Sci-fi predictions
How good are we at predicting future events in scientific-fiction?
Story about Sci-fi predicitons.
Some Predictions tested:
- Space: 1999 - Moon base alpha wasnt completed and the moon didn't get thrown from orbit.
- Year of prediction: broadcast 1975
- Predictor: Gerry Anderson
- Accuracy of prediction: poor
- Further Info: Space: 1999 info at imdb.com
- 2001 a Space Odyssey - no mission to Jupiter, no Hal computer, no contact with aliens.
- Year of prediction: 1968 /1951
- Predictor: Arthur C. Clarke/ Stanley Kubrick
- Accuracy of prediction: terrible
- Further Info: 2001: Internet Resource Archive, 2001 A Space Odyssey at wikipedia.
- 1984 - The world is divided into three countries that include the entire globe: Oceania, Eurasia, and Eastasia. Oceania, is a totalitarian state headed by 'Big Brother', censorship of behaviour and thoughts, perpetual war, ubiquity of CCTV.
- Year of prediction: written in 1948
- Predictor: George Orwell
- Accuracy of prediction: good, much of the book is based on observation rather than prediction.
- Further Info: George Orwell archive at gutenberg australia
- Jules Verne - space rockets, trip to moon
- Year of prediction: 1865
- Predictor: Jules Verne
- Accuracy of prediction: good, much better than journey to center of earth prediction.
- Further Info: List of Jules Verne available from Gutenberg project
- The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy; Robots with genuine people personalaties
- Year of prediction: 1978
- Predictor: Douglas Adams
- Accuracy of prediction: Good, we now have a lift at work (Since 2010) which tells us the doors are closing, the lift is going down, floor 3, etc. Unfortunately does not yet tell us to have a nice day, or share and enjoy so Mr Adams doesn't score 100% for this prediction.
- Robots and computers with genuine people personalities were an innovation introduced by Sirius Cybernetics Corporation in the Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy series of books. Read more about HHGTG technologies here.
- Building of a space elevator on Earth
- Year of prediction: 1979
- Predictor: Arthur C Clarke and others
- Accuracy of Prediction: Poor. No known materials are capable of the strengths necessary, there is currently over excitment about the use of carbon nanotubes or boron nitride nanotubes but unfortunately they are not long enough to reach space (and if they are made longer they will be weaker because of the introduction of defects by growth which should be expected to exist from a knowledge of thermodynamics).
- Other info: First seems to be proposed by Russian Scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in 1895.