Modern Medicine

My brother is staying with us because he had hernia
surgery on Wed. He has nobody to help him at his
house. Its really amazing. His surgery was out-patient.
15 years ago it would have required a 2 day hospital
stay. It was a bad hernia, it was major, or what used
to be, major surgery.

He went in at 1pm and I picked him up at 5pm. He
was all doped up, but he was going home. He had an
IV thing that went right into the surgical area hooked
up to a pain meds pump. Just push it down and it
dispensed pain killers to the area. Cool.

My point is, medicine clips right along in this country
at an astounding rate. I remember my uncle had
hernia surgery 40 years ago and it was a huge deal.
Now its like taking your pet to the vet. What will it
be like in 50 years. I don't even want to know..

Well Evenbob,

I've got an idea. Let's just spare you the horror and pain and take you to the vet to have you put to sleep.

Quote: EvenBob

What will it
be like in 50 years.

Probably Logan's Run

Quote:

What will it be like in 50 years.

They might start implanting probability calculators into people's brains.

Quote: P90

They might start implanting probability calculators into people's brains.

Wouldn't all casinos subsequently shut down?

I find a more interesting question to be "Will people keep believing in betting systems and due slots even when they have a probability calculator right in their skull?"

The problem isn't probability, it's variance. The beautiful thing about the casino is that the population loses as an aggregrate, but some people do win, and that's why people go. They realize that they will probably lose, but there's a chance that they'll win. It's entertainment.

However, with a probability calculator in one's head, probably the best game to play would be a countable blackjack. Of course, the casinos would counter by using an infinite electronic deck.

Quote: EvenBob

My point is, medicine clips right along in this country
at an astounding rate. . . . . . What will it
be like in 50 years. I don't even want to know..

Remember the hypo-spray thing Dr. McCoy used in the original Star Trek series? That's how I'm thinking many conditions/ailments/diseases will be treated.

Quote: Toes14

Remember the hypo-spray thing Dr. McCoy used in the original Star Trek series? That's how I'm thinking many conditions/ailments/diseases will be treated.

Every now and then someone comes up with something similar, good only for subcutaneous shots. Alas, the drugs are the same whether you use a needle or not.

Quote: P90

They might start implanting probability calculators into people's brains.

I had one of those installed into my character while playing Fallout New Vegas. I subsequently got banned from every casino in the game, but at least I got some comped Combat Armor. I wish I could get a comped flak vest in real life.