14 DAY TRIAL // Arthur C. Clarke is one of the most influential Sci-Fi writers of the 20th century, and anyone should recognize his name as the author of mesmerizing 2001: A Space Odyssey. He was also called a futurist, and he made some interesting predictions that seem to have come through.
A quote that is attributed to Niels Bohr works pretty well with all predictions: Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future. Not many physicists, engineers, writers, or any people with insights about potential breakthroughs will make predictions. As the quote says, it's easy to make a fool out of yourself, even if you are in a position to know things that most people don't.
For example, Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, said in 1943 that the world market wouldn't need more than 5 computers. A Western Union internal memo from 1876 said that "this 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." History is full of such predictions, so you would have to be either very confident and knowledgeable person to try to make predictions. Arthur C. Clarke made some interesting ones.
Arthur C. Clarke should have invested in stocks
An interview of the author/futurist Arthur C. Clarke, from an AT&T-MIT Conference, 1976, has been posted on AT&T Tech Channel, on YouTube. You will notice that he doesn't go into details, but he does predict some interesting stuff.
He said that people would be sharing pictures and text with their friends, they will receive news that interests them (some sort of RSS-function), they will be using a high-definition TV screen (his words exactly), check prices from the market, buy books, and all kinds of products.
He also said that newspapers were on their way out, so that's another one that came true. Probably the most interesting prediction is about the smartwatch. He didn't mention apps, but he actually said that people would wear them and that they would be mobile. He's also a little too optimistic about the effects it would have on society, but it's fun to watch anyways.
Enjoy!
