I have vague childhood memories of my parents talking about all the things that were wrong with the world. But those things didn't seem important to me, compared to the pitfalls of high school.

Now it's my generation's turn to bemoan the state of the world and last weekend while away with friends, we did that big time. Here are some of the questions we discussed.

1. How likely is it that Pakistan's nuclear weapons will get into the wrong hands?

2. Can nuclear energy free us from our dependency on the oil-rich countries?

3. When will we have to ration medical care? Or are we already there?

4. Would getting rid of bad teachers solve the problem of poor educational outcomes?

5. What can we do to stem the world's march toward over-population?

We didn't have all the answers, but before we moved on to happier topics, I realized that there are many issues I could throw my energy behind once I decide to retire.

Whenever that is…