[radarsat1]

> his book should not be taken as a manual for the future, and rather as a cautionary tale and fantastically creative techno future

Frankly a lot of sci-fi that is intended as the latter is often taken as the former. I feel like there is some kind of lesson there: if you create it, expect someone to take it the wrong way.

If you are depicting a dystopia, be aware that there is a selection of people out there that will consider it a utopia from the point of view of the worst characters in the book and say to themselves, "that sounds awesome, I'm going to build that."

[loxias]

I think you are (depressingly?) correct. c.f. Xi's China. I had no idea... In stories after stories I've heard from friends who escaped I kept thinking "this is just a cheap rip off of 1984".

Of course, none of them had read 1984...

Edit: With apologies for a lack of citation, there is a growing problem in the functional design and layout of government and law enforcement command offices. Upper management had brought in a design firm to make a new counterterrorism center, and they looked to Hollywood as inspiration. As a result, day-to-day operations were impaired, because of course that's not what real work looks like. There's no "huge screen" covering a whole wall or everyone using touchscreens.

[harperlee]

Mind you that showcasing that to potential clients, as sad as it is, might well make up in marketing for the lost efficiencies.

Edit: just saw this is not a private company, but you get the idea: the room is effective in selling an image of spectacular efficiency and oversight.