Welcome to the better than predicted 2019
If, like me, you are cool and lucky enough to be Generation X then you probably grew up watching things like Blade Runner, Akira and the Running Man. All of which were set this year but none of which predicted a particularly rosy version of 2019. If you aren’t Generation X then you probably know all this anyway because of the internet and memes and subsequent googling, so no need to explain.
Simple research shows the present is better than the past in nearly every way you can measure it, except for massive dicks looking at their phones as they walk along. Consequently, our lives are better than what was predicted in nearly every scifi book or film written or TV show from my childhood. This was partly because the Cold War made everyone think they were going to die. Even the ever-optimistic Star Trek was a bit downbeat on the current period (they had a third world war starting any moment now) but at least they reckoned it would eventually get better – generally thanks to technology. Because technology is awesome. Even Buck Rogers had wasteland and war but at least in that future things are helped by hot women, spandex and lip gloss. Plus robots. If Princess Ardala or Wilma Deering are around in the future, then I don’t care about post-apocalypse wastelands.
So I’m not going to expound with a ton of statistics about why 2019 is the best time to be alive. Or why next year will be better. Google it. Assuming we don’t wipe ourselves out through war, drown ourselves in plastic or let climate change deniers stay in power for too long, the future looks like it will continue to get better. I think the small percentage of intelligent humans are smarter and more innovative than we give them credit for. Go graphene and quantum computers! Dumb humans get all the attention.
I guess this year has made me think more about this sort of thing because I read and watch a shitload of scifi and have done since the 70s.
AIs, asteroids, robots, viruses, bombs, zombies or totalitarian states are things predicted by loads of my favourite authors. All the above do exist but I don’t see any of them becoming the norm everywhere. T
So with that in mind, HAPPY 2019!!