Brockman, John. Ed. The Next Fifty Years. New York: Vintage Books, 2002. 206-215.

Summary: In this collection of 25 essays, scientists predict what will happen in the next 50 years. Roger C. Schank's article Are We Going to Get Smarter? focuses on intelligence, education, and learning. He begins by disparaging both the concept that all great thoughts have already been thought, and its corollary, that education is a process of memorizing the classics. He predicts a complete knowledge environment and proposes a new episteme centered on good question-asking and adaptability. He concludes with a vision of virtual, inquiry-based schools.

Use: Schank's article summarizes in scientific terms what some fiction authors have described in their vision of the future. While the developments necessary for this future to become reality are too far away to have impact on my nearer-term project proposals, I feel that my project is a first state towards his learning society.