I have never been to a fortune teller, but in looking over this completed issue there are two features that could be slotted into the “crystal-ball gazing” category – one is a science piece called “What’s Next” (page 28), featuring three York professors on what the future may hold in terms of the impending impact of the “sixth mass extinction”; the possibilities of extraterrestrial life in other galaxies; and our ongoing and often uneasy relationship with technology, including supercomputers and “smart” machines.
The second feature is about a subject facing all of us, and that is retirement. It’s certainly very much on the minds of that massive demographic bulge known as the baby boomers, but it’s also preoccupying policy makers and economists. When it comes to theories about the impact of boomers retiring, it seems there are more shibboleths, prognostications and dire warnings than you can shake a stick at.
In “Silver Tsunami” (page 18) writer Cynthia MacDonald carefully examines the many questions surrounding retirement today and what it could mean for Canada tomorrow. Along the way she interviews three York professors who have written and thought extensively about the subject. What they have to say just might surprise you.
– michael todd