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What the world will be like in a hundred years (1922)

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Re: What the world will be like in a hundred years (1922)

#111

Post by wombatmobile »

> It is easier to bring about a revolutionary scientific discovery such as that of the X-ray than to alter in the least degree the quality of emotion that arises between a man and a maid.

The relationship between a man and a maid is a core characteristic of a society.

The complexity of changing such relationships is attested to by TFA, and yet, in many places, over a hundred years, we see (hard fought) change.

A hundred years ago, or even fifty years ago, the downfalls of Dominic Strauss-Kahn, Jeffrey Epstein, and Harvey Weinstein were inconceivable.

So was #MeToo.

But there’s as much tech in the hash tag as there is in the x-ray, or more if you just count the investment dollars.

Technology and social relations define and redefine each other in long epicycles.

Re: What the world will be like in a hundred years (1922)

#112

Post by iandanforth »

titzer wrote: post #104

> The people of 2022 will probably never see a wire outlined against the sky... Haha, so wrong. All I see is power lines everywhere, and I can't unsee them. SO ugly.

Total tangent, but I too hate wires and was pleasantly surprised how easy https://cleanup.pictures/ makes it to remove them from any and all photos. I'm not affiliated in any way and sorry for the random. :)

Re: What the world will be like in a hundred years (1922)

#114

Post by braramod »

viraptor wrote: post #21

When he mentions the lack of cables, he's pretty close with most of them being underground. But also he's incredible close if you consider the mess of cables that was the Stockholm telephone tower, functioning until 1913 https://www.amusingplanet.com/2017/09/the-stockholm-telephon...

I agree, but some other countries are still not using the underground as a cable management system.

Re: What the world will be like in a hundred years (1922)

#115

Post by kseistrup »

titzer wrote: post #104

> The people of 2022 will probably never see a wire outlined against the sky... Haha, so wrong. All I see is power lines everywhere, and I can't unsee them. SO ugly.

You always know when you see an American film because of all the powerlines, and I always wonder why they are not put underground.

Re: What the world will be like in a hundred years (1922)

#116

Post by worldvoyageur »

Maskawanian wrote: post #97
worldvoyageur wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is an excellent article, I agree. However, it strikes me that the author was more likely female than male. (gender deliberately obscured in the author's name, 'W.L. George', for instance.). If a male writer, the article is even more impressive given the clear sensitivity to, and awareness of, women's issues and the likely impact of technology and social changes on women. That said, the author was likely a person o…

Author was male: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._L._George

Cool! Excellent predictions for the future, not just for technology, but also for social change from a broader perspective than just that of the lived experience of the author.

(W.L. = Walter Lionel, as revealled by a bit more searching)

Re: What the world will be like in a hundred years (1922)

#117

Post by nottorp »

user3939382 wrote: post #61
nottorp wrote: post #57

He got a lot of things right but, like everyone else, they didn't predict the internet and its consequences. Does anyone know of a proper prediction of the internet? And I don't mean predicting handheld devices or wireless networking. Predicting the decentralized communication part that makes distance irellevant and upgrades point to point communication to group. And its consequence that it's very easy now to find a…

Yep -- check out Marshall McLuhan & the Global Village, which he put out in the 60s. Very prescient.

Hmm I read him long ago, but I vaguely recollect he didn't catch the decentralization much? If he did I must reread.

Edit. Oh oops. Read the summary for Gutenberg Galaxy on wikipedia. Turns out i MUST reread.

Re: What the world will be like in a hundred years (1922)

#118

Post by ctdonath »

evancoop wrote: post #38

The reality is that no such projection is plausible. Could a human being living in 1903, before the Wright Brothers have predicted a moon landing only 66 years later? Could anyone in 1990 have predicted the smartphone, let alone 1922? Only one prediction is worthy of confidence - the world of technology will increase at an exponential rate...and the world will improve. We lament progress, but few of us would choose 1…

“When wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain, which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole. We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance. Not only this, but through television and telephony we shall see and hear one another as perfectly as though we were face to face, despite intervening distances of thousands of miles; and the instruments through which we shall be able to do his will be amazingly simple compared with our present telephone. A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket.” - Nicola Tesla, 1926

Re: What the world will be like in a hundred years (1922)

#119

Post by apozem »

tomxor wrote: post #33

This is surprisingly accurate, reserved and balanced through the lens of society as well as science. I was expecting something more fanciful like flying horses or whatnot.

These are better than 99% of predictions because the author has a good eye for what will change (technology, transportation, consumer goods) and what won’t (human nature).
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