Isaac Azimov’s 1964 Predictions about 2014...Now, how cool is that ?!?!?

Hi Friends,

In the spirit of last night’s ATSLive Reality Remix 2014 Predictions, I stumbled across this little gem of an article and simply wanted to share...

Predictions from 50 years ago...

In 1964, famed science fiction writer Isaac Asimov ventured a guess at what you might find if you set foot inside the 2014 World’s Fair. Using his gift for envisioning future technology, Asimov’s predictions from 50 years out are both stunningly accurate and perhaps a little bit depressing. Here’s a look at what he got right.

Those three predictions are pretty awesome:

“Complete lunches and dinners, with the food semiprepared, will be stored in the freezer until ready for processing.”

“By 2014, only unmanned ships will have landed on Mars, though a manned expedition will be in the works and in the 2014 Futurama will show a model of an elaborate Martian colony.”

“Communications will become sight-sound and you will see as well as hear the person you telephone.”

Very very cool !


Much more to read from this link:

www.buzzfeed.com...


Enjoy !!

reply to post by SonoftheSun



That is awesome. Thanks for sharing. So, some predictions do come true.
I'm still waiting for the flying cars though, but alas I don't think that will happen in my lifetime (My own little prediction haha.)

VERY VERY VERY COOL

Also a touch scary haha!

reply to post by Rainbowresidue


Flying cars are here. But only the richest scum can afford them.

Very cool indeed. I am a big fan of Asimov!!

It really didn't take much vision to see those. Not really that far from what was happening.

“Complete lunches and dinners, with the food semiprepared, will be stored in the freezer until ready for processing.”

I guess Issac never got to the supermarket very much. Frozen tv dinners started in 53. So he made a prediction in 64 about something that had already happened.

reply to post by buster2010


Yes. And we were working to send man to the moon. Not difficult to imagine we could send a probe to mars in 50 years. Phones and video, given TV, seemed very likely.

buster2010

“Complete lunches and dinners, with the food semiprepared, will be stored in the freezer until ready for processing.”

I guess Issac never got to the supermarket very much. Frozen tv dinners started in 53. So he made a prediction in 64 about something that had already happened.

I agree to a certain point but let's not forget that back then housewives were doing the cooking and I would tend to think that "frozen tv dinners" were considered crap compared to fresh home meals and were not popular at all.

Nowadays, a good chunk of the population enjoys frozen dinners, microwave helping, making them much more popular today than back then. My own speculation.

Still is crap though haha..just my opinion

reply to post by buster2010

Star.
And the first public videophone service was available in Germany in 1936!

Wikipedia: Videophone
From the link:

In early 1936 the world's first public video telephone service, Germany's Gegensehn-Fernsprechanlagen (visual telephone system), was developed by Dr. Georg Schubert, who headed the Sudetengau verlagerten Fernseh-GmbH technical combine for television broadcasting technology.

reply to post by SonoftheSun


I would tend to say that a lot of prediciting the future is just pure luck, mixed with some knowledge, however this film:



Metropolis from 1927, the city scene and obvious industrial type undertones, it's uncanny how close Fritz Lang vision was.

reply to post by Zcustosmorum

I would tend to say that a lot of prediciting the future is just pure luck, mixed with some knowledge

I absolutely agree. I think a lot of predictions are based on incoming trends or luck being displayed in average numbers. Like predicting that Queen Liz will pass away in 2014...or 2015...or 2016...I mean someone is bound to be right at some point as everyone knows that it will eventually happen.

But Azimov's predictions are pretty accurate, considering they were made 50 years ago. Even if some of the stuff was already invented - but not really commercialized - it still is very cool as far as I'm concerned.

I saw Metropolis eons ago but I do remember the industrial visions. I agree with you.

Thanks for the link !!

“By 2014, only unmanned ships will have landed on Mars, though a manned expedition will be in the works and in the 2014 Futurama will show a model of an elaborate Martian colony.



SotS

are you suggesting that Issac predicted the Futurama catoon show.?

PDUK

SonoftheSun

“Complete lunches and dinners, with the food semiprepared, will be stored in the freezer until ready for processing.”

Well I think he kinda got that one wrong. That's not really 'Food' just a bunch of freeze dried GMOs and chemicals.

He still is one of my all time favorites though.

reply to post by SLAYER69

Well I think he kinda got that one wrong. That's not really 'Food' just a bunch of freeze dried GMO and chemicals.

Unfortunate but true !

Where is a puking emoticon when I'd need one ?!?!?

reply to post by PurpleDog UK

SotS

are you suggesting that Issac predicted the Futurama catoon show.?

PDUK

My Dear PDUK,

With all due respect,

I plead the fifth...

~Son.

reply to post by PurpleDog UK

are you suggesting that Issac predicted the Futurama catoon show.?

I suspect that he was referencing this: Futurama (New York World's Fair), as he was talking about what one might see at the 2014 World's Fair.

PurpleDog UK
are you suggesting that Issac predicted the Futurama catoon show.?

Futurama was the name of the 1964 World's Fair exhibit about the future which was where the cartoon show got its name from.

BTW, there was one time that I was literally inches away from him one time when he was talking to some people in the dealer's room at a science fiction convention.

At the New York World's Fair of 2014, General Motors' "Futurama" may well display vistas of underground cities complete with light- forced vegetable gardens.

From Isaac Azimov's Visit to the World's Fair of 2014 written on August 16, 1964.

Astounding! He knew about the cartoon Futurama? Haven't yet seen the episode featuring the model of a mars colony, but I'll be keeping my eye out for that... oh yes I will... nothin gets past this guy...