Speculation

The notion of speculative thinking has been a primary focus of this subject throughout the semester.

I find this a fascinating subject, especially when looking back on speculation on what the ‘present’ would look like, and how wrong people were.

I found this example, of Isaac Asimov, a science-fiction author and professor of biochemistry, predicting what the year 2014 would look all the way back in 1964.

Included in his predications are ‘automeals’, ‘electroluminescent panels’, robots, hovercars and a ‘society of enforced leisure’.

Although many of these seem laughable now, they were real, possible ideas of what the future could be, and he did in fact get some things right, like the idea of video-calling and conferencing.

In contrast to this, I also found this article, which predicts how the human face might look like in 100,000 years time, producing a, frankly, terrifying image.

Although it is pure speculation that probably will not be close to right, it is based on science, and has to be a real possibility.

Just imagine what we’ll be imagining in another 50 years time…