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OT- False facts about the future that never came true
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a425couple
Apr 17, 2018, 2:31:31 PM4/17/18
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False facts about the future that never came true
Rose Burke @RoseBurkee
Clairvoyance may be a gift possessed by some, but more often than not,
life-altering doomsday predictions don't pan out. With thousands of
followers, these false forecasters are often left scrambling for some
excuse or reasoning that could have delayed what they believe to be
inevitable. Anything to extend their 15 minutes of fame and save a
little face. With many of these claims being outlandish and quite
far-fetched, it's hard to believe anyone would give them a second
thought, let alone give them enough attention to cause a fuss.
Space travel for all
Getty Images
Feel like spending Spring Break on Mars? Or how about spending the
holidays on the Moon? According to the Kentucky New Era newspaper in
1952, this should be possible by now. The paper reported on that year's
International Congress of Astronautics event, an annual meeting of the
world's greatest scientists. Among the many predictions made by these
renowned scientists was the assumption that space travel would soon not
only be possible for us regular folk, but there would be regularly
scheduled trips to other planets for our traveling pleasure.
For this to happen, however, we would first have to put "earth moons"
into orbit. At least, that's what these scientists claimed. The article
reads, "the first step toward true space navigation were … man-made
satellites high in the earth's atmosphere. Persons stationed on these
earth moons continuously circulating around the world, will be able to
observe and report any unusual activity …" It was from these satellites
that these spaceships were thought to be leaving from but, as we all
know, no one's planning trips to space these days other than astronauts
and extraterrestrial enthusiasts. Maybe if somebody opened a McDonald's
on Mars, people would be more excited to chill out there.
Flying cars
Getty Images
In 1964, the New York World's Fair was the place to be for tech geeks,
enthusiasts, and the everyday user, as it demonstrated the advances made
in the industry since the turn of the century. This showcase of all that
had been accomplished in just sixty years inspired some to look at the
possibilities for the future, and predict where they thought technology
would go from there. Isaac Asimov of the New York Times made a few
predictions of his own in his 1964 article that reported on the fair, —
being that the man wrote about the future for a living, it's not too
shocking that he got a lot of it right. Well, except this one:
Asimov predicted we'd all be zipping around in flying cars by 2014,
using jets full of compressed air to lift vehicles off the ground. Like
a scene right out of The Fifth Element, these flying cars would
significantly reduce pavement upkeep and completely eliminate the need
for bridges, since these vehicles would be able to glide over water as well.
Well, 2014's come and gone — are you enjoying your flying car? Of course
not. In theory, flying vehicles sound pretty awesome but, in actuality,
they would be a disaster for the economy. The transition alone would
take decades, while other means of transportation, like trains and
planes, would become obsolete. There's no need to spend a ton of money
on plane tickets when you can just pile the kids in the van and fly
yourself to Disney World. We're going to say the airplane industry has
less than zero intent on letting that happen, so for now, if you want
for flying car fix, find yourself some Jetsons clips on YouTube.
Humans will be inhabiting and mining on the moon
Getty Images
In 1982, people were making careers out of being a professional
futurist. Barbara Hubbard was one such "pay me to predict the future"
person, and during an interview for the New York Times, she revealed
several of her predictions for the year 2000. "We are going to cultivate
the stars," she claimed, thinking people would be inhabiting the Moon
and any asteroids in our solar system, in order to mine them for materials.
What exactly did this Hubbard believe we'd need to do to get going with
our Moon-living? Well, she answered a question with another question:
"Can the infantile species take its mind off of destruction and
concentrate on construction?” In short, we'll only get this done when we
stop killing and warring? Kind of harsh, Barbara. Not to mention naive.
What's worse is, according to her, if we don't focus on construction
then apparently, "… we will be a retarded planet." So, on top of getting
the whole "live on dead space rocks" thing dead wrong, it looks like she
couldn't predict that using the term "retarded" wouldn't be politically
correct at the turn of the century.
Earth will run out of oil and other natural resources
Getty Images
It's hard to say who started the rumor that the Earth is running low on
oil and other natural resources, but it seems to make sense that if you
use something regularly that it will eventually run out. However, it
hasn't happened yet in the case of oil.
Take it with a grain of salt considering the source, but oil tycoon BP
has claimed that global reserves will nearly double by the year 2050.
The BP Group's head of technology, David Eyton, said the following:
"When taking into account all accessible forms of energy, including
nuclear, wind and solar, there are enough resources to meet 20 times
what the world will need over that period." It seems there should be
little concern for running out of oil and gas when there are plenty of
other energy resources available to us. Additionally, by using certain
chemicals, super computers, and robotics, gas and oil companies have
been able to squeeze every last drop out of existing reservoirs,
providing plenty of time for vehicles to be manufactured using
additional forms of energy resources.
The alignment of the planets would end the world
Shutterstock
German astrologer Johannes Stoeffler predicted that the world would end
on February 20, 1524 after the alignment of the planets would lead to
floods so great that they would destroy the world. As a recognized
employee at a well-known university, Stoeffler's prediction was trusted,
and he gained tons of followers. Pamphlets were handed out, and panic
quickly ensued. Hundreds of believers even went on to build themselves
wooden arks and launch them onto the Rhine, hoping to survive the
floods. One German nobleman, Count von Iggleheim, even built himself a
three-story ark.
Strangely enough, a major thunderstorm struck the area on that day,
convincing the doubters that Stoeffler's theory was coming true. Many of
those who hadn't prepared for the flood attempted to swim to the arks
where Stoeffler's followers were on board calmly anticipating the end of
the world. Whether due to their panic, the rough ocean waves caused by
the storm, or their sheer lack of swimming skills, hundreds of people
drowned that day after failing to reach the arks.
Atlantis will rise and destroy the Caribbean Islands
Getty Images
Retired psychology professor Charles Spiegel predicted that the
long-lost city of Atlantis would rise from the sea in 2001, essentially
flooding and destroying the Caribbean Islands. Like many other academics
who chose to make predictions about the future, Spiegel was obsessed
with the discovery a rising of Atlantis. He'd preach his expectations in
a small town near San Diego, providing little or no proof of his beliefs.
Adding more strangeness to an already odd theory, he also predicted that
soon after Atlantis rose and destroyed one of the world's best vacation
spots, a group of aliens called Myton would land on Earth. There was no
need to panic, though, as these aliens wouldn't be invading the planet
with the intention of taking over Earth or be abducting people for human
experimentation. According to Spiegel, these Myton aliens would arrive
in order to enlighten humans with their knowledge and expand the minds
of the human race. Unfortunately for believers, none of what he
predicted happened. Atlantis remains under the sea and the Mytons remain
on their home planet, wherever that may be.
Al Gore's hurricane predictions
Getty Images
In 2006 Al Gore shocked the world with his documentary An Inconvenient
Truth on climate change and the potential shocking effects it could have
on our planet. Even if you haven't seen the film, it's likely you've
heard of many of his predictions. The documentary put a ton of
precautionary measures in motion. This point of no return Gore brought
to the world's attention included the prediction that the warming of
oceans would create more frequent and more intense hurricanes in the
Atlantic Ocean, a flow of freshwater into the North Atlantic will cause
the ocean conveyor belt to shut down, and warmer weather will provide
the Arctic with its first ice-free summer.
Within the ten years since this video was released, many scientists have
examined the claims in the film, concluding that some of his predictions
are extremely unlikely or will take many years to occur. In an article
written for Science News, Thomas Summer points out that Gore's
prediction that warmer weather will cause more hurricanes of stronger
velocity hasn't with evidence from scientists that have found that the
number of annual storms has actually decreased over the last century,
making Gore's prediction quite false. It was thought that hurricanes
over the ocean were caused by the water being warmer than the
surrounding air, and with the gradual increase of the Earth's
temperature, it's not unreasonable that there would be more hurricanes.
However, scientists have concluded that the formation of a hurricane
isn't necessarily so cut and dry and that this false conclusion came
from data that only went back to 1961. The explanation behind the
decrease of major storms might be caused by climate change after all,
though, as scientists believe warmer air temperatures have increased the
variation in wind speed at different elevations, which actually prevent
hurricanes from forming. So maybe not all effects of climate change are
negative.
Y2K will cause worldwide blackouts
Getty Images
Few people can say they've experienced the turn of a century, so it's
understandable that in 1999 people were unsure what to expect when
midnight approached on the first day of the new millennium. At the time,
computers processed the year using the last two digits meaning the year
2000 would be 00, the same as the year 1900. Many believed this would
cause computers to crash, major networks to fail, and blackouts all over
the world, putting an end to the technology era.
Understandably, these predictions caused a major freakout among
believers. The government spent billions of dollars to rectify this
"problem," and insurance companies began selling Y2K plans which would
be conveniently stored in their failed computer networks if these
predictions panned out. People built bunkers like it was the '50s and
the Cold War was in full steam. They stocked up on canned goods and
prepared for the worst, but as we all know, nothing happened.
May 21, 2011, would bring the rapture and the end of the world
Getty Images
Harold Camping was a well-known radio broadcaster who lured listeners
into his show by predicting the end of the world. As he ran a
Christian-themed show, his prediction of the rapture targeted just the
right people for him to get a large following. Believers and Camping
himself were convinced that on May 21, 2011, Jesus would rise for the
rapture, taking those who deserved to be saved up to heaven while the
rest of us were left to suffer plagues that would overcome the earth for
five months afterward.
Camping explained how he came to his conclusion by taking the date Jesus
was hung on the cross and using a bunch of nonsense math equations that
literally mean nothing until he came up with the date. As an owner of
Family Radio, which is based in California, he was able to spread the
world quickly. Many believers sold all of their belongings in
preparation for this date. When it didn't happen, Camping blamed a few
mathematical errors and changed doomsday to a date later that year in
October. After the rapture failed to happen a second time, many
believers were left broke and emotionally destroyed. Camping apologized
for being wrong and kept quiet for the remaining two years of his life,
but he will be remembered for a long time as one of the most famous
cases of a failed end-times prediction.
Air pollution will cut Earth's sunlight in half
Getty Images
According to Life magazine's January 1970 issue, air pollution was
supposed to have reduced the amount of sunlight reaching Earth by half
before 1985. While the article didn't go into much detail explaining how
they come about this prediction, it was written that scientists had
solid evidence to back it up. The magazine did however, go into the
detrimental effects that could occur as a result of this and several
other environmental catastrophes they predicted. Likely the article was
published as more of an environmental awareness campaign to encourage
people to contribute to a cause rather than fix the problem, and we're
all fortunate enough to not have to sit around in the dark all day.
The polar ice caps will melt and create mass flooding
Getty Images
In 1972, Arctic specialist Bernt Balchen claimed that the polar ice caps
would melt and an ice-free Arctic Ocean would develop by the year 2000.
Reported in The Tuscaloosa News, Balchen said this would be a positive
result of climate change, after the melting ice caps resulted in mass
flooding that destroyed shorelines, as the melted ice would open up
ocean trade routes for the United States. "The gradual change in
climate, Balchen (said), eventually may make possible tanker shipment of
oil from Alaskan and Canadian fields, and pave the way for water
transport of the Far North's mineral wealth of uranium, nickel, iron,
lead, and zinc." Fortunately for those who live on the coasts, this
prediction failed to occur. For now at least.
The letters C, X, and Q would be removed from the alphabet
Getty Images
Back in 1901, Ladies Home Journal released an issue containing an
article that listed nearly three dozen or so predictions that were
expected to occur over the next hundred years. The article has since
made a second wave online as many of the article's predictions have
actually come true. One that most certainly has not, however, concerns
the predicted disappearance of the letters C, X, and Q from the alphabet.
Why make such a ludicrous declaration? Well, according to the Journal,
those letters were thought to be "unnecessary," and newspapers would
soon begin to spell words based on sound. While our alphabet remains
intact, and newspapers aren't exactly encouraging their writers to take
spelling shortcuts, a trend has certainly taken over other aspects of
our communication. While there's no way that, in 1901, anyone could have
predicted that the young whippersnappers of the world would be creating
their own language through instant messaging, text, and social media,
these shortcuts are technically spelling by sound. For example, we often
use "u" rather than "you," or "r" instead of "are," but this language
alteration has yet to become accepted by professionals and publications.
All 26 letters are safe … for now. We an never tell eatly what the
future shall bring.
A shorter work week
Shutterstock
In 1950, the Associated Press released an article about how experts
thought the world would be living in the year 2000. Some of their
predictions are on point, but others simply didn't pan out.
Unfortunately for anyone stuck in the 9-to-5 daily grind, the prediction
that we'd all see a significantly shorter regulated work week before the
turn of the century has not only failed to come true, but seems to have
spun in the opposite direction.
The experts consulted by AP seemed to think that, since labor was built
from nothing over the past fifty years, "it is likely to win greater
acceptance from other elements of American life. This in itself would
tend to eliminate some of the great labor-management struggles and
create a smoother-working American team." So basically, this "expert"
thought that, as a result of gaining the respect of Americans and
American lawmakers, workaday Joes and Janes would finally catch a break.
Boy were they wrong.
To give this expert some credit, their prediction didn't seem so
far-fetched when it was published, as child labor laws, minimum wage,
unemployment compensation, and regulated work weeks were new laws. Why
not reduce the work week after development has capped out, then? It
would make sense but, unfortunately, many companies focus on working
longer and harder, rather than encouraging employees to work smarter.
Example: after claims that they encouraged their employees to work
80-hour weeks, Amazon offered a select few of their employees a 30-hour
week as a trial program, one that came with all of the same benefits as
those who worked 40 hours or more. Naturally, there was a price to pay …
literally. These employees got to spend less time in the office, but
they also were paid less 25 percent less. That's likely to be the only
way the average work week shortens — if we agree to get paid less in
exchange for more time eating lunch at home while watching The Price is
Right.
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Rose Burke @RoseBurkee
Clairvoyance may be a gift possessed by some, but more often than not,
life-altering doomsday predictions don't pan out. With thousands of
followers, these false forecasters are often left scrambling for some
excuse or reasoning that could have delayed what they believe to be
inevitable. Anything to extend their 15 minutes of fame and save a
little face. With many of these claims being outlandish and quite
far-fetched, it's hard to believe anyone would give them a second
thought, let alone give them enough attention to cause a fuss.
Space travel for all
Getty Images
Feel like spending Spring Break on Mars? Or how about spending the
holidays on the Moon? According to the Kentucky New Era newspaper in
1952, this should be possible by now. The paper reported on that year's
International Congress of Astronautics event, an annual meeting of the
world's greatest scientists. Among the many predictions made by these
renowned scientists was the assumption that space travel would soon not
only be possible for us regular folk, but there would be regularly
scheduled trips to other planets for our traveling pleasure.
For this to happen, however, we would first have to put "earth moons"
into orbit. At least, that's what these scientists claimed. The article
reads, "the first step toward true space navigation were … man-made
satellites high in the earth's atmosphere. Persons stationed on these
earth moons continuously circulating around the world, will be able to
observe and report any unusual activity …" It was from these satellites
that these spaceships were thought to be leaving from but, as we all
know, no one's planning trips to space these days other than astronauts
and extraterrestrial enthusiasts. Maybe if somebody opened a McDonald's
on Mars, people would be more excited to chill out there.
Flying cars
Getty Images
In 1964, the New York World's Fair was the place to be for tech geeks,
enthusiasts, and the everyday user, as it demonstrated the advances made
in the industry since the turn of the century. This showcase of all that
had been accomplished in just sixty years inspired some to look at the
possibilities for the future, and predict where they thought technology
would go from there. Isaac Asimov of the New York Times made a few
predictions of his own in his 1964 article that reported on the fair, —
being that the man wrote about the future for a living, it's not too
shocking that he got a lot of it right. Well, except this one:
Asimov predicted we'd all be zipping around in flying cars by 2014,
using jets full of compressed air to lift vehicles off the ground. Like
a scene right out of The Fifth Element, these flying cars would
significantly reduce pavement upkeep and completely eliminate the need
for bridges, since these vehicles would be able to glide over water as well.
Well, 2014's come and gone — are you enjoying your flying car? Of course
not. In theory, flying vehicles sound pretty awesome but, in actuality,
they would be a disaster for the economy. The transition alone would
take decades, while other means of transportation, like trains and
planes, would become obsolete. There's no need to spend a ton of money
on plane tickets when you can just pile the kids in the van and fly
yourself to Disney World. We're going to say the airplane industry has
less than zero intent on letting that happen, so for now, if you want
for flying car fix, find yourself some Jetsons clips on YouTube.
Humans will be inhabiting and mining on the moon
Getty Images
In 1982, people were making careers out of being a professional
futurist. Barbara Hubbard was one such "pay me to predict the future"
person, and during an interview for the New York Times, she revealed
several of her predictions for the year 2000. "We are going to cultivate
the stars," she claimed, thinking people would be inhabiting the Moon
and any asteroids in our solar system, in order to mine them for materials.
What exactly did this Hubbard believe we'd need to do to get going with
our Moon-living? Well, she answered a question with another question:
"Can the infantile species take its mind off of destruction and
concentrate on construction?” In short, we'll only get this done when we
stop killing and warring? Kind of harsh, Barbara. Not to mention naive.
What's worse is, according to her, if we don't focus on construction
then apparently, "… we will be a retarded planet." So, on top of getting
the whole "live on dead space rocks" thing dead wrong, it looks like she
couldn't predict that using the term "retarded" wouldn't be politically
correct at the turn of the century.
Earth will run out of oil and other natural resources
Getty Images
It's hard to say who started the rumor that the Earth is running low on
oil and other natural resources, but it seems to make sense that if you
use something regularly that it will eventually run out. However, it
hasn't happened yet in the case of oil.
Take it with a grain of salt considering the source, but oil tycoon BP
has claimed that global reserves will nearly double by the year 2050.
The BP Group's head of technology, David Eyton, said the following:
"When taking into account all accessible forms of energy, including
nuclear, wind and solar, there are enough resources to meet 20 times
what the world will need over that period." It seems there should be
little concern for running out of oil and gas when there are plenty of
other energy resources available to us. Additionally, by using certain
chemicals, super computers, and robotics, gas and oil companies have
been able to squeeze every last drop out of existing reservoirs,
providing plenty of time for vehicles to be manufactured using
additional forms of energy resources.
The alignment of the planets would end the world
Shutterstock
German astrologer Johannes Stoeffler predicted that the world would end
on February 20, 1524 after the alignment of the planets would lead to
floods so great that they would destroy the world. As a recognized
employee at a well-known university, Stoeffler's prediction was trusted,
and he gained tons of followers. Pamphlets were handed out, and panic
quickly ensued. Hundreds of believers even went on to build themselves
wooden arks and launch them onto the Rhine, hoping to survive the
floods. One German nobleman, Count von Iggleheim, even built himself a
three-story ark.
Strangely enough, a major thunderstorm struck the area on that day,
convincing the doubters that Stoeffler's theory was coming true. Many of
those who hadn't prepared for the flood attempted to swim to the arks
where Stoeffler's followers were on board calmly anticipating the end of
the world. Whether due to their panic, the rough ocean waves caused by
the storm, or their sheer lack of swimming skills, hundreds of people
drowned that day after failing to reach the arks.
Atlantis will rise and destroy the Caribbean Islands
Getty Images
Retired psychology professor Charles Spiegel predicted that the
long-lost city of Atlantis would rise from the sea in 2001, essentially
flooding and destroying the Caribbean Islands. Like many other academics
who chose to make predictions about the future, Spiegel was obsessed
with the discovery a rising of Atlantis. He'd preach his expectations in
a small town near San Diego, providing little or no proof of his beliefs.
Adding more strangeness to an already odd theory, he also predicted that
soon after Atlantis rose and destroyed one of the world's best vacation
spots, a group of aliens called Myton would land on Earth. There was no
need to panic, though, as these aliens wouldn't be invading the planet
with the intention of taking over Earth or be abducting people for human
experimentation. According to Spiegel, these Myton aliens would arrive
in order to enlighten humans with their knowledge and expand the minds
of the human race. Unfortunately for believers, none of what he
predicted happened. Atlantis remains under the sea and the Mytons remain
on their home planet, wherever that may be.
Al Gore's hurricane predictions
Getty Images
In 2006 Al Gore shocked the world with his documentary An Inconvenient
Truth on climate change and the potential shocking effects it could have
on our planet. Even if you haven't seen the film, it's likely you've
heard of many of his predictions. The documentary put a ton of
precautionary measures in motion. This point of no return Gore brought
to the world's attention included the prediction that the warming of
oceans would create more frequent and more intense hurricanes in the
Atlantic Ocean, a flow of freshwater into the North Atlantic will cause
the ocean conveyor belt to shut down, and warmer weather will provide
the Arctic with its first ice-free summer.
Within the ten years since this video was released, many scientists have
examined the claims in the film, concluding that some of his predictions
are extremely unlikely or will take many years to occur. In an article
written for Science News, Thomas Summer points out that Gore's
prediction that warmer weather will cause more hurricanes of stronger
velocity hasn't with evidence from scientists that have found that the
number of annual storms has actually decreased over the last century,
making Gore's prediction quite false. It was thought that hurricanes
over the ocean were caused by the water being warmer than the
surrounding air, and with the gradual increase of the Earth's
temperature, it's not unreasonable that there would be more hurricanes.
However, scientists have concluded that the formation of a hurricane
isn't necessarily so cut and dry and that this false conclusion came
from data that only went back to 1961. The explanation behind the
decrease of major storms might be caused by climate change after all,
though, as scientists believe warmer air temperatures have increased the
variation in wind speed at different elevations, which actually prevent
hurricanes from forming. So maybe not all effects of climate change are
negative.
Y2K will cause worldwide blackouts
Getty Images
Few people can say they've experienced the turn of a century, so it's
understandable that in 1999 people were unsure what to expect when
midnight approached on the first day of the new millennium. At the time,
computers processed the year using the last two digits meaning the year
2000 would be 00, the same as the year 1900. Many believed this would
cause computers to crash, major networks to fail, and blackouts all over
the world, putting an end to the technology era.
Understandably, these predictions caused a major freakout among
believers. The government spent billions of dollars to rectify this
"problem," and insurance companies began selling Y2K plans which would
be conveniently stored in their failed computer networks if these
predictions panned out. People built bunkers like it was the '50s and
the Cold War was in full steam. They stocked up on canned goods and
prepared for the worst, but as we all know, nothing happened.
May 21, 2011, would bring the rapture and the end of the world
Getty Images
Harold Camping was a well-known radio broadcaster who lured listeners
into his show by predicting the end of the world. As he ran a
Christian-themed show, his prediction of the rapture targeted just the
right people for him to get a large following. Believers and Camping
himself were convinced that on May 21, 2011, Jesus would rise for the
rapture, taking those who deserved to be saved up to heaven while the
rest of us were left to suffer plagues that would overcome the earth for
five months afterward.
Camping explained how he came to his conclusion by taking the date Jesus
was hung on the cross and using a bunch of nonsense math equations that
literally mean nothing until he came up with the date. As an owner of
Family Radio, which is based in California, he was able to spread the
world quickly. Many believers sold all of their belongings in
preparation for this date. When it didn't happen, Camping blamed a few
mathematical errors and changed doomsday to a date later that year in
October. After the rapture failed to happen a second time, many
believers were left broke and emotionally destroyed. Camping apologized
for being wrong and kept quiet for the remaining two years of his life,
but he will be remembered for a long time as one of the most famous
cases of a failed end-times prediction.
Air pollution will cut Earth's sunlight in half
Getty Images
According to Life magazine's January 1970 issue, air pollution was
supposed to have reduced the amount of sunlight reaching Earth by half
before 1985. While the article didn't go into much detail explaining how
they come about this prediction, it was written that scientists had
solid evidence to back it up. The magazine did however, go into the
detrimental effects that could occur as a result of this and several
other environmental catastrophes they predicted. Likely the article was
published as more of an environmental awareness campaign to encourage
people to contribute to a cause rather than fix the problem, and we're
all fortunate enough to not have to sit around in the dark all day.
The polar ice caps will melt and create mass flooding
Getty Images
In 1972, Arctic specialist Bernt Balchen claimed that the polar ice caps
would melt and an ice-free Arctic Ocean would develop by the year 2000.
Reported in The Tuscaloosa News, Balchen said this would be a positive
result of climate change, after the melting ice caps resulted in mass
flooding that destroyed shorelines, as the melted ice would open up
ocean trade routes for the United States. "The gradual change in
climate, Balchen (said), eventually may make possible tanker shipment of
oil from Alaskan and Canadian fields, and pave the way for water
transport of the Far North's mineral wealth of uranium, nickel, iron,
lead, and zinc." Fortunately for those who live on the coasts, this
prediction failed to occur. For now at least.
The letters C, X, and Q would be removed from the alphabet
Getty Images
Back in 1901, Ladies Home Journal released an issue containing an
article that listed nearly three dozen or so predictions that were
expected to occur over the next hundred years. The article has since
made a second wave online as many of the article's predictions have
actually come true. One that most certainly has not, however, concerns
the predicted disappearance of the letters C, X, and Q from the alphabet.
Why make such a ludicrous declaration? Well, according to the Journal,
those letters were thought to be "unnecessary," and newspapers would
soon begin to spell words based on sound. While our alphabet remains
intact, and newspapers aren't exactly encouraging their writers to take
spelling shortcuts, a trend has certainly taken over other aspects of
our communication. While there's no way that, in 1901, anyone could have
predicted that the young whippersnappers of the world would be creating
their own language through instant messaging, text, and social media,
these shortcuts are technically spelling by sound. For example, we often
use "u" rather than "you," or "r" instead of "are," but this language
alteration has yet to become accepted by professionals and publications.
All 26 letters are safe … for now. We an never tell eatly what the
future shall bring.
A shorter work week
Shutterstock
In 1950, the Associated Press released an article about how experts
thought the world would be living in the year 2000. Some of their
predictions are on point, but others simply didn't pan out.
Unfortunately for anyone stuck in the 9-to-5 daily grind, the prediction
that we'd all see a significantly shorter regulated work week before the
turn of the century has not only failed to come true, but seems to have
spun in the opposite direction.
The experts consulted by AP seemed to think that, since labor was built
from nothing over the past fifty years, "it is likely to win greater
acceptance from other elements of American life. This in itself would
tend to eliminate some of the great labor-management struggles and
create a smoother-working American team." So basically, this "expert"
thought that, as a result of gaining the respect of Americans and
American lawmakers, workaday Joes and Janes would finally catch a break.
Boy were they wrong.
To give this expert some credit, their prediction didn't seem so
far-fetched when it was published, as child labor laws, minimum wage,
unemployment compensation, and regulated work weeks were new laws. Why
not reduce the work week after development has capped out, then? It
would make sense but, unfortunately, many companies focus on working
longer and harder, rather than encouraging employees to work smarter.
Example: after claims that they encouraged their employees to work
80-hour weeks, Amazon offered a select few of their employees a 30-hour
week as a trial program, one that came with all of the same benefits as
those who worked 40 hours or more. Naturally, there was a price to pay …
literally. These employees got to spend less time in the office, but
they also were paid less 25 percent less. That's likely to be the only
way the average work week shortens — if we agree to get paid less in
exchange for more time eating lunch at home while watching The Price is
Right.
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Jack Bohn
Apr 17, 2018, 8:50:08 PM4/17/18
to
I really hate people who act so smart when all they've done is read the answer in the back of the book.
--
-Jack
--
-Jack
Quadibloc
Apr 19, 2018, 7:00:36 AM4/19/18
to
What's smart isn't being able to see that past predictions about the
present weren't right.
What's smart is, after having this past experience made visible,
learning from it and being skeptical about today's predictions about the future.
present weren't right.
What's smart is, after having this past experience made visible,
learning from it and being skeptical about today's predictions about the future.
David Johnston
Apr 19, 2018, 12:14:02 PM4/19/18
to
quoted in the first chapter of futurism books to suggest to the reader
that their wild and crazy predictions should not be ruled out for their
implausibility, that because the head of the United States Patent Office
once said "everything that can be invented already has been" that we
should therefore consider it reasonable that we'll be mining the
asteroids by the year 2000 and making computers vastly more intelligent
than humans in every way by 2040.
Of course the catch was that the only quotations in that last list that
were both wrong and real were the ones from Lord Kelvin. My personal
favourite was the mockery of "computers the size of skyscrapers" on
those lists on the grounds that we now have tiny little computers. Yes.
We do. We also have computers the size of skyscrapers. We call them
"server farms".
Johnny1A
Apr 24, 2018, 12:07:39 AM4/24/18
to
Predicting the future is a guessing game at best, esp. on specific time scales. You can find historical parallels to any prediction for plausibility, in turns of either fast or slow.
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