Predicting the future has been going on for centuries, with some way off the wall predictions such as a unified world currency within 50 years (nice idea though) to robotic limbs to replace those that are lost. Since the assignment this week seemed to indicate to find a futurist prediction that came to fruition I came across an article that was published at the turn of the century – the 20th century. Written by Job Elfreth Watkins Jr and published in The Ladies Home Journal in the December 1900 issue “What May Happen in the Next Hundred Years” cited 29 prognostications, some of which occurred while others not so much.
It is the 10th prediction that I call notice to “Man will See Around the World. Persons and things of all kinds will be brought within focus of cameras connected electrically with screens at opposite ends of circuits, thousands of miles at a span. American audiences in their theaters will view upon huge curtains before them the coronations of kings in Europe or the progress of battles in the Orient. The instrument bringing these distant scenes to the very doors of people will be connected with a giant telephone apparatus transmitting each incidental sound in its appropriate place. Thus the guns of a distant battle will be heard to boom when seen to blaze, and thus the lips of a remote actor or singer will be heard to utter words or music when seen to move.” While not overtly specific, this particular wording can be seen to bring to light the World Wide Web along with the inevitable web cam. The success of this passage occurred because the technology to tie countries together electronically came into being as little as 68 years after this was published. The Internet has allowed user to virtually visit any place on the world where an attached computer exists. When web cams were introduced in 1991 it was possible to view a greyscale image, whereas today vibrant color images can be had. Although it wasn’t until 1993 that browsers had the ability to view images it 1991 was the beginning so teleconferencing over the Internet. Another reason web cams (and this prediction can be hailed as a success) is the human need to communicate. From telegraphs to telephones to text chat the need to communicate has been a factor in the acceptance of technologies that allow it be more convenient. Web cams have allowed families separated by great distances to witness babies first steps, soldiers deployed over seas and have even been used to marry couples.
I had found the article, or at least the predictions of the author to be quite amazing considering the article appeared over 100 years ago. It is this foresight that folks have that give others the ideas to try to see if it is possible.
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