The Biggest Historical Event of the 21st century?

[TheDreamMaster]

A lot of people tend to forget the Japanese earthquake and Tsunami not too long ago. Maybe not the one that defines it for everyone, but the scare of the nuclear plants shutting down and stuff was preety nerve wrecking to watch for the days it went on.

 

[Enriquespy]

Maybe the pope stepping down is a preamble for a big shock in christianity. Something going on there could eventually be added to the list. Not the resignation per se, but what it might precede.

 

[Breogan]

...And the world was never the same. Don't lie you know it's still this one.

 

[Enriquespy]

No, that is from the past century.

 

[Breogan]

Yeah but with all the re-releases derivative new and up coming prs-equels and inevitable 3D re-re-release it still bleeds into this one, and it will into the next, and into infinity.

 

[Thundercrack85]

A lot of people tend to forget the Japanese earthquake and Tsunami not too long ago. Maybe not the one that defines it for everyone, but the scare of the nuclear plants shutting down and stuff was preety nerve wrecking to watch for the days it went on.

Considering we will very likely see acts of nuclear terrorism, and war in the coming century, all that is going to be a footnote (if it gets any mention at all) in the history books.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I don't think South Korea would be too happy about half their ancestral land being snatched by China. They might even prefer volatile, nutty North Korea as their neighbor just because they believe in the "one blood" thing and still see those who live there as their brothers (although that's changing a bit with the younger generation).

That's actually not an unrealistic scenario for World War III (China annexing the Northern Korean Peninsula). Provided the North Koreans don't just start it as they collapse, which is also plausible.

 

[Spider-Vader]

I don't see the US going to war with China. We're not buddy-buddy, but China needs us and we need them. If China wants to become the biggest power in the world then they can't fight with the current biggest world power; if they start a war with us it's not going to end well for either side.

 

[Thundercrack85]

It's a long century. By the second half, India could be the world's most powerful country. It's going to surpass China by the late first half.

Who can predict these things though? In 1913, no one would have imagined the United States becoming the world's dominant superpower (well, perhaps a few people).

As the United States continues to decline, China will become increasingly bold, we've already started seeing this. Japan will likely remilitarize due to North Korean and Chinese provocation. It's not hard to imagine those two going to war again, given their shared animosity.

And then there's China and India, not a lot of love lost between those two emerging superpowers.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

I agree with Thundercrack here. Anything's possible. We haven't seen anything of this century yet. I can't even think of the most important event of 1900-1913 (the invention of the airplane?).

 

[Visceral]

Man on Mars I hope.

 

[JJJ's Ulcer]

Cracking the secret of how to safely travel at light-speed (or even better, teleportation).

 

[Thundercrack85]

It's always hard to predict those things. In the 1950's, people were expecting flying cars, autonomous robots, and moon colonies for the year 2000.

We've made some progress on those fronts, but they would probably be disappointed. On the other hand, few predicted that everyone would be walking around with a supercomputer in their pocket.

Still, the advancement of robotics will be a very big factor in this century. Millions will gradually lose their jobs to increasingly advanced robots, and the way we will wage wars will dramatically change. However, there are also some serious benefits, but that will come later.

 

[Shikamaru]

Man on Mars I hope.

I've read somewhere that NASA has plans for a mission to Mars in 2028 - as in with humans instead of robots. I don't remember the exact article so I'll have to look for it.

 

[Thundercrack85]

I've read somewhere that NASA has plans for a mission to Mars in 2028 - as in with humans instead of robots. I don't remember the exact article so I'll have to look for it.

Most estimates put it in the 2030's at the earliest. And that's an optimistic estimate. Hopefully when the Chinese plant a red flag on the moon, NASA will get a real budget again.

 

[Spider-Aziz]

9/11 is the obvious answer. The event itself was a big deal, but the effects that it has had on politics, society, culture, art, entertainment, etc. are much bigger and longer lasting. At least in America.

Easily this

I like your style

Speaking of style
Gangnam Style video passing 1 billion viewer on Youtube, and imitators gaining millions of viewers

 

[Hobgoblin]

Good News: Major medical breakthroughs.
Bad News: Nuclear attack on the US ends the nations democracy. All it takes is one nuke to end it forever.

 

[Piper Maru]

Rob Schneider resurrecting his career.

 

[Thundercrack85]

Good News: Major medical breakthroughs.
Bad News: Nuclear attack on the US ends the nations democracy. All it takes is one nuke to end it forever.

I'm assuming you mean that some politicians will exploit the attack to pass sweeping legislation, like they did after 9/11.

I'd like to think that people wouldn't let that happen, but after 9/11, people let airport security feel up their grandmothers, for the sake of a false sense of security, so, God only knows what they would allow in the wake of a nuclear attack.