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Laughable Future Article

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Laughable Future Article

Unread postby Sencha » Wed 19 Oct 2005, 21:22:14

I was wandering aimlessly in the college library, waiting for a computer to open up so I could waste time on it and keep an aspiring student from utilizing it to further their academic career.

In my journey I stumbled across a kid's magazine and thought I'd open it up to learn something. On a campus, that's rare, but it happens. Turns out there was this bloated section in the middle of the issue illustrating and describing 30 things to expect in the future. I didn't know whether to be amused by it, insulted, sickened or a combination of the three.

My heart goes out to any child that is naive and gullible enough to buy the crap that plastered the paper so shamelessly. Either the author of the piece is just as bright-eyed as the child reading it, or doesn't care that he or she is injecting false hopes and lofty dreams for a "Jetsons" lifestyle that humanity will never know.

It was the same crap that people said we'd have 50 freaking years ago: House cleaning robots, artificially intelligent houses, self-driving cars, flying cars, jetpacks, and on and on and on.

Anyone that actually buys into this crap is going to get a rude awakening. Now I could have predicted an accurate vision of the future, of things in a list of 30 that would include: spiked bats, massive bonfires, horse pulled cars, and sacrificial alters.

I can't believe what we're teaching our children. That same issue could have accomplished something useful like a list of 30 ways to survive the collapse of modern society. But, how do you break that to a kid?

"Hey, you know what's coming out after PlayStation III?" asks the parent to the child.

"What?" he replies eagerly.

"Stick and stones, in 3-D!"

8O
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Re: Laughable Future Article

Unread postby Ludi » Wed 19 Oct 2005, 21:23:23

Where's my flying car? I've been waiting my whole life for that darn thing!

:lol:
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Re: Laughable Future Article

Unread postby rogerhb » Wed 19 Oct 2005, 23:29:46

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sencha', 'I')t was the same crap that people said we'd have 50 freaking years ago: House cleaning robots, artificially intelligent houses, self-driving cars, flying cars, jetpacks, and on and on and on.


You might get all that stuff if your last name is Gates. :roll:
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Re: Laughable Future Article

Unread postby seldom_seen » Thu 20 Oct 2005, 00:27:05

did it say anything about abiotic oil?
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Re: Laughable Future Article

Unread postby Omnitir » Thu 20 Oct 2005, 02:33:58

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')It was the same crap that people said we'd have 50 freaking years ago: House cleaning robots, artificially intelligent houses, self-driving cars, flying cars, jetpacks…

Actually all of that crap is available today. And much of it has been around for several decades.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '
')Now I could have predicted an accurate vision of the future, of things in a list of 30 that would include: spiked bats, massive bonfires, horse pulled cars, and sacrificial alters.

Actually all of that crap is available today. And much of it has been around for several centuries, at least...



The thing is, most of the old futurists actually got the technology side of things right. What they got wrong were the changes in society. Take for example the flying car. The Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) jet was developed back in the 1950’s, and considering the mentality of the time, the concept of flying cars in the future seemed a certainty. And indeed various flying cars with 4 small VTOL jets were developed over the past few decades. But what people of the 50’s failed to realise was it’s not the technology that stands in our way of implementing these things, but our society. Bureaucracy prevented the rich from having their flying cars and taking to the already crowded skies. And this is a good thing too, in this case. ;)

So my point I guess is just to say how it’s amusing that people generally think technology has failed us, when in fact technology has done very well, but it’s society that has stood in the way.
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Re: Laughable Future Article

Unread postby Doly » Thu 20 Oct 2005, 05:22:39

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Omnitir', '
')So my point I guess is just to say how it’s amusing that people generally think technology has failed us, when in fact technology has done very well, but it’s society that has stood in the way.


I think the problem is not so much society as economics. A lot of that advanced technology is massively expensive and with very little chance of becoming cheaper. Therefore, it never gets to the streets. Most sci-fi writers totally fail to grasp economic concepts (Heinlein and Frederick Pohl being the only possible exceptions). That's why their futures don't come to happen.
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Re: Laughable Future Article

Unread postby Cleisthenis » Thu 20 Oct 2005, 08:33:50

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Re: Laughable Future Article

Unread postby Sencha » Thu 20 Oct 2005, 14:49:20

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')ctually all of that crap is available today. And much of it has been around for several decades.


If I don't have it, if my next door neighbors don't have it, if the sitcom characters on TV don't have it, its not really available is it?
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Re: Laughable Future Article

Unread postby Omnitir » Thu 20 Oct 2005, 17:58:53

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sencha', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')ctually all of that crap is available today. And much of it has been around for several decades.


If I don't have it, if my next door neighbors don't have it, if the sitcom characters on TV don't have it, its not really available is it?


Sure it is. Just because most people are sensible enough to not spend tens of thousands on gimmicky things like robotic carpet cleaners and A.I. home networks doesn’t at all mean it’s not available. And just because you don’t have for example a kidney dialysis machine at home doesn’t mean it’s not available.

As Doly pointed out, it seems the problem is economics not technology. I still say the problem is society though. As in the reason a lot of the futurists visions don’t happen is indeed because of economic reasons, but the economic reasons happen because of social reasons: for example at one stage people preferred tax money be put into military spending or building more highways rather then the NASA budget and so we still don’t have the advances in space the futurists promised us.

Also, some technologies are far more advanced today then any of the futurists predicted.
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Re: Laughable Future Article

Unread postby Sencha » Thu 20 Oct 2005, 23:08:57

All this is besides my point anyway. This post was supposed to discuss the way that ignorant fools are establishing expectations for kids to have about the future that will never be.

Instead people want to hi-jack my thread to bitch about what it means for something to be available. Please, there's got to be something better to do with your time.

And if you would ask me the same, my answer would be no. :wink:
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Re: Laughable Future Article

Unread postby rogerhb » Thu 20 Oct 2005, 23:52:19

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sencha', 'T')his post was supposed to discuss the way that ignorant fools are establishing expectations for kids to have about the future that will never be.


I don't let my kids have toys that need batteries.
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Re: Laughable Future Article

Unread postby medicvet » Thu 20 Oct 2005, 23:57:44

the problem IS a cultural one..like economics isn't part of society? So yeah, the technology is there, but we are too busy blowing each other up to put a chicken in every pot.
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