Science fiction movies or books usually display impossible scenarios that normally do not happen in the real world. Some of the acts you might see in a sci-fi movie include futuristic technology, teleportation of humans, and many others. None of these things are real, yet.
However, from old movies or books, some of the fiction that was displayed came to life. Some people even say that many of the technologies we see around today are a result of the bright minds of excellent writers in the past. In this article, we will explore some of the technology that was predicted by sci-fi.
How the Predictions Became Reality
Sometimes when authors write a story for a book or movie, they set up meetings with research scientists to learn a few things about science and what the future might hold. They then use what they learn to create stories about futuristic technology.
Scientists also learn from their stories and use some of their ideas to invent technology. For instance, a mobile phone was first shown in the 1960’s Star Trek movie. Not long after, a real mobile phone was produced. With proper advancements, these mobile phones are now used to get no deposit bonus codes in Australia. By the way, with technological advancement, you can now enjoy your favourite games in virtual reality. Such an interactive experience wouldn’t have been possible in the past.
Technologies That Were Correctly Predicted From Sci-Fi
Now there are a lot of technological tools used today that are predictions of old sci-fi. It’s still a mystery how entertaining movies or books are connected to real-life technology. In the next sections, we will discuss some of the special technologies that we use in the world today and the movies that predicted them.
Mobile Phones
Before the production of the first mobile phone, the writer of the popular TV series, Star Trek, had already included the use of a flip phone in the movie. Then, it felt like the normal TV tricks that they normally display in movies.
Some years later, the first flip mobile phone was produced by Motorola. This mobile phone called Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, allowed people to make calls with each other from so many distances apart. Technology has grown past that and has now led to the development of smartphones.
The Evolution of Robots
Before the production of the first known robots, a lot of stories had already been written about it. The word “robot” which is used to describe machines of a certain level of intelligence was first displayed in a sci-fi novel written by Karel Capek in 1920.
In 1938, Lester del Rey wrote another story called Helen O’Loy, where two different men produced a robot called Helen and fell in love with it. After so many sci-fi stories about robots, the first ever real robot was made later that century in the 50s’. It is crazy that a machine as sophisticated as a robot had already been predicted in movies.
Drones: From Sci-Fi Dreams to Reality
The drones used today to take pictures or videos from above were first talked about in a ’60s novel written by Frank Herberts. This book was titled Dune and described the use of drones. Other sci-fi books talked about the use of drones before they were produced.
The first set of drones that were produced were used in military settings to view the environment of an enemy camp. Later on, they legalised the use of drones for other activities like shooting movies. Interestingly, this important military tool was first displayed in a movie.
Video Calls
In the old days, video calls were an impossible phenomenon. No one believed it would be possible to view and talk to someone from another location on a screen. They were only displayed in movies and were tagged as science fiction. A novel that talked about the use of video calls dates as far as back 1911 by an author named Hugo Gernsback.
The book titled “Ralph 124C 41+: A Romance Of The Year 2660” showed a device that was used in video calling people at far distances. Video calling has now become a normal activity in the world. Kudos to the writers who were able to predict it.
Smart Wrist Watches
The display of the first smartwatch was shown in a comic show titled Dick Tracy. This was a very popular show in the 1940s. The creator of the comic Chester Gould made a display where a police detective received a two-way wrist radio. Goulder, who was enthusiastic about the watch, made a video where he once again displayed the watch in 1964.
Getting close to the end of the 20th century, the first ever smartwatch was produced. It was similar to what Chester Gould, who was just a cartoonist, had shown in his comic show. It was a near-perfect prediction.
Wireless Earphones
Listening to music in the past was mainly through the TV or radio. The use of wireless earbuds was not what anyone thought. Some exceptional writers of sci-fi movies and books were however different. An old novel, “Fahrenheit 451”, written by Ray Bradbury in 1953 talks about people plugging seashells into their ears, which mimics the current earbuds that are now used in recent times.
Many years later, the production of wireless earphones happened and has largely evolved. The makers of the earbuds might have made it from their intelligent ideas, but the predictions from the sci-fi writers were impressive.
A Bit More Technological Insights
Many other technology predictions are explained in the table below. The following narratives have foreseen technological marvels that have since become integral parts of our reality.
Sci-Fi Movie/Book | Prediction |
Neuromancer by William Gibson | Internet |
Woman On The Edge Of Time by Marge Piercy | Artificial cosmetic procedures |
Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy | Credit card |
Pygmalion’s Spectacles by Stanley Weinbaum | Virtual reality |
Is It Just Technology?
Aside from technology, other predictions about the world have been made. Some science fiction movies and books have shown that the present actions of humans in the environment will lead to consequences later in the future.
Some of these human actions included practices like deforestation and pollution. Other books also almost perfectly predicted some events that had already happened in the past. In the next sections, we will check out some other non-technology predictions that were made by sci-fi writers.
Global Warming
In a science fiction book titled “The Drowned World” by J. G. Ballard in 1962, he talked about the detriments of human behaviour on the environment. He gave a story about the practices of humans affecting the layers of the atmosphere, leading to the exposure of the earth to dangerous radiations from the sun and causing global warming.
The book talked about how the climate isn’t going to be stable and it is dependent on human factors. Many of the things written in that book are now being manifested in the present day. The weather has gotten harsh and humans are now looking for ways to adapt. This has increased the risk of certain diseases such as cancer.
2020 Olympics
In 1982, Katsuhiro Otomo wrote a book titled Akira. In this book, he predicted that the 2020 Summer Olympic Games were going to happen in Tokyo. Strangely it happened. The biggest surprise of this book was that during the Olympics, an epidemic happened and people around the city protested for the Olympics to be cancelled.
Coincidentally, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world in 2020 which forced the cancellation of the event and caused it to be shifted to 2021. This feels like a mystery that no one understands to date. Katsuihro was just exploring his mind and writing a book and almost all the important events manifested.
Detriments of Technology
Most of the things predicted by these sci-fi writers have now been brought to life. It is safe to say that we now live in a world in which they imagined. Despite the beautiful stories, some might have failed to discuss the detriments of these technologies despite their advantages.
Some of them include:
● Cyberbullying
● Social isolation
● Decreased productivity
● Job displacement
Conclusion
The relationship between sci-fi writers and the occurrence of their predictions might just be a coincidence. All of these predictions just explain how broad the mind can be. With the continuous evolution of science, we expect that more predictions will be brought to life.
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