In my obsession with 2050 and beyond, I could not help but add more thoughts on the future. I have always loved reading about the future and enjoy looking back on what people thought the future might look like. For some reason the oo's did not hit me as living in the 21st Century. 2010? Now that seem futuristic. So bummed the Jetsons appear to be so much farther out. How many of us believed we would have flying cars some day? I did. While it does seem in some way things have not change that much at all ( Air travel and Home Interiors for instance), things indeed are a changing. I was thinking about a Top 10 list, but after reading so many over the last week, I've become sick of all things "Top 10"- So instead, here is a peek at what I see years from now.
Say goodbye to - Payphones- Phonebooks - Checks -Cash -Privacy - Lying - US Mail Service, Newspapers - Books - Magazines - Big Cars -Commuting -The US Dollar -Marriage - Signatures CDs and Blue Ray DVDs- Blackboards- Car Crashes - Driving - DUI's -Getting lost - Amber Alerts - Car Chases - Real Movie Stars - Suburbs - McMansions - Oil and Gas
Say Hello to - GPS/Personalized Advertising (Walk by a store and the store will text you or send you information) -100 Percent E-Bill/Pay - Working from Home - Global Currency - Vacations in Space and Under Sea - Stem Cell Organ/Teeth/blood replacement- Biometric IDs - Privacy Consultants (Will have to pay for Privacy) - Driver-less Cars - Robots as Chefs, Servers, Police, Soldiers, Nurses and eventually, Friends - Thought Police for crime prevention - Digital Movie Stars - Africa as a major tourist destination - Greater influence of Asian and Chinese Culture on the World (and US) as China grows to become the #1 World Power and as the US works its way out of debt - The continued development of the North American Union (US, Mexico and Canada further align, benefiting all three Nations) - The Dead (Family members images and memories brought back to life in 3D) - A New Reality show that gives practically EVERYONE 15 minutes of fame - An even greater view of real time War -Green Homes (Tiny Green Homes)- and my boldest prediction... the Queen NEVER dies.
And for fun, here are some past predictions that didn't pan out. (Hopefully mine will not be as bad as these)
“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” — Western Union internal memo, 1876.
“The Americans have need of the telephone, but we do not. We have plenty of messenger boys.” — Sir William Preece, chief engineer of the British Post Office, 1876
“We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out.” — Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
“There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.” — Albert Einstein, 1932.
“There will never be a bigger plane built.” — A Boeing engineer, after the first flight of the 247, a twin engine plane that holds ten people.
. “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” — Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943.
“Where a calculator on the ENIAC is equipped with 18,000 vacuum tubes and weighs 30 tons, computers in the future may have only 1,000 vacuum tubes and weigh only 1.5 tons.” — Popular Mechanics, 1949
“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” — Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977.
While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially it is an impossibility.” — Lee DeForest, inventor.
“So we went to Atari and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we’ll come work for you.’ And they said, ‘No.’ So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, ‘Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t got through college yet.’” — Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and HP interested in his and Steve Wozniak’s personal computer.
“Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?” — H. M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.
