Futurist Alvin Toffler presented his thesis that we've entered the "Third Wave," in which a knowledge-based economy has replaced the industrial age. Yet our institutions, such as schools, have become increasingly obsolete and still reflect the modalities of the industrial age, he said.

The economic structure has changed and become more invisible-- "prosumers," (a term he and his wife Heidi coined) consume what they produce through various activities, many of which they perform without pay.

Toffler forecast that in 30-50 years from now, there'll be a gigantic global conflict over the definition of what it means to be human. We can expect that religious and political viewpoints will clash on issues surrounding androids, clones and other future variants. The Fourth Wave, he predicted, will deal with biology and space.

OBEs & the Mind

In the first hour, author Howard Bloom offered a scientific explanation for OBEs. Out of body experiences and astral projection are constructs of the mind and could be compared to conditions such as the phantom limb syndrome, he suggested.