The hits and misses of technological predictions- a video log.

Hey folks
I figured it would be fun to take a walk down memory lane. seeing how the future was thought of in what is ultimately a short snapshot of time.

Feel free to add to the list

Arthur C. Clark weighs in...this guy is brilliant and insightful


Home Convenience via computers:

A nice video about the space age future...imagine shopping on home, or mailing someone electronically anywhere in the world immediately...


How about being able to read the newspaper without even going out in the driveway to get it...don't dismiss this as crazy talk just yet

I know what your saying, its just a technological gadget..a fad..nothing will ever replace the good ole newspaper...perhaps not...moving on

Fashion in the futureworld of 2000 was pondered about

I am thinking perhaps fashion designers are not great at the prediction game...however, the pocket to hold candies for cuties seems like a good idea thinking about it.


One thing to think about however about the future
Gadgets are wonderful..they have the potential to really advance our society, but do not be fooled into thinking that advancing gadgets will create some utopian society. No matter what is created, unless we choose to use it wisely, it is simply a new way of accomplishing little.

Sometimes, even dead odd predictions are not all they are cracked up to be. This parody is brilliantly done


Feel free to toss up some other neat predictions from the past video...fascinating stuff to see how well some got it, and how off others were.

The Radio Netherlands Worldwide program called "Earth Beat" has a series about this same subject that appeared in mid-December and is titled "Things We Were Promised". They introduce it thus: "This week on Earth Beat, things we were promised, but which haven't actually happened. From jetpacks and personal robots to food pills and disaster scenarios, we explore how yesterday’s tomorrow is still the future." The several interviews can be listened to online.

Here's how they introduce the one about the "chewing gum meal": "Why go to all the trouble of cooking a meal, when you could get all your nutrient requirements met by a couple of easy-to-transport food pills? We did some digging and were slightly side-tracked by a cousin of the food pill that has made the leap from fiction to fact. The chewing gum meal. Sam Bompas has invented a huge array of flavours, from gin and tonic to curry, but can they replace the three-course meal?"