Reality Check

This AP story is mostly about the enviromental effects of Brazil's soybean boom, but please look, really look at the very first phrase:

A new variety of soybean developed by Brazilian scientists to flourish in this punishing equatorial climate is good for farmers, putting South America's biggest country on the verge of supplanting the United States as the world's leading exporter.

And then look at this (old, by 'Net standards) post in BoingBoing:

DNA sequencing for children
Discovery toys is selling an $80 toy called the DNA Explorer, which allows small children to extract and sequence the DNA from a variety of foodstuffs.

You are living in a world where Brazilian scientists use biotechnology to develop soybean varieties to sell to (probably) Chinese manufacturers that build a DNA sequencer for children that sells for $80 in the USA. And nobody even thinks any of this is other than business as usual.

Moral of the day: If your plans for the future didn't take into account a world where kids can sequence DNA and Brazil competes with the US, you need to go back to the drawing board. I know I do.