How Close Were Asimov's 50-Year Predictions?

Started by bayonetbrant, January 02, 2014, 07:40:33 PM

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bayonetbrant

January 02, 2014, 07:40:33 PM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/02/isaac-asimov-2014_n_4530785.html

QuoteFifty years ago, American scientist and author Isaac Asimov published a story in The New York Times that listed his predictions for what the world would be like in 2014.

Asimov wrote more than 500 books in his lifetime, including science fiction novels and nonfiction scientific books, so he was well-versed in thinking about the future.

In his article, called "Visit to the World's Fair of 2014," Asimov got a whole bunch of his guesses right -- and his other predictions are making us a little envious of his imagined future.

go read the link to see what he got right / wrong
The key to surviving this site is to not say something which ends up as someone's tag line - Steelgrave

"their citizens (all of them counted as such) glorified their mythology of 'rights'...and lost track of their duties. No nation, so constituted, can endure." Robert Heinlein, Starship Troopers

TheCommandTent

#1
January 02, 2014, 07:53:26 PM
Very interesting stuff thanks for sharing the link.
"No wants, no needs, we weren't meant for that, none of us.  Man stagnates if he has no ambition, no desire to be more than he is."

LongBlade

#2
January 02, 2014, 09:08:30 PM
Yeah, that crop of scifi writers were amazing. IIRC Clarke predicted satellite communications amongst other things. I've got a bunch of Clarke's short stories. One of them predicted the the USSR would bring America to its knees by beaming TV images of erotic tantric sculptures directly into our living rooms, thereby ushering in the collapse of society. He got the porn right, but societal collapse is a bit far fetched.

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

undercovergeek

#3
January 02, 2014, 09:35:22 PM
Oh they fired it alright - it just hit one house in Florida, where society truly has collapsed 

mirth

#4
January 02, 2014, 09:37:00 PM
Where the f@#k are my long-lasting radioisotope batteries?!
"45 minutes of pooping Tribbles being juggled by a drunken Horta would be better than Season 1 of TNG." - SirAndrewD

"you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire" - Bawb

"Can't 'un' until you 'pre', son." - Gus

GDS_Starfury

#5
January 02, 2014, 09:37:18 PM
whys everyone looking at me all of a sudden?  ???
Jarhead - Yeah. You're probably right.

Gus - I use sweatpants with flannel shorts to soak up my crotch sweat.

Banzai Cat - There is no "partial credit" in grammar. Like anal sex. It's either in, or it's not.

Mirth - We learned long ago that they key isn't to outrun Star, it's to outrun Gus.

Martok - I don't know if it's possible to have an "anti-boner"...but I now have one.

Gus - Celery is vile and has no reason to exist. Like underwear on Star.

mirth

#6
January 02, 2014, 09:43:11 PM
Thanks a lot folks. We're here all week. Don't forget to tip your waitress! (her name is Gus).
"45 minutes of pooping Tribbles being juggled by a drunken Horta would be better than Season 1 of TNG." - SirAndrewD

"you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire" - Bawb

"Can't 'un' until you 'pre', son." - Gus

Steelgrave

#7
January 02, 2014, 10:50:53 PM
^Anytime my waitress has chin hair, I figure I wandered into the wrong bar.......

                 But yeah....it's happened.

Martok

#8
January 03, 2014, 03:21:40 PM
Cool little article brant; Asimov has long been one of my favorite authors.  Thanks for sharing! 




Quote from: GDS_Starfury on January 02, 2014, 09:37:18 PM
whys everyone looking at me all of a sudden?  ???
Since when did we need a reason?  ;D 

"Like we need an excuse to drink to anything..." - Banzai_Cat
"I like to think of it not as an excuse but more like Pavlovian Response." - Sir Slash

"At our ages, they all look like jailbait." - mirth

"If we had lines here that would have crossed all of them. For the 1,077,986th time." - Gusington

"Government is so expensive that it should at least be entertaining." - airboy

"As long as there's bacon, everything will be all right." - Toonces

GDS_Starfury

#9
January 03, 2014, 03:22:50 PM
well for one I actually have pants on today.
Jarhead - Yeah. You're probably right.

Gus - I use sweatpants with flannel shorts to soak up my crotch sweat.

Banzai Cat - There is no "partial credit" in grammar. Like anal sex. It's either in, or it's not.

Mirth - We learned long ago that they key isn't to outrun Star, it's to outrun Gus.

Martok - I don't know if it's possible to have an "anti-boner"...but I now have one.

Gus - Celery is vile and has no reason to exist. Like underwear on Star.

DoctorQuest

#11
January 03, 2014, 03:44:58 PM
Quote from: LongBlade on January 02, 2014, 09:08:30 PM
Yeah, that crop of scifi writers were amazing. IIRC Clarke predicted satellite communications amongst other things. I've got a bunch of Clarke's short stories. One of them predicted the the USSR would bring America to its knees by beaming TV images of erotic tantric sculptures directly into our living rooms, thereby ushering in the collapse of society. He got the porn right, but societal collapse is a bit far fetched.

I have never had to go as far as Russia to get my pr0n. We have a fine selection right here in the US OF A.

USA! USA! USA! USA! (yes, getting ready for the Olympics as well.......)

Asimov really liked the idea of safe atomic power. It runs all through the Foundation Trilogy. We're not quite there yet but I suspect we will need to be.
"Everything you read on the internet is true." - Benjamin Franklin

"Zero-G and I feel fine....." - John Glenn

"I reject your reality and substitute my own." - Adam Savage, inventor of the alternative fact.

mirth

#12
January 03, 2014, 04:30:38 PM
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on January 03, 2014, 03:22:50 PM
well for one I actually have pants on today.

I call bullshit on this.
"45 minutes of pooping Tribbles being juggled by a drunken Horta would be better than Season 1 of TNG." - SirAndrewD

"you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire" - Bawb

"Can't 'un' until you 'pre', son." - Gus

GDS_Starfury

#13
January 03, 2014, 04:32:43 PM
shorts?
Jarhead - Yeah. You're probably right.

Gus - I use sweatpants with flannel shorts to soak up my crotch sweat.

Banzai Cat - There is no "partial credit" in grammar. Like anal sex. It's either in, or it's not.

Mirth - We learned long ago that they key isn't to outrun Star, it's to outrun Gus.

Martok - I don't know if it's possible to have an "anti-boner"...but I now have one.

Gus - Celery is vile and has no reason to exist. Like underwear on Star.

undercovergeek

#14
January 03, 2014, 04:35:10 PM
Still not convinced
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