1987 predictions about the year 2012

**Oblong** · 08-07-2012, 07:44 PM

Were they right? 25 years ago, science thinkers predicted the world in 2012 | Fox News

Interesting stuff in here....

Images 3 and 8, 9 and 14 are pretty good.

**apabruce** · 08-07-2012, 11:37 PM

In general, most of the SF writers thought 25 years in the future would be radically different from the present. They were wrong.

In general, the main difference between 1987 and 2012 is cell phones and mobile computing devices. Automobiles, airplanes, homes, etc. are essentially the same as they were in 1987.

**hueytaxi** · 08-07-2012, 11:51 PM

Yes they have four tires, seats and engines. 1987 Corvette: 240 hp and 6.3 sec 0-60 in a small block. 2012 Corvette base model: 430 hp and 4.1 sec. 0-60 in a small block.

**Yoda** · 08-08-2012, 12:25 AM

An upgrade in HP is pretty irrelevant to most Americans, I would imagine. In fact, people are trying more and more to slow cars down.

**hueytaxi** · 08-08-2012, 01:22 AM

Originally Posted by Yoda

An upgrade in HP is pretty irrelevant to most Americans, I would imagine. In fact, people are trying more and more to slow cars down.

How about better mpg than '87 with the upgrade? But I agree, most people purchase a vehicle as transportation, unlike me, who purchases an experience.
I can't see you in a smart car or a mini van. You look for adventure.

**jj04** · 08-08-2012, 11:11 AM

I liked some of the commentary in here. Some of it was obviously too sci-fi or ambitious, but a lot of it feels accurate given current events. But that's a commentary more for the political forum than Bar & Grill.

**John_Brian_K** · 08-08-2012, 11:17 AM

Originally Posted by Oblong

Were they right? 25 years ago, science thinkers predicted the world in 2012 | Fox News

Interesting stuff in here....

Images 3 and 8, 9 and 14 are pretty good.

GREAT topic! I love stuff like this. Thanks for the link.

**shabba4detroit** · 08-08-2012, 11:40 AM

There seems to have been an obsession with overpopulation. Never thought of Asimov as a wrongheaded partisan jackass before. So there's that too.

**apabruce** · 08-08-2012, 12:05 PM

Originally Posted by hueytaxi

Yes they have four tires, seats and engines. 1987 Corvette: 240 hp and 6.3 sec 0-60 in a small block. 2012 Corvette base model: 430 hp and 4.1 sec. 0-60 in a small block.

If you're arguing there has been improvements between 1987 and 2012, I agree. But that isn't the kind of radical change the SF authors were calling for. If you want to argue significant change, I would think photography would be a better example than cars.

**apabruce** · 08-08-2012, 12:10 PM

Originally Posted by shabba4detroit

There seems to have been an obsession with overpopulation. Never thought of Asimov as a wrongheaded partisan jackass before. So there's that too.

Harry Harrison's 1966 novel Make Room! Make Room! had 1999 as the date where the NY population was over 25 million. It was the basis for the movie Soylent Green. In general people who worry about over population, and I'm one of them, think it will happen sooner than it actually does.

**Oblong** · 08-08-2012, 12:44 PM

The pessimissm struck me as well but I didn't want to go there here...

**Biff Mayhem** · 08-08-2012, 12:49 PM

As it's existence dates back 25 years, you'd think they'd change the "ice cream of the future" reference.

**Mr. Bigglesworth** · 08-08-2012, 03:01 PM

I think that cars are much more reliable and deliver far better power / gas consumption performance than was the case.

That written, I view cars as being incrementally better rather than being dramatically better. There hasn't been an innovation in automotive engineering that has truly been industry changing / revolutionary since 1987 IMO.

**Mr. Bigglesworth** · 08-08-2012, 03:05 PM

Also, most of the predictions are extremely vague.

Some were somewhat close, but thing aren't nearly as dire as suggested.

**Gehringer_2** · 08-08-2012, 03:09 PM

Originally Posted by Mr. Bigglesworth

I think that cars are much more reliable and deliver far better power / gas consumption performance than was the case.

That written, I view cars as being incrementally better rather than being dramatically better. There hasn't been an innovation in automotive engineering that has truly been industry changing / revolutionary since 1987 IMO.

I'd say direct injection engines are a pretty big deal. Probably hasn't been a single other engine innovation worth a 20% improvement in efficiency since Henry Ford. Didn't change the industry, but certainly a huge technological victory against the gods of thermodynamics.

**ROMAD1** · 08-08-2012, 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by shabba4detroit

There seems to have been an obsession with overpopulation. Never thought of Asimov as a wrongheaded partisan jackass before. So there's that too.

Really you can't separate their politics. R. Heinlein predicted a world with a lot of wars, coups, revolutions and more wars...lots of explosions...he was a naval officer with a right wing view of the World.

**ROMAD1** · 08-08-2012, 03:20 PM

Originally Posted by hueytaxi

How about better mpg than '87 with the upgrade? But I agree, most people purchase a vehicle as transportation, unlike me, who purchases an experience.
I can't see you in a smart car or a mini van. You look for adventure.

When i see a Smart Car I want to turn it upside down and set it on fire as an expression of rebellion against PC conformity.

**Mr. Bigglesworth** · 08-08-2012, 03:22 PM

Originally Posted by Gehringer_2

I'd say direct injection engines are a pretty big deal. Probably hasn't been a single other engine innovation worth a 20% improvement in efficiency since Henry Ford. Didn't change the industry, but certainly a huge technological victory against the gods of thermodynamics.

I don't think GDI engines have had much of an impact on society, though they certainly improve the gas consumption to output ratio considerably.

**John_Brian_K** · 08-08-2012, 03:31 PM

Originally Posted by ROMAD1

When i see a Smart Car I want to turn it upside down and set it on fire as an expression of rebellion against PC conformity.

lol

**Mr. Bigglesworth** · 08-08-2012, 04:10 PM

If we want to talk about improvements in products since the 80's, let us talk computers.

One of these computers processes data orders of magnitude more quickly than the other.

**Mr. Bigglesworth** · 08-08-2012, 04:29 PM

To be fair, I should probably show a commercially successful computer released in 1987 as opposed to one released in the early 80's.

**Edman85** · 08-08-2012, 04:30 PM

Interesting that they predict crime would increase dramatically in #5. That has been far from the case, it started falling significantly in the early 90's.

**mtdman** · 08-12-2012, 01:17 AM

What a bunch of pessimists. Dicks.

**Antrat** · 08-12-2012, 10:17 AM

One of the predictions about the future that was very common (though not in this article's list) was that we'd all have video phones.
We've had the technology for a long time but they just never became mainstream. Now we have video chat on the PC/Mac for "free".
Funny how a lot of the predictions turn out to be true, but not in the way we imagined.

/Waiting on the flying car.