Isaac Asimov’s 50 year old predictions for 2014

  Isaac Asimov is regarded as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. He wrote sci-fi classics such as I, Robot, Foundation, and The Caves of Steel....


 
isaacasimovIsaac Asimov is regarded as one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. He wrote sci-fi classics such as I, Robot, Foundation, and The Caves of Steel.

Asimov also made a lot of technology based predictions. In 1964, he made several predictions about how the world would be in 50 years. Now that its 2014, it’s time to asses some of them.

For one, Asimov predicted that we will be able to see and hear people we call. He was spot on- because that sounds a lot like Facetime to me.

Another predication made was that Robots will not be common or very good, but will be in existence. This is definitely true- we have robots, but they aren’t used in the general public, and most aren’t even past production stages

Asimov said there would be 6 and a half billion people living. He was very close- the world population is at 7.1 billion. Another prediction of Asimov’s was that electroluminescent panels will be in common use. We most definitely use those- electroluminescent panels are the panels used in flastscreen tvs, signs, lighting, and retail displays.

However, Asimov wasn’t right about everything. For example, Asimov thought that appliances by now wouldn’t have electric cords, but would instead run on long-lived batteries.

Regardless, Asimov still had an impressive predication rate solidifying himself as one of the greatest thinkers of his time.