I suppose forecasting is just human nature. The unknowable future is a scary place, and we do our best to illuminate it before it sneaks up on us. Even in our everyday lives, we keep calendars, itineraries, and to-do lists in order to shape and organize our individual futures. Mankind is notoriously bad at forecasting, though. We can’t predict the weather, besides yearly averages and trends, to any degree of accuracy at all beyond 10 days. And our research and technology elites, intimately familiar with the march of progress, often make predictions about the future that turn out to be hilariously wrong. Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune has compiled a list of the best 2010 predictions made in 2000, which include:
# “‘Smellyvision’ … technology will be available to plant microchips
loaded with chemicals into our TVs so we can enjoy the aromas that go
with fashion, cookery, travel and gardening.” — The People newspaper, London
# Kids’ dolls, trucks and other toys will use artificial intelligence
to talk and “evolve” with your child as he grows, a process you’ll be
able to track dramatically with holographic photos. “Land line phones
will be a thing of the past” and “there will probably be a single
international currency.” — The Melbourne Herald Sun
Of course, not all of the predictions were totally off the mark:
# “Wearable computers … will free many people from offices and … commuting.” — PJ Wade, author, commentator, strategist and futurist
And others, while not currently a reality, are definitely feasible and, in my opinion, ought to be implemented well before the end of the next decade:
# “Universal preschool.” — The Oregonian
Read the whole article here.
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