Avon and Dayna, Blakes 7: Powerplay (1980)
"The Book of Predictions", published in 1981, was written by "The Book of Lists'" editors, David Wallechinsky, Amy Wallace and Irving Wallace. This volume was a collection of prognostications by people in various different professions: authors, scientists etc. would extrapolate their knowledge and imagination to try and guess what would happen in the near - and indeed, distant - future. Another section of the book would deal with some of the most successful predictions (Morgan Robertson's foreboding of the Titanic disaster etc.). Another section dealt with the mental outpourings of some of the most noted psychics and mediums at that time. These forecasts usually stretched from c.1982 to the first few years of the 21st century so it is now a prime time to assess their quality and accuracy (or lack of!) as their claimed date of occurrence will have long since passed. My comments are in red.
Background: (from "The Book of Predictions")
On her first day at a new job in 1969, Texas seeress Bertie Catchings gave a psychis reading to a co-worker. Her prediction came true that night. She began making pyschic forecasts in local newspapers and on radio, achieving a sonsistently high degree of accuracy that propelled her into the national spotlight. She writes sever columns on psychic phenomena and is organising a statewide "psychic detective squad" in Texas. Her son, John Catchings, is also a psychic.
Predictions
1982-1983
Libya will pose a threat to France as well as English-speaking nations in Africa. Armed with Society weapons, Libya's leader Muammar el-Qaddafi, will lead his country into several major conflicts. He will give the Soviets a naval base on the Mediterranean.
[Libya seemed to be distancing itself from western Politics at about this time; I can find no records of any Soviet agreements, or conflicts in the area at this time]
Argentina and Chile will dispute ownership of several small islands. Peru and Bolivia will side with Argentina.
[In 1982, Argentina invaded the UK's Falkland Islands; Peru proposed a peace plan according to Wikipedia, with Chile providing
assistance to the UK Forces. ]
[In 1978, 150+ years of tension over three islands in the Beagle Channel nearly resulted in war between
Chile and Argentina. This conflict was only resolved in 1984 after the intervention of the Pope. ]
1984
New energy sources will be discovered when scientists learn to convert electricity into ultra-high frequency magnetic forces for space travel.
[No]
Iraq and Iran will declare war on each other.
[This occurred in 1980]
1985
Norway and Finland will exchange fire in the Barents sea over fishing rights.
[I can find no reference to this]
A bloody conflict will erupt between India and Pakistan.
[I can find no reference to this: but ref.3 below credits this as a "hit"]
Syria and Israel will continue to be military hot spots, but Israel and the PLO will achieve peace.
[Israel did not achieve peace with the PLO in 1985; quite the contrary - the Israeli Airforce bombed the PLO Tunis HQ in October of that year!]
Road maps will actually be computers, built into the dashboard of your car. If you get lost in a city, you'll punch your present cross streets and destination. The map will light up in large, bright letters and lines, giving directions even a child could follow.
[A precursor of GPS systems in cars? If so, about two decades too early!]
1986
An extra television channel will be used to give computer information that outdoes the Yellow Pages. If you need to find a mechanic near your home or your hotel, all you have to do is feed the question into the computer, and your television screen will light up with the addresses and telephone numbers of shops in your area.
[The UK had a "similar" TV-based system called Teletext, which started in the 1970s, although the above information does seem reminiscent of the WWW- but sadly about 5 years or so too soon!]
Space stations will be in orbit, and the people who live there will begin to manufacture prefabricated space cities.
[The Russians have had Space Stations in orbit since the early 1970s, and Mir was launched in 1986. The US declared in 1984 that a space station would be in orbit within "a decade" - another prediction that wasn't right!]
1990
Everyone will have a portable telephone that can be carried in a purse or pocket. The telephone book will be a minicomputer.
[Mobile phones were first introduced about this time nut will not become widespread for many more years.]
Near the Arctic Circle, a lost tribe will be found. Its members will know of a secret passage through the ice to a place deep within the earth where beautiful gardens flourish. Though few in number, these people have lived comfortably for many centuries.
[!]
The Titanic - salvaged from the North Atlantic and restored - will be made into a museum.
[The Titanic was found in 1985, and salvaging of artefacts from her shattered hulk began in 1987. No attempt to raise the ship has been made to date]
1992
An underground railroad tunnel will be constructed in the US between Chicago and Dallas. "Bullet" trains travelling over 100mph will carry passengers as well as freight.
[!]
In the Aleutians, on the island of Adak, a cave will be found filled with gold. A young boy with curly blond hair will find it and claim he is the reincarnation of the person who put it there.
[?]
Several satellite stations, floating above major cities, will convert solar energy into microwaves which will be beamed back to earth. Here the waves will be converted into conventional electrical energy.
[Not as far as I know!]
1995
Space miners from earth - searching for iron, nickel, lead and other metals - will discover instruments and mining tools left not only on the moon but on several asteroids. They were abandoned by space miners from other worlds.
[wrong!]
A presently unknown hybrid plant similar to rice will be grown in seawater. It will be rich in nutrients and become a staple food popular around the world.
[??]
A dam will be built across the Bering Strait between Alaska and the Soviet Union.
[Incorrect; anyway, the Soviet Union ceased to exist in 1991]
1996
In a desert area of Southern California, a ship will be unearthed that holds a great store of pearls.
[??]
1998
A shiny armor resembling that worn in battle long ago will again be used by soldiers. It will give them ten times their normal strength. This armour will be equipped with laser weapons that can be discharged by merely lifting an arm or pointing a finger. It will also have built-in laser deflectors to protect against attack.
[If this has happened, I haven't heard about it yet!]
2000
People will be living up to 150 years. By this time, we will be only a decade away from finding a cure for every know illness of the 20th century.
[I wish!]
You will be able to walk across the Atlantic Ocean. There will be many cities on this ocean, linked by flexible bridges.
[No!]
Parents will no longer worry when their children get lost in public places. Each child will wear a tag - resembling a watch or bracelet- which is tuned in to the parent's matching tag. Either the child can be signalled to return or the parents can tune in and see as well as hear what the child is doing. People who let their pets out of the yard will have a similar device to keep them from getting lost or stolen.
[I "suspect" that this is true, and the year is about right]
Space cities will be built. They will be complete with trees, houses, lakes and mountains. Independant of earth, they will be supplied by mines on the moon and nearby asteroids, and they will support themselves by selling solar energy, unique manufactured goods, scientific information and astronomical photographs.
[Wrong; this prediction is highly reminiscent of the imaginative work created by space artists in the 1970s]
I do not foresee disarmament. War weapons will continue to proliferate. The fear of nuclear war will always be present, but such a war will never actually come to pass.
[Correct - so far]
Wars of the distant future will be fought largely by robots, on electronic battlefields, hopefully far away from the planet earth.
[Wrong]
Background: (from "The Book of Predictions")
Born in 1952, Dennis Conkin is a talented psychic who lives in San Francisco, Calif., where he lectures and teaches.
Predictions
1982
A woman will begin rising to a position of great power in China. SHe will play an influential role in China's relationship with developing nonaligned countries. Her skill and her contributions will affect positively China's stature as a superpower- and will help shape China's foreign policy throughout the decade.
[Not as far as I can verify.]
There will be a great turmoil in France. The domestic political situation will be very volatile, and major chnages will occur in the president's domestic cabinet.
[No?]
A scandal will involve the top echeclons of the US military and defense establishment. An important official will be compromised by an aide. The aide will be discovered releasing information to persons whose interests and sympathies do not lie with the US.
[No?]
There will be an incident involving Israel and the atom bomb. Israel will either publicly test an atomic bomb or admit to having one.
[France admitted to helping Israel for two years in the late 1950s to design an atom bomb: the CIA reported to President Johnson in 1968 that they thought Israel already had a bomb; Israel readied a dozen bombs for use in October 1973; and a suspected detonation occurred in September 1979. See Reference 4.]
1983
Inflation stabilizes at 23%.
US Inflation was actually in the 3-4% range.
Unemployment holds at 12%.
US Unemployment was actually in the 8-10% range and falling by the year's end.
The economy continues to suffer. Medium-sized businesses face severe difficulties due to rising costs and decreasing production. One company - a household name - bites the dust.
[No?]
The USSR and China are engaged in a fierce border battle. The Soviets, no match for the swift Chinese, are stung by a quick defeat.
[No?]
A devastating explosion wracks Chicago. Many fatalities result.
[Not as far as I can ascertain.]
The leader of an established religious denomination resigns, red-faced, when revelations about his unusual and very kinky sex life surface.
[No?]
There is continued revolution and the threat of full-scale war in Central America, particularly Guatemala. Mexico offers troops, and so does Cuba. America is vilified and asked to stay out.
[This is from Reference 5: "On August 8, 1983, Rios Montt was deposed by his own Minister of Defense, Gen. Oscar Humberto Mejia Victores, who succeeded him as de facto president of Guatemala. Mejia justified his coup, saying that "religious fanatics" were abusing their positions in the government and also because of "official corruption." Seven people were killed in the coup, although Rios Montt survived to found a political party (the Guatemalan Republic Front) and to be elected President of Congress in 1995 and 2000. Awareness in the United States of the conflict in Guatemala, and its ethnic dimension, increased with the 1983 publication of I, Rigoberta Menchu, An Indian Woman in Guatemala.]"
Author Jane Roberts has a book on The New York Times best-seller list.
[No?]
1984
Phyllis Schlafly runs for Congress.
[She didn't, at least not according to Wikipedia]
Background: (from "The Book of Predictions")
At age 23, Ann Fisher attended a spiritualist church meeting and was singled out as she sat in the audience. She was told that she was destined to work in the psychic field. Now a resident of Albany, N.Y., Fisher specializes in psychic counselling and hypnosis. She sholds bachelor's and master's degrees in education and psychology.
Predictions
1982
All nine planets in our solar system will move into alignment. Their gravitational pull will cause great storms on the sun, altering solar wind direction on earth and reducing the speed of our planet's rotation. This will trigger some very destructive earthquakes.
In 1982 alll nine of the planets were on the same side of the Sun, scattered over some 90 degrees, in what scientists call a "Grand Alignment". No great cataclysms occurred as far as I can see, or recall. In fact, the tidal influence on the sun by the planets would be negligible due to their great distance and relative masses involved!
1983-1985
A disaster may strike one of the Rocky Mountain states. I see an experimental nuclear breeder chain reacting and exploding. Many lives will be lost, and some of the best scientific minds in America will also perish. This tragedy can be prevented.
Not as far as I can see.
1989
There will be a revival of moats like those around medieval castles. They will be used to provide security for new government buildings and for the homes of the wealthy
If this happened, it didn't catch on!
1995
In the far south of Egypt, where the Nile River is fast-moving, through a series of clifflike gorges will be found a series of rectangular rooms. Ancient records of metals, medicine and technology will be discovered. It will be a British find. This complex provides a refuge when those in power sought to escape war and famine.
I can find no record of this miraculous "find".
2000
The cap stone of the Great Pyramid of Giza will be accidentally discovered by sophisticated electronic satellites, which are presently used for spying.
Clothing will follow more of a unisex trend. Garments of tomorrow will be woven with metal fibres. These will remain cool in the summer and retain body heat in the winter. Clothes will be flash-cleaned by ultrasonic or electrostatic charges, which will be quicker and more efficient than conventional soap and water.
The secrets of Atlantis, which are buried beneath the Great Pyramid and the Sphinkx in Egypt, will be found and revealed to the world. They are in a sealed room that is a time capsule containing objects used by the Atlanteans, as well as records of their history and destruction. We will then learn why the Great Pyramid of Giza was built and what it was used for.
We will witness an underground revolution, with skyscraper type buildings placed deep in the earth and sealed against water. This type of architecture will create a new industry with vast job markets as such complexes will be constructed worldwide.
All wrong as far as I can determine.
Background: (from "The Book of Predictions")
Having changed from a skeptic and debunker to a confirmed advocate of psychic methods in 1960, Beverly Jaegers describes herself as someone who has experienced "no fall on the head", has "no special powers," but is "just a person who tried and found she could do it." Her predictions and articles on psychic subjects have appeared in numerous magazines. She is director of the U.S. PsiSquad, the only licensed psychic detective agency in America, and is herself a licensed St.Louis County private investigator
Predictions
1982
Laser surgery will replace the scalpel and revolutionise the field of dermatology, and then general surgery.
No
A naturally derived tranquilizer will be marketed. It will be nonaddictive and nonharmful. Dosage will be adjusted to create a natural "high", remove pain and tension, or induce sleep.
No ??
Both speech and thought will become predictable through computer sensors, and because of this persons with aphasia, stroke or speech problems can be helped to learn or relearn to speak and understand. This will be extended eventually to the teaching of second and third languages by the creation of proper brain-wave programs during sleep.
No
It will be discovered that a psionic weapon has already been developed and tested by the Soviets, and a prototype may soon be placed in orbit around the earth.
No, although it was claimed in the 1981 "The Unexplained" magazine that the Soviet military was experimenting with Psi some years before.
1982-1985
The educational burdedn will revert more and more to the home, with the advent of special TV "school channels" which young people will watch for daily education. Small consoles attached to each set will allow students to ask and answer questions and take tests electronically.
No
1982-1989
Single family housing will become less and less common in the coming years. The rising cost of construction and repair, plus interest rates on loans, will put these dwellings beyond the reach of most wage earners.
No ??
1983
New waste-treatment innovations will replace refuse dumps and incinerators, educing all refuse to reusable, nonpolluting fertilisers, mulch and other useful items.
No ??
An implant device will replace the injection of insulin and insulin-stimulating drugs by triggering the body's production of natural insulin. Diabetes will also be detected by the device and the device implanted in the newborn, and it will also be used for older diabetics.
No ?
Liver transplants will become feasible during the mid-1980s, and a new substance will be found to prevent tissue-rejection problems once and for all.
Liver transplants were first performed in the 1960s, although it didn't become recognised as a standard clinical procedure until the 1980s.
1983-1984
For a time, New York and two other large US cities will become armed wastelands with inner-city warfare and strife. Parts of these cities will be barricaded off by the National Guard.
No ??
1984
Whole eye transplants will become reality by this time and common by 1986. A "bionic" eye will also enable most blind people to regain full vision.
No
Parapsychology will become an accepted subject at all major universities. Psi labs will be set up in leading cities to combat the threat of Soviet psionics, which will be in the world's headlines in the 1980s, and to explore this newest evolution of man and his mind.
No. Parapsychology isn't even mainstream in 2007 !
1984-1986
Virtually all cancers will be instantly arrested, cured and eventually eliminated through a reprogramming of the DNA in the individual body cells. This technique will be perfected by the late 1980s.
No ??
1985
Student enrollment in colleges will hit a new low, and many of the top colleges and universities will compete for enrollees, offering new concepts in education, low tuition and easy grading.
??
Most present medications will be outmoded. Tiny devices, implanted in body or brain, will replace prescription drugs. Natural body secretions, hormons and secretions of presently unknown types will be utilized as natural "drugs", eliminating the need for chemicals.
No
1989
It will be dsicovered that for some persons it is possible to stimulate cells and grow a new body organ through a process that will be called "electronic biostimulation". Eventually, new bone structures and even entire new limbs will be grown by using this process.
No
1993
"Single-cell" diagnosis centers will be installed in many cities. These will look like a large telephone booth. People will enter and place an epidermal cell from a finger or the tongue in a receptacle. A series of several dozen instant diagnosis tests will be performed, and within 60 seconds a central computer will flash the results of the physical checkup on a viewer.
No
1999
The wastelands of Utah and other seemingly barren areas will be reclaimed through the discovery of heretofore unknown water sources for irrigation.
??
Background: (from "The Book of Predictions")
A lifelong devotee of stargazing, Andrew Reiss was fascinated by astronomy at age 4 but turned to astrology at 13, where his interest has remained. Since entering the field as a professional psychic in 1954, his forecasts have appeared in diverse publications. He is regional advisor to the International Psychic Registry.
Predictions
1985
We will benefit from a satellite security system in space that will maintain vigilance over radioactivity and other accumulations of pollutants in the air and water on our planet
Nothing of the kind happened.
The U.S will change its political structure radically in the years ahead. There will be bloody uprisings, and this country will suffer great upheaval during the next 30 years.
Nothing has happened so far, thought this prediction has until 2015 to run..
1989
Nuclear weapons will be used in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Soon afterwards a group of scientists will discover a way to enutralize all atomic warheads by molecular frequency dissassociation.
No.
Neutron rays will be harnessed to save lives rather than decimate the population. New ways will be found to neutralize neutron-ray weapons, and an electronic barrier will act as a shield around cities to defend them against air and land attacks by enemy troops.
No.
1990
Most jobs entailing assembly or mass production by humans will be eliminated. Factories will be closed, and a new technology will arise from the user of laser and light energies.
Partially right. Mass production seems to be performed largely by robots these days, although, at least in the UK anyway, this was obvious at the end of the 1970s/beginning of the 1980s, so this was known about at the time of the "prediction".
1991
I see electronic master robots running work operations, and many past occupational duties will become obsolete by this time. Mots of us will live to see a huge technological empire of electronic wizardry and ultrasonic generators to power future industry.
I feel that this is partially right, apart from the "ultrasonic" reference, but again, this was obvious many years before.
1991-2010
Plans will be announced to carry out mass evacuations around the world to escape air and water pollution, which has become so serious by this time that human life can no longer exist on the earth's surface. Safety will be found deep in the interior of the planet, where cities of the future will be built.
Completely wrong....
Background: (from "The Book of Predictions")
Internationally known psychic Francie Steiger is one of the few psychics who has had her claims tested by Psychological Stress Evaluator (PSE) instrumentation. Steiger is based in Arizona. Her predictions appear regularly in books and magazines.
Predictions
1982
Freak weather and high energy costs will shut down factories in the eastern US and send thousands fleeing for their lives. Unused, apparently valueless desert land in the Southwest will increase in value almost 100 times in the 1980s as a result of their mass migration.
Nothing of the kind happened.
1983
A new technique to kill cancerous tissue will be developed based on the discovery that cancer cells cannot adjust to extreme temperature changes. In this treatment, the cancer and areas immediately surrounding it will be chemically frozen and immediately reheated. Normal body tissue will have the ability to adjust to these rapid changes, so it will not be affected. Only the defective cancer cells will die.
Not true.
Garbage will be converted into full when an economical process is developed to transform trash into natural gas for everyday use. It will be used first in factories, then in homes. Recycling will become a natural way of life for us.
If this had been predicted for the 1990s, it would have been an impressive "hit"!
1984
Most businesses will adopt a four day workweek (10 hours a day) to conserve energy.
Nope.
Aspirin and other pain relievers will become a memory. Acupinching and acurubbing of specific areas will be proved to be superior pain relievers with no adverse side effects. Even relief from the pain of arthritis and various diseases will be afforded by these methods.
Nope.
Cars will float on cushions of air and will make present asphalt highways almost obsolete. Tree-lined grassy lanes will replace many roads and freeways. Air-supported golf carts will be invented first.
Nope.
1986
Vitamin therapy by injection will be found to be highly effective in combating disease. We will, through a staplerlike device that barely punctures the skin, inject ourselves at home.
Nope.
1987
A by-product of NASA research will be a clear insulating material that can be sprayed over both the interior and exterior of our homes to render the completely weatherproof.
Nope.
1988
Medical researchers will discover that the balancing of our glandular secretions, first chemically and later through the brain's subconscious mechanisms, create a natural resistance to viruses, germs and diseases. Hypnosis will be seen as a powerful preventative tool in altering glandular secretions and programming the body more positively.
Nope.
Fruit will become the main ingredient of cosmetics. Dangerous additives and chemicals in lotions, creams and cosmetics of all types will be exposed and eliminated.
I'm tempted to give this a partial hit, although it does seem a few years early..
The U.S. Supreme Court will allow a school prayer that is neither addressed to any particular deity not an admission that one exists.
?? Given the extreme religious fervour in some US States, I would suspect that this is not true.
1990
Homes and large buildings will be built underground: whole cities will exist underground. The atmosphere will be medically controlled, providing what we need and eliminating pollution. Weather will also be controlled, and particular areas will offer a range of temperatures for the individual's body-comfort needs. Outdoor, above-ground playgrounds will be created for naturalists who wish to "brave" the dangers, both natural and man-made.
Nope.
1991
Families will soon be watching "holovision" instead of TV. Life-size, three-dimensional pictures will take the place of today's picture tube in the home.
Nope.
1992
Pollution will be a thing of the past because laws will force industry to use only clean energy (solar and electromagnetic), thus eliminating waste and noxious emissions from our environment and future.
Nope.
1993
Auto repairs will virtually be eliminated when "memory metal" is invented. Dents, bent fenders, even major wrecks will be restored by applying extreme heat to the car's surface. The new material will snap back into its original moulded shape.
Nope.
Tiny bubbles of plastic and other buoyant ,aterials will be sealed into the lining of children's swimsuits and other playwear. The lives of countless little tots will be saved each year by these unsinkable garments.
Nope.
1994
The average human life-span will be extended to 120 years through improved dietary habits, computer blood checks, and a miraculous technique which eliminates stress and keeps the body chemically balanced. Lab-grown body parts and cell stimulants will repair and replace those not properly functioning.
Nope.
1995
Vegetarianism will be adopted on a worldwide basis, and meat eating will come to be considered regressive behaviour. Also, consumption of excess protein will be recognized as a major culprit in the body's inability to ward off disease.
Nope.
1996
All major diseases, including cancer and heart disease, will be eliminated when the mind is recognized as being the controller of the body's immunological defence against various germs and bacteria. Weekly computer checks, in which a drop of blood is analyzed, will enable us to detect chemical imbalances and correct them before they lead to disorders of the system which cause disease. This will be done by computer card in the privacy of one's own home.
Nope.
1999
A worldwide famine - triggered by a combination of freak weather conditions, crop diseases, and pestilence - will cause the major nations of the world to work together on agricultural advances. New strains of rapidly maturing vegetables and grains resistant to diseases will be developed to solve the world's food crisis.
Nope.
2000
Zero-gravity space vehicles will totally change present-day air travel as electromagnetic energies are understood and harnessed, creating a pollution-free inexhaustible source of fuel. This invention will come directly from mental contact between aliens and earthlings.
Nope.
Faced with the seemingly omnscient presence of alien beings of superior technology, the superpowers of our world will shift their energies from war to peace. Nations will agree to disarmament, and nuclear weapons will be dismantled.
Nope.
2001
Earth will be admitted to the Interstellar Federation. We will receive the alien's assistance in developing new technologies and mental abilities, ushering in a Golden Age for humanity.
!!!!!!
Homes will become fully automated. At the touch of a button, everything from cooking to cleaning will be done automatically as computers take over household chores. Dust and dirt will be dispersed through sound waves. Cloth will be manufactured that will resist stains, soil and grease and yet be disposable and inexpensive.
No.
Background: (from "The Book of Predictions")
Alan Vaughan has been called the most accurate predictor available today, reflecting his top- scoring prophetic "hits" with the Central Premonitions Registry. Vaughan has worked for over a decade as a laboratory psychic (at the Maimonides Dream Lab in Brooklyn, N.Y; Stanford Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif.; and the City College of New York) and holds an honorary doctorate in parapsychology. His books include Incredible Coincidence and Patterns of Prophecy.
Predictions
By mid-1982
The inflation rate in the US will subside to 8%.
By January 1982, the US inflation rate was 8.39%, and falling. See here
1982-1994
There will be a series of small, conventional wars and skirmishes in the Near East, bringing into being a new country comprised of Sunni Muslims. The Shiite Muslim population will be confined to part of what is now Iran.
Apart from Middle Eastern skirmishes, which were prevalant during this period and later, I cannot corroborate the Sunni/Shiite claims.
1984
The US will introduce an International World Games in Los Angeles to replace the Olympics. Selected teams from around the world will compete. Unlike the Olympics, the sports competitors will be professionals.
No. Note that the organisation mentioned above is nothing to do with the "International World Games Association", which is aided by the official Olympics games organisation and runs competitions for sports not yet part of the Olympic games.
The U.S will start a massively funded program in psychic research in an attempt to catch up with Soviet advances. Like the Soviet program, the American psychic program will be developed by the military.
True?
1987
Holographic television will be introduced on a limited basis. These large-scale projections will be featured in nightclubs, with entertainment recorded live from Las Vegas.
False.
Genetic engineering will develop a gas-producing sea organism to provide enormous amounts of methane for energy production. Animal farming will develop into a new technology from these experiments.
False.
By 1989
Nuclear weapons will be outlawed. US and USSR stockpiles will be disarmed. A world nuclear geulatory agency will oversee the disarmament and will maintain a small nuclear stockpile to enforce the ban.
False.
1990 There will be a drastic devaluation of US currency overnight with ten old dollars being equal to one new dollar. New currency will be printed.
False.
A prototype electrosolar satellite will collect energy from the sun and beam it to earth.
False.
1991
Gas powered automobiles will be banned from metropolitan areas in the US, Europe and Japan. Battery powered autos will become standard in city areas.
False.
1992
The first manned flight to Mars will benefit from a vastly improved propulsion system based on antigravity principles. The spacecraft will be able to rise from the earth slowly, without subjecting passengers to gravity forces.
False.
By 1993
Electrosolar satellites will have a large impact on energy problems.
False.
So, there we have it. A fairly dismal range of predictions, with a success rate probably only about average, or less in many cases. It seems curious that the same predictions recur (Holographic TV, manned mission to Mars, underground cities, cancer eradicated, nuclear weapons scrapped etc.), so we can only predict (pun intended) that the seers above are overly optimistic about the Human race. Not to mention wrong.
Some of the noteable successes or near-hits are almost certainly due to extrapolation of current (c.1980) social climates- for instance, the claim that US inflation will fall to 8%. Quite a good prediction, you may think, but then it does come with the "By mid-1982" headline. I could predict that Man will return to the Moon "By the mid-22nd century", and I'd no doubt be right, so adding a range of dates and them claiming success would be grasping, and not a little dishonest. We'll let that one pass.
But what about the events that the seers missed? Off the top of my head, since 1982, we have had: Space Shuttle disasters in 1986 and 2003; the AIDS epidemic; 9/11; the crash of Concorde and its retirement from service; the death of Diana, Princess of Wales; the Tiananmen Square Massacre; the Fall of the Berlin Wall; the Allied invasions of Afghanistan, Iraq, and indeed, the first Gulf War in 1991; the 747/Lockerbie disaster; the 1986 US reprisal attacks on Libya; the collapse of the USSR; Timothy McVeigh; The Unabomber; BTK captured; Jeffrey Dahmer; The Lebanese hostage crisis; scandals involving US Presidents; Mrs. Thatcher deposed; the Asian tsunami; Hurricane Katrina.....
All surprises, all unpredictable ... and all unpredicted. You don't need to be a psychic to know why. Come back Nostradamus, all is forgiven.
1. http://www.ntskeptics.org/1989/1989januaryfebruary/januaryfebruary1989.htm
2. http://www.columbian.com/news/strange/quirky/supernatural.cfm
[for predictions up to 1997]
3. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_n2_v21/ai_19267327
4. Israel's Nuclear Plans
5. Guatemala Conflicts
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