At the beginning of the new millennium, I would like to ponder what the world will be like hundreds, if not thousands, of years from now. With the world getting smaller in time and space, it should not be very difficult to think long-term about its future -- to say nothing of the future of our own country.

I don't think it is far-fetched to contemplate the next 1,000 years of human existence. I'm inclined to think that it can be predicted relatively easily from what is happening around us. I say this because many people seem to believe it's no use thinking about what may or may not happen in the next 10 centuries. They apparently feel that our planet won't last very long as a habitat for human beings.

I remember hearing a lecture by Stephen Hawking, the genius physicist who developed a groundbreaking theory about black holes, during his visit to Japan. Afflicted with a chronic muscular disease, he was unable to speak. But using a voice synthesizer, he delivered a great lecture and answered questions from the audience.