Time for a thread on real Predictions from real visionaries

At the beginning of this decade, Arthur C. Clarke, author of "2001: A Space Odyssey," offered his vision of the most important events to come.

He predicted that, in 2010, a new form of space-based energy would be adopted. By 2011, space flights would become available to the public, and in 2013, Prince Harry will fly in space. In 2016, all existing currencies would be abolished. A universal currency would be adopted based on the "megawatt hour." In 2019, a meteorite would hit Earth. And finally, by 2020, artificial intelligence would reach human levels. looks like he's off by just a couple of years

Walter Cronkite, the legendary CBS newsman who recently passed away, predicted that eventually during this millennium "humankind will establish a viable and authoritative world government that will forever abolish war as a means of settling international conflicts." We get closer and closer every day...

H.G. Wells published many non-fiction books, but his most ambitious set of predictions were set out in The Shape of Things to Come.

The book, published in 1933, predicted that a second world war would begin in the 1940s, and that it would be characterised by a much greater use of aerial combat, devastating the world's major cities. These predictions were largely accurate.

However, Wells went on to say that a second world war would only be ended by a worldwide disease epidemic. After that, he expected a benign dictatorship to rule the world and foster scientific thinking, and eliminate all religion, until a global utopia was established. Only time will tell if he got this bit right

In 1972, the Club of Rome think tank published its book The Limits to Growth It was based on a computer model called World3, which estimated how the increasing human population, and continuing economic growth, would affect the world.

The book predicted that the 21st century would see mass starvation and economic collapse, as humanity exhausted natural resources. The book was roundly slammed by many economists, with particular criticism directed towards the nature of the modelling.

But a study in 2008 showed that the book's predictions of changes in industrial production, food production and pollution had been largely correct: the world is, on the whole, following the course predicted by the "business as usual" version of the World3 model which assumed that our technological capabilities were going to grow at roughly the same rate they had before. if that model follows it course things are going to get very bad very soon! Read that report here

So now I throw this out to you... what real predictions from real visionaries do you know of???



[edit on 8-12-2009 by DaddyBare]