since there will be more time to exercise and play, or they will increase in obesity and be less fit, due to spending more time in virtual environments and games, etc., and not getting exercise. If you read my blog on Games impacting real life (see http://www.hdhstory.net/Storyblog/?p=802) you’ll see that research has already shown changes in the brain of many of those gamers some of which actually improve some of their skills. This new brain development is another direction 3.0 can take us, provided we show some restraint.
Politically, I would hope that version 3.0 would bring some stabilization to the world, with people realizing that we all must work together. This realization may come about due to a major disaster prompted by the failed attempt to stick with Version 2.0. Any of you still using Windows Vista? Wasn’t Windows 7 a needed improvement (after a fashion)?
Version 3.0 will require everything to be done faster. Education will not be based on remembering knowledge, but on different ways to retrieve it. How many cashiers today, can give you the correct change without using their registers to tell them what to give you? My guess is more education will be done out of school, either virtually or through online learning.
As with any new Version, there will be many bugs and flaws that will need to be addressed in future versions. What happens when the power goes out? (see http://www.hdhstory.net/Storyblog/?p=778) How long will people live as impacted by food supply and places to live? How will people make a living? How will social skills be addressed, with less face to face contact? How will we adapt to planetary changes to the Earth? What about Outer Space?
All these will be worked on by the designers and Beta Testers of version 3.0. So what’s your vision of “Life as we know it,” version 3.0?
What if you could be a beta tester for it? Would you volunteer?
