It's hard to figure out what to write down that is so memorable and fitting that a century or more from now, people will look back and wonder about the author. I do not think this qualifies as such a pronouncement.

My name is Atul Butte and I am 30 years old. In the country in which I live (the United States of America), it means that I have likely completed 40% of my lifespan, if one believes in statistics. The date is December 31, 1999, which is nearly 2000 solar rotations from an arbitrary date which is likely linked in history to the death of a particular historical figure which forms the basis of a religion practiced by under 25% of the Earth's current population.

I have often thought of what life would be like if all things technological were lost; sort of a trip back to the stone age. If I had to preserve one scientific fact, I would preserve the genetic code. Nature represents the structure of proteins using triplet-codon based genetics sequences. That fact alone is astounding and to me, the fact that nature determined this through 1 billion years of evolution is marvelous.

Today, we have enormous optimism for the future. One can extrapolate our current situation to make bold predictions. I guess we are likely to face increasing military threats from the middle-east over oil (our current standard liquid required for internal combustion engines used in automobile propulsion). We will see amazing new computer and media technologies, but today, I cannot imagine what these will be like. Genetics and medicine will have likely advanced to prevent diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders and diabetes. It is exciting that in fifty years, we will look back and laugh at our current crude technology, the same way we laugh at life fifty years ago today. We care for our lives, we care for our children, we respect our elders, we thirst for knowledge, and we are not content with today's science and innovation. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise in the future.