[ Outline ] · Standard · Linear+ Priceless!, post'em if ya got'em

[UncleBuck]

Priceless pics are always good for a laugh I say post em if ya got'em Wtf if this thread has been already started somewhere I couldnt find it

[Gnappster]

Yeah, the passage about flying cars, etc. He has a couple of funny paragraphs showing what people in the 50's thought the world would be like in the year 2000. I'm gonna see if I can find it, but if I can't, read the book.Here it is.
Stumbling on Happiness is a book about a very simple but powerful idea. What distinguishes us as human beings from other animals is our ability to predict the future--or rather, our interest in predicting the future. We spend a great deal of our waking life imagining what it would be like to be this way or that way, or to do this or that, or taste or buy or experience some state or feeling or thing. We do that for good reasons: it is what allows us to shape our life. And it is by trying to exert some control over our futures that we attempt to be happy. But by any objective measure, we are really bad at that predictive function. We're terrible at knowing how we will feel a day or a month or year from now, and even worse at knowing what will and will not bring us that cherished happiness. Gilbert sets out to figure what that's so: why we are so terrible at something that would seem to be so extraordinarily important?

In making his case, Gilbert walks us through a series of fascinating--and in some ways troubling--facts about the way our minds work. In particular, Gilbert is interested in delineating the shortcomings of imagination. We're far too accepting of the conclusions of our imaginations. Our imaginations aren't particularly imaginative. Our imaginations are really bad at telling us how we will think when the future finally comes. And our personal experiences aren't nearly as good at correcting these errors as we might think.

I get it, can't win, don't try.

And about the flying cars thing. It seems to be present in every prediction of the future. The problem with it, is people can barely navigate 2 dimensions in a car, can you imagine adding the third dimension?

On another tnagent I remember reading, probably about 10-12 years ago an interview with Bill Gates. He was asked about the future of computers. He said the focus would move away from PCs and towards tiny portable computers that do everything, and connect users to each other effortlessly. This was essentially before digital cell phones, mp3 players, most digital cams etc. I thought he was on crack. I thought my giant PC was the future. I guess we know who was on crack