Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2005 08:12:38 -0700 (PDT)
From: Drew Bittner <drewbitt at yahoo.com>
Subject: [WSFA] Re: Alternative reality v SF
To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at WSFA.org>

--- Michael Walsh <MJW at press.jhu.edu> wrote:
> > drewbitt at yahoo.com 4/28/2005 7:48:31 PM >>>
> >What I think is great is that the future *has*
> >arrived, but it isn't in any way how we thought it
> >would look.
>
> Science fiction as a predictor of the future has a
> fairly poor track
> record.  I think what it has been successful at
> doing is saying "There
> is a future and it will be different.  Hold onto
> your hats, it's going
> to be a wild ride."
>
> mjw
>

I absolutely agree.
SF can postulate multiple potential futures but it
will never map the way things *will* turn out. But so
many things we have now that we take for granted are
yesterday's pie-in-the-sky dreams-- would we have had
flip-up cellphones if not for Star Trek?
Okay, I've written down enough observations worthy of
a loud "duh!" in this posting for one day.
:)
Drew

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