Predictions About The Future

Work with a partner to do Research and write about what you learn on your blog, with links and pictures.  The topic is both “academic” and “popular culture” – so a variety of sites will be useful and appropriate for you: 

1. What predictions about the future were people making 100 years ago? 50 years ago?  (Find 3-4 articles or discussions to look over.)
2. Determine if the list is a “wish list” – as in, these are the things one might hope for in the future, or more a warning.
3. Which predictions seem to have come true? Which turned out to be bizarre, off-track, or still out of reach?
4. Can you identify any trends or patterns in these predictions? What concerns or achievements do they seem focused on? For example, do people in general seem to be anticipating a better world?
5. It is your turn to predict a future world. What do you see? 

BBC News Article (Ten 100-year Predictions that Came True)

TIME (7 of the Craziest Predictions for the Future)

Wired Website (Here's How People 100 Years Ago Thought We'd Be Living Today)

Open Culture Website (Sci-Fi Writer Robert Heinlein Imagines the Year 2000 in 1949, and Gets it Mostly Wrong)

1. We found an article titled, "Ten 100-year Predictions that Came True" on the BBC news page. It has a list of ten predictions from 100 years ago that came true. Some of the topics in this article include the use of mobile phones, digital color photos, the use of the television, the invention of pre-made meals, and the rising height of people in the United States. Another article is from TIME, it is called "7 of the Craziest Predictions for the Future, From the Past." In this article people were predicting that tomatoes would become square shaped, televisions would become holographic, and that kids of the television age would not be able to read. One other interesting article is on the Wired website, it is called "Here's How People 100 Years Ago Thought We'd Be Living Today." In this article, people thought there would be flying taxis and people would travel to the moon regularly. The last article we found was on the Open Culture Website called "Sci-Fi Writer Robert Heinlein Imagines the Year 2000 in 1949, and Gets it Mostly Wrong." In this article people were making predictions from 50 years ago (not 100 like the others). People thought that life would have been discovered on Mars, physics would be used to control gravity, and that fish and yeast would become our main source of protein. 

2. I think that these lists are glorified wish lists. People wrote them as what they would have liked to have. Some of them are a little crazy but most of the predictions have become true today. I do not think people made these predictions as warnings.

3. Predictions that have become true include, the use of mobile phones, the use of the television, digital color photos, and that fruit has become larger. Some of the predictions are a little off though. Flying taxis and using physics to control gravity has not become true yet. We still do not have the technology for that. Also, square shaped tomatoes was a weird prediction that has not come true yet.

4. Majority of these predictions have to do with technology or food. I think that people wished that they had this technology to make communication easier. Most of the food predictions are reasonable so they have become true. Overall, I think that people are anticipating a better world.

5. I think in the future world flying cars and cars that can drive themselves will become the "norm." I also think that there will be another war. Traveling prices will also raise and there will not be a need for in person communication. Everyone will be able to do everything with technology. Lastly, I think that receipts will all become on your cell phone to not use as much paper. 

6. We have all control over the future. We determine what technology is available based on how much research we do. Majority of everything that is invented is by humans. Humans have all control over the future. If they chose to slack and not do any research then we are not going to have cooler technology. The government, non profit organizations, and corporations are all made of people. Therefore, humans are in control. In conclusion, the more research we do, the more advanced our society will become.