Predictions of the Future...From the 1960s 278
kkleiner writes "Jetpacks, flying cars, death rays — the future isn't quite what the past hoped it would be. Of course, when predictions do come true it can be really shocking. Check out some of the more entertaining and eye-opening videos that show classic predictions from the 1960s. The Jet Age couldn't imagine the Age of Social Media clearly, but they got a few things right. And many more hilariously wrong."
Images of the future (Score:5, Interesting)
Usually say more about the hopes and fears than about what will be. The Background of the 60s was the cold war. In the same way the background of the 90s lead to overly optimistic images of the future.
Arthur C Clarke: Profiles of the Future.... 1962 (Score:5, Interesting)
First published in 1962, it's predictions are amazingly accurate. It is a must for any geek bookshelf and I'm amazed so few have read it.
The (few!) things he did get wrong, he followed up in later editions of the book along with good explanations as to why that particular technology came about sooner / later than he predicted.
There is an excellent article about the book given in the Guardian Newspaper
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/mar/04/profiles-future-arthur-clarke-review [guardian.co.uk]
It is a fun book, much recommended.
I'd post a link to Amazon..... but I'd rather you buy a copy from your local independent bookshop :-)
Don't forget Google as predicted in 1964 (Score:5, Interesting)
Don't forget Google as predicted in 1964 [web-owls.com] in a children's book.
Re:My favourite silly one is houses (Score:4, Interesting)
That's a remnant from the british houses, where the kitchen was close to the garden to use the herbs und fruits growing there. Now with most food being bought at the supermarket, the kitchen moves to the front door, so you don't have to carry your purchases through the whole house.
Lack of power (Score:5, Interesting)
What went wrong with "the future" was that no new source of energy was developed. Fifty years ago, we had coal, oil, natural gas, hydropower, nuclear, wind, wind, biomass, and solar. Which is what we have now. Breeder reactors didn't work. Nuclear power didn't become "too cheap to meter". Fusion didn't work. Solar cells never became really cheap. Solar power satellites were a fantasy.
In each previous 50-year period back to 1800, there was some huge development that made energy cheaper. But in the last half-century, energy costs went up. This is the primary reason the exuberant energy-intensive future envisioned in the 1950s and 1960s didn't happen.
Looking ahead, there's nothing in sight that will lead to another era of cheap energy. Over the next fifty years, energy costs will go up and up.