21–30 of 143 posts
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My favorite one is "Chemical dinner". Literally just people eating dinner. The idea of chemicals in their food was science fiction to them. https://the-public-domain-review.imgix.net/collections/a-19t...
They are all my favourite. “Radium heating” with everyone gathered around a futuristic fireplace.
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I think, like with almost all of these, the scale of our modern success is out of the scope of any of their beliefs.
Yes. In 1899, they hadn’t even invented the lift , necessary for skyscrapers. Imagine showing them, not Dubai, but a mundane success story like Bangkok. Edit: The Eiffel Towers had some, earlier than that. See comments ;) Sorry.
One of the interesting things about these photos is that, aside from all the under-water ones, many of the contraptions exist. We just call them Roomba, Kubota tractor, Audible, Philips All-In-One Trimmer, etc. One consistent facet is that many of our modern technologies are a lot more complex on the inside, but simpler in appearance. There really is one guy pushing buttons to harvest thousands of acres. There's a co…
What contributes to accuracy is what’s not there. To me especially the biology and medical advancements are missing. While we’re way better at maintaining our bodies than 100 years ago, we’re still mostly focused on improving our environment, just like 100 years ago. In 2124 I’d like no illnesses, regrowing limbs, perfectly balanced nutrition that is universally available, safe and accessible bio tech, and I could go…
[1] https://gallica.bnf.fr/services/engine/search/sru?operation=...
One of the interesting things about these photos is that, aside from all the under-water ones, many of the contraptions exist. We just call them Roomba, Kubota tractor, Audible, Philips All-In-One Trimmer, etc. One consistent facet is that many of our modern technologies are a lot more complex on the inside, but simpler in appearance. There really is one guy pushing buttons to harvest thousands of acres. There's a co…
People desired flat roads before cars. There was a huge effort in XIX century to develop better roads for the horse-drawn buggies and stagecoaches.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think, like with almost all of these, the scale of our modern success is out of the scope of any of their beliefs.
Yes. In 1899, they hadn’t even invented the lift , necessary for skyscrapers. Imagine showing them, not Dubai, but a mundane success story like Bangkok. Edit: The Eiffel Towers had some, earlier than that. See comments ;) Sorry.
It’s interesting because they got so much right but they just couldn’t quite imagine the computer so they have humans pulling levers, remotely operating machinery, being carried by advanced surveillance helicopters… Perhaps this hints that our vision of the future should have us doing less.
Yeah, I do think the thing that will date most 20th century science fiction is that it usually has humans actively doing most things, like mining, piloting space ships, fighting battles, etc. When it seems more likely that almost all of that will be done by AIs, with humans directing them at best.
We humans just like good engaging stories, even if they are not always realistic.
One of the interesting things about these photos is that, aside from all the under-water ones, many of the contraptions exist. We just call them Roomba, Kubota tractor, Audible, Philips All-In-One Trimmer, etc. One consistent facet is that many of our modern technologies are a lot more complex on the inside, but simpler in appearance. There really is one guy pushing buttons to harvest thousands of acres. There's a co…
We are all thinking about flying cars, and these drawings don't disappoint, but there is as much happening underwater as it is happening in the sky.
Now, we are still fascinated with flying, machines, etc... but going underwater is boring by comparison. We have submarines, mostly for the military, a bit of scientific exploration, etc... but besides a few passionate people, people usually don't think that much about the underseas. It is as if space completely took its place in our imagination.
One of the interesting things about these photos is that, aside from all the under-water ones, many of the contraptions exist. We just call them Roomba, Kubota tractor, Audible, Philips All-In-One Trimmer, etc. One consistent facet is that many of our modern technologies are a lot more complex on the inside, but simpler in appearance. There really is one guy pushing buttons to harvest thousands of acres. There's a co…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think, like with almost all of these, the scale of our modern success is out of the scope of any of their beliefs.
Yes. In 1899, they hadn’t even invented the lift , necessary for skyscrapers. Imagine showing them, not Dubai, but a mundane success story like Bangkok. Edit: The Eiffel Towers had some, earlier than that. See comments ;) Sorry.
Now I’m curious what would be a today’s vision of life in 2124. Also, could we use these to train an AI? As in: pair 1899 predictions with the actual outcome, train a model, and later provide today’s predictions of 2124 as input?