| I've been reading my way through Project Gutenberg's Science Fiction bookshelf.
http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Science_Fiction_%28Bookshelf%2... Much, maybe most, of this is short stories from the 1950s and 1960s. What stands out for me is the big stuff has not happened and how much all the mundane stuff has changed. Some things that are common (and don't violate known laws of physics) that not happened: * Space travel. * Atomic powered rockets. And airplanes. And cars. And toasters (see next). * Ubiquitous, essentially free power, typically atomic. Mass to energy converters are popular in the stories. Fission/fusion reactors are extremely small and safe in the stories. What is really interesting is how many things that are written into the scenarios as assumptions, just normal life, have changed. * Phones had wires and operators (and rotary dials). They typically had a video feed as well - video is available today but not prevalent for everyday use (no thanks, I don't need to see my boss). * Smoking. Smoking. Smoking. Smoking in closed spaceship systems. More smoking. * All computers are huge. * Typewriters, telegraphs, etc. * Phone booths. Misses: * The concept of a cell phone is totally absent. * Data transfer between computers (e.g. internet) is nearly totally absent. * The computer power and size of todays computers is so much greater than the power of the (huge) computers envisioned is so far different as to be effectively a miss. My conclusion: speculating is fun, but the things that you think will be real in 20-50 years will still be will-o-wisps. On the other hand, all the things you take for granted will be so different that it will make your grandkids laugh at you. |