EricW Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Don't ask me why I got to thinking about this today, but I remembered all the doom and gloom predictions of the 70's that we learned in school: - The world would run out of petroleum in the late 80's / early 90's. - We would run out of uranium not long after that and all the new-cu-lar reactors would cease to make big atoms into little atoms. - The United States would have completely converted to the metric system by now. - English was a dead language and we would all speak Esperanto by the end of the millenium. So much for hippies who think they're Nostradamus... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimel Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Smoke enough of something and you too can be a visionary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Don't forget all the overpopulation predictions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AikiDale Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Well kiddies, I have been very disappointed lately. I was promised an atomic powered automobile by the year 2000. There has already been a thread about the jetpack I don't have yet. Peace should rule the planet but here we are having religious wars in the 21st Century. And we were told we would be on the metric system by 1970. Not to mention I watched a man walk on the moon in 1969. Thirtyfive years later and we put a balloon and a remote controled car on Mars. No real space station, no moon colony and no Martian colony. Oh, yeah, people are still starving and there is still no cure for the common cold! I am going to stop now or this will turn into a political rant.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 hey...we do have pistols that run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierruiggi Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Where's my flying car scientist from the 80's??? HUH? Where is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhgtyre Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Where's my damn jet pack! They promised us jet packs! -ld Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Where's them damn smart bullets, "...heading for As by themselves..." ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Sweeney Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 What about some of the good predictions: Robert Heinlein extrapolated central heating and modern appliances, plus medical improvements, to the future: clothes were optional because homes and buildings were perfectly heated, and medical science had made all of us good-looking and with long lives. I want to buy a house next to Elle McPherson, and as far from Rhino as possible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywalker Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 clothes were optional because homes and buildings were perfectly heated, and medical science had made all of us good-looking and with long lives.I want to buy a house next to Elle McPherson, and as far from Rhino as possible! Did Heinlein say those houses were going to have see-through walls? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJPoLo Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 By coincidence, this image was forwarded to me yesterday: -Chet From A 1954 Popular Mechanics. Be sure to read the caption below the picture!!!!I wonder what the wheel was for? Perhaps for web navigation!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Ah, FORTRAN! The programming language of the future! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 ...Not to mention COBOL. Maybe the 'wheel' was some kind of mouse... Sheesh, I'll have to rent a MUCH bigger apartment! Was this the desktop model or the laptop version of something...? Oh, excuse me now while I go pop in my little USB Flash keychain drive...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 That dude in the photo would accuse us of witchcraft if we fired up a little notebook computer in front of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Pinto Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Don't forget all the overpopulation predictions. They were correct. Overpopulation is arguably the single biggest source of society's problems today. It's relatively easy to make babies, but when the parents don't have the resources to feed, clothe, educate and provide health care for them, this places huge burdens on Government and NGOs to provide those items, plus they must ultimately deal with the resultant despair which manifests itself in further poverty, unemployment, higher suicide rates, crime and so on. This is why it bugs me no end that I need a license to drive a car, own a gun, get married and so on, but I don't need a license to make babies. It might be a "God given right" to have kids, but if I make them, I don't expect somebody else to provide for them. I also see overpopulation as the underlying reason for increased terrorism today. It's the "unwanted" and those in despair who are the easiest for religious and other fanatical groups to recruit as "soldiers" to carry out acts of terrorism which the "leaders" don't have the guts to undertake. Sorry for the rant. I'll take my medication now ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Beverley Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 ...Not to mention COBOL. And what's wrong with COBOL? We're still developing applications in COBOL. And it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Never said anything was WRONG with COBOL... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.E.Anglin Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 what??? am I the only one with a wheel on my computer????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Don't forget all the overpopulation predictions. There are still people who believe in that, even though we're nowhere close to the carrying capacity of the Earth and we never will be. Certainly the population is mighty dense in some areas, but it's a self-correcting problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j1b Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 I agree with Vince, I think we are over-populated. I hope Mr. Smith wasn't right on the Matrix, although many signs would indicate he was. Humans are like a virus, we go someplace until we expend every available resource, then we go someplace else. If I had my choice I'd do like Christopher Columbus and get the Hell out of dodge but unfortunately there's no place to go. A small cabin by a stream with hunting, fishing, and a couple of good neighbors sounds right nice to me. Standing traffic in LA looking at the homeless on the street with their signs - not so much. JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErikW Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 We aren't overly-populated, we are overly-dense in certain places. People aren't starving to death because we can't produce enough food for them; they starve because we won't get the food to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 we are overly-dense Now there’s something I agree with! ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Beverley Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Never said anything was WRONG with COBOL... Sorry! Wasn't sure but I was cool anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhino Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 We aren't overly-populated, we are overly-dense in certain places. People aren't starving to death because we can't produce enough food for them; they starve because we won't get the food to them. Man, when you're right you're so freakin' right. And over population is a self-correcting phenomenon if it's allowed to do so. One could even make a strong argument that certain segments of the population aren't having enough babies, while those who are least capable of sustaining a strong lineage are having too many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricW Posted November 21, 2004 Author Share Posted November 21, 2004 You guys are way too serious. Take 4 or 5 beers, then *don't* call me in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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