Astronomer Fred Hoyle wrote an interesting novel in 1968, _October the First is Too Late_, set in a world that had fissured so that different regions were in different times in history.
It sometimes feels that way in this world. When I lived in Israel, it seemed like the society always lagged 10 years behind the US. Livermore, CA seemed stuck in the 1950's. Some of the Arab dictatorships act like they're in the 12th century. I don't imagine that the life of an average Hutu in Rwanda has changed fundamentally in millennia, other than improved technology.
The latest issue of _Atlantic Monthly_ reveals the astonishing! news that the mantra of our impending doom due to population explosion is wrong. Duh. They see it rising to a maximum of 10-12 billion, and then dropping dramatically to well below current levels. They assume that there will be no significant technological developments forthcoming, and that it will take a century before the rest of the world has caught up with western Europe.
Stuff like that reminds me how rare extropians are. We may not all get along and we usually disagree with each other, but at least we live in the same (future) decades. Now, everyone gather 'round for the group hug... :-)
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