Current Events > it's funny how advanced it was thought we'd be by now, in like the 80s

(+) Yeah! (+)

"Human augmentation has reached new heights. Flying cars zoom over the horizon. The internet can be connected to via a brain-to-web interface. The year...is 2011." >_>

Retrofuturism is always fascinating to see/read.

Even as far back as the 50s, people already thought by year 2000 we'd have flying cars be commonplace. Heck, one prediction in the 50s claim we'd have small helicopters be common private vehicles.

But what's even more amusing is the ones showing old stuff mixed with new stuff. Like, there was one prediction about mail being delivered by rocket or rocket powered mailman. They can imagine rockets being commonplace, but didn't imagine physical mail would be obsolete in that distant future. There was another image showing people in flying cars leaving an opera dressed in 50s era clothing, despite the image depicting an event happening in the year 2000. Not to mention that opera might not be really the thing to see anymore by then.
Or one that shows a futuristic house.....with a black and white TV. All that tech advancement and you still think the TV would remain black and white?

Yeah, the people back then were very optimistic lol. The Jetsons aired in 1962 and was set 100 years in the future... Yeah, I don't think we're reaching that tech level by 2062.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/fd280a88.jpg

Idiodracy seems like its a true glimpse into our future

In 1900, we could only fly with hot air balloons.
Roughly 70 years later, we landed on the moon.

You can see why people thought by 2000, we'd be living on Mars. Technology progressed extremely rapidly from the early-mid 20th century.

JohnEtrav posted...

Idiodracy seems like its a true glimpse into our future

They really did predict the future. Even the crocs

I remember in 1990, I read something that said humans would land on Mars in just 10 years. Not just rovers. Actual astronauts walking around and building a base I guess. I'm pretty sure back then, whoever wrote that, likely thought that by 2025, Mars would be fully colonized. And maybe we would have already reached another solar system

Shadowrun 2ed had a bunch of predictions other than the fantasy race manifestation. You can look through the shadowtech book just a handful saw the light of day. No datajacks, we went right past the cyberdecks. Some augs have happened but no cybereyes or cyberarms
I kinda remember brain implants that was like computers (might happen)

As someone who wasn't really ever into the Fallout games, until I actually saw some comments on it (my primary experience with the game being whatever top comments were there of two creators, one of which was Spiffing Brit), I thought it was just an alternate ending to the Cold War.

It was pretty much in the last year I learned that, oh, Fallout is like in the 2050s-2150s. And isn't just a hyperdeveloped version of a Cold War gone spicy.

Twinklestar posted...

Even as far back as the 50s, people already thought by year 2000 we'd have flying cars be commonplace. Heck, one prediction in the 50s claim we'd have small helicopters be common private vehicles.

https://youtube.com/shorts/JrNh_jY4rko?si=GeQghpIdkFYm3mAT

Remember how we got covid instead of neon night riders in 2020?

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


I know we could theoretically travel to Mars right now, but actually living there and colonizing it?

i bet one thing we really, really didn't anticipate was face off nazism being back on the menu

Zikten posted...

I remember in 1990, I read something that said humans would land on Mars in just 10 years. Not just rovers. Actual astronauts walking around and building a base I guess. I'm pretty sure back then, whoever wrote that, likely thought that by 2025, Mars would be fully colonized. And maybe we would have already reached another solar system

We already have the technology to do this. We don't have the will, however.

(Or the money)

What was up with deir fascination on flying cars?

People nowadays know dat would be a bad idea lol

I remember seeing some things saying that we would have interstellar space travel by 2000.

And where are the hoverboards?!

Ivynn posted...

I know we could theoretically travel to Mars right now, but actually living there and colonizing it?

Yes.

We could build an orbital space station for manufacturing purposes, colonize the moon for resources (ship it back to the space station via mass drivers, instead of launching everything from Earth).

Then build large ships for colonization.

And colonize the Valles Marineris floor or the Hellas Planitia impact crater. Both have the highest atmospheric pressure on Mars, due to their extreme depth below the Martian surface. They'd have to just build into the valley or crater walls, or live underground.

Although the Valles Marineris is probably the better choice as it might have groundwater available.

And we'd power the colony with a nuclear reactor and solar panels (panels built on site with local materials, the reactor sent up from Earth).

Which again, is all technology we already have.

It's just the initial cost would be massively expensive.

I feel like there's always a belief that 10 or 20 years from now will be so much more advanced than the current times. A decade is a long time.

Every time people talk about flying cars I think of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzm6pvHPSGo

Tom_Joad posted...

Yes.

We could build an orbital space station for manufacturing purposes, colonize the moon for resources (ship it back to the space station via mass drivers, instead of launching everything from Earth).

Then build large ships for colonization.

And colonize the Valles Marineris floor or the Hellas Planitia impact crater. Both have the highest atmospheric pressure on Mars, due to their extreme depth below the Martian surface. They'd have to just build into the valley or crater walls, or live underground.

Although the Valles Marineris is probably the better choice as it might have groundwater available.

And we'd power the colony with a nuclear reactor and solar panels (panels built on site with local materials, the reactor sent up from Earth).

Which again, is all technology we already have.

It's just the initial cost would be massively expensive.

Huh. TIL!

HighSeraph posted...

I feel like there's always a belief that 10 or 20 years from now will be so much more advanced than the current times. A decade is a long time.

For the majority of the 20th century, the belief wasn't a belief, it was reality.

In 1900, we had no cars and no planes, we had no television and radio had just been invented (give or take 5 years), refrigeration outside of iceboxes didn't exist.

In 1920, we had cars and airplanes were new. We had commercial radio. Electricity was much more widespread, so light bulbs were much more common.

In 1940, we had cars and commercial airlines. We had radio and television and refrigerators. Computers were about to be invented.

In 1960, we had cars and jets, we had radio and color television, computers were in major companies, we were in the space race and would reach the moon in that decade. The computers of the mid-1940s (that took up an entire room, needed massive A/C units and a large staff) now were pocket calculators.

In 1980, we had all this. And VCRs and CDs. The internet started up around this timeframe. We had satellite communications. Personal computers were about to become widespread. And the computers used to send men to the Moon... fit into something the size of a pocket calculator.

In 2000, we had all of the above. Digital media was about to replace physical media. High-speed internet was about to roll out. This was also the decade that saw the smartphone come out.

...

So it's not really a belief.

Technically, right now, we're going backwards.

unfortunately, advancement is expensive and society shifted into massively enriching like 8 people instead of benefiting society at large.

NoxObscuras posted...

They really did predict the future. Even the crocs

Idiocracy is actually credited for the success of crocs. The company that made them was going under at the time and the studio was able to buy all these dumb af looking shoes for cheap that really fit the vibe of the movie. The manufacturer got a big cash injection and was able to right the course to maje their product a success. If Idiocracy never was made, then crocs would have faded away into obscurity

There was a topic made a while back showing things that people over a century ago thought we would have and it was pretty interesting. There were a lot of misses, but some of the hits were pretty cool.

The Bugs Bunny cartoon where Elmer wakes up in 1990 gave him a laser gun.

I'm still upset nothing in Neon Night Riders is real. Not even pointless gaps in the highway

ImAMarvel posted...

Oh I absolutely love shit like this.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9379893/Snaps-reveal-people-past-thought-future-like.html

There are even magazines about it back then.

https://blog.ferrovial.com/en/2018/11/retrofuturism-highways/

Wish I can read them, sounds like they'd have a lot of fun predictions to see.

(There's also one more not mentioned in the article, called Mechanix Illustrated, which considering the similar name, is probably just another magazine made by the company who made Modern Mechanix, just like how Popular Science and Popular Mechanics are too similar to not be made by the same company.)

Helicopters are flying cars.

Twinklestar posted...

Retrofuturism is always fascinating to see/read.

I love that art style. Basically what if the 50s or 60s were set in the future?

Peter Thiel sucks but he said something interesting in an interview. Technology stopped advancing at a massively rapid pace through physical objects and innovation instead started shifting digitally. One of the last groundbreaking physical advancements in the consumer space were smart phones.

That's why we have this lame future with AI as the next big thing instead of revolutionary new inventions that change how we live day-to-day.

What's weird is they keep doing it.

We've been predicting the future is a good place for 70 years, probably more, and we still haven't fucking learned.

Speculative futurism in the 60s would have never predicted that people in the year 20xx would desire so much to live in a reality based on 18xx.

A_Good_Boy posted...

Speculative futurism in the 60s would have never predicted that people in the year 20xx would desire so much to live in a reality based on 18xx.

More like 19xx for me, 18xx is too far back lol.

Honestly I wouldn't mind going back to the 1985-2005 era of my country. So many things from that era that I want to be able to taste/experience for the first time, or taste/experience again.

Twinklestar posted...

Honestly I wouldn't mind going back to the 1985-2005 era of my country. So many things from that era that I want to be able to taste/experience for the first time, or taste/experience again.

That was a good mix of tech still feeling advanced without having it invade every part of your life.

The downside to some of that period is not having the internet for downtime at an office job sounds absolutely miserable.

Solar_Crimson posted...

I remember seeing some things saying that we would have interstellar space travel by 2000.

Star trek first warp drive 2063. We got time. 38 years.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/8/8a058c74.jpg

Is... Is that an arrow pointing to where the Coca-Cola is? Or just a really weirdly-shaped cola factory?

vycebrand2 posted...

Star trek first warp drive 2063. We got time. 38 years.

I feel like Star Trek gets a pass by virtue of the format and era.

I've no doubt it never occurred to them that in the day when 2063 didn't seem so distant anymore, people would still be watching their show. It probably didn't occur to them that anyone would ever be able to watch it except on the date it aired.

I give less of a pass to 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was an actual novel.

Sephiroth_C_Ryu posted...

As someone who wasn't really ever into the Fallout games, until I actually saw some comments on it (my primary experience with the game being whatever top comments were there of two creators, one of which was Spiffing Brit), I thought it was just an alternate ending to the Cold War.

It was pretty much in the last year I learned that, oh, Fallout is like in the 2050s-2150s. And isn't just a hyperdeveloped version of a Cold War gone spicy.

It's funny but I thought this too. It always seemed like the games were in the past but with differences, but then I couldn't tell why so many things progressed like they did until I found out that the 'differences' happened but this took place hundreds of years later. So it was just tech that progressed differently rather than all of this happening in the 1960s.

ReturnOfDevsman posted...

I feel like Star Trek gets a pass by virtue of the format and era.

I've no doubt it never occurred to them that in the day when 2063 didn't seem so distant anymore, people would still be watching their show. It probably didn't occur to them that anyone would ever be able to watch it except on the date it aired.

I give less of a pass to 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was an actual novel.

The 2063 date comes from Star Trek: First Contact, which is a film that came out in 1996.

rick_alverado posted...

The 2063 date comes from Star Trek: First Contact, which is a film that came out in 1996.

No excuse then.

Pow_Pow_Punishment posted...

That was a good mix of tech still feeling advanced without having it invade every part of your life.

The downside to some of that period is not having the internet for downtime at an office job sounds absolutely miserable.

You got up and went to the break-room and read a magazine, or chatted with other employees. Or ate a snack/lunch.

Or took a "smoke" break.

Or walked over to a colleague's desk and talked for a half-hour.

I always chuckle when I watch The Transformers: The Movie (1986) when the narrator says it is the year two thousand fiiive

Tom_Joad posted...

You got up and went to the break-room and read a magazine, or chatted with other employees. Or ate a snack/lunch.

Or took a "smoke" break.

Or walked over to a colleague's desk and talked for a half-hour.

Sounds horrifying!

I know like flying cars are not a thing but if you said wed have a little wireless phone that was also a camera and could access an over the air network to obtain the entirety of human knowledge and it was affordable and everyone had one that would be the sort of thing that seemed like sci-fi back then.