I dream of jetpacks as alternatives to buses and bicycles. I dream of escaping the solar system. I dream of flying without wings. I dream of teleportation, time travel and breathing underwater.

Realistically, all of these things (except maybe time travel) are possible to an extent given our current technologies, and we’ve done a great deal toward accomplishing many of them––I’ve worked on some possible models for artificial gravity and antimatter engines myself. But what’s our progress on actually making them tangible and available to the general public?

With “Back to the Future Day” on Oct. 21 and the Expo 2020 Dubai running from this October to next March, we’re getting a chance to reflect on the advancements we’ve made thus far as well as clear gaps in what we need to improve on––climate change especially comes to mind. 

We’ve made significant advancements on ingenious inventions in the lab setting, but many times we fail to pursue the next step: actually implementing them in modern society. For example, companies like Aeromobil are putting finishing touches on their flying car prototypes but estimate their cost to be upwards of $1 million. Making many of these advancements affordable and accessible, not to mention approved by governmental authorities for public use, will undoubtedly take time and investments.

So where do we come in? We as students definitely don’t have the luxuries of resource access and funds that superpowers like Tesla have, but we do have imaginations and brains. Anything we can think of that might help people live better lives is fair game; all we have to do is think, write and share it.

After working on some of my ideas and writing them out, I’ve begun to explore and contemplate the world around me much more often. Wherever I am, I look around and see what could be better, like the curvature of the road or the moisture of the soil. I firmly believe anything and everything around us can be improved, modified or reinvented using modern technology.

Although I don’t have a PhD in quantum mechanics or another fancy field, I think many of the ideas I have can be applied to tangible models and actually construct something that could change the world. All this has taught me a lesson that I consider to be paramount; anyone can exert change. You just need to be a big enough catalyst.

Contrary to popular belief, “everything that can be invented has been invented” is a blatantly false statement. In fact, Charles Duell, former Commissioner of the U.S. Patent Office, reportedly said the same thing back in 1899, before televisions, transistors and rocket engines; look where we are now.

I urge you all to innovate. Think of anything and everything that could make today’s world a better place, and make it happen. Truly, we are the generation of change, and what we do will impact society for years to come.

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