4 authors who predicted the future
In 1865, almost a century before NASA was founded, Jules Verne wrote his science fiction novel From the Earth to the Moon. In it, he told the story of an American gun club, who together conceived the idea of a giant space cannon, capable of launching three men to the moon. 104 years later, three men did just that.
For centuries, people have been fascinated by the idea of space travel, so it’s not as though From the Earth to the Moon was the first book ever to propose a mission to reach the moon. What makes it exceptional, however, is the accuracy with which Verne predicted said mission. Despite very little data to go off, Verne roughly calculated the requirements for such a project, and some of his figures were eerily close to reality.
But Verne isn’t the only author to predict – or influence – the future. In fact, it wasn’t even the first accurate prediction he made. Here are some of the most fascinating prophecies found in literature and how close they came to the real thing.
1. Jules Verne
In addition to space travel, Verne predicted the invention of electric submarines in 1870 – 90 years before – in his book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. In 1889’s In the Year 2889, he foresaw the use of skywriting, which first appeared in 1915, and video calling (“phonotelephote”), which first debuted in 1964.
2. H.G. Wells
In his 1899 novel When the Sleeper Wakes, Wells wrote of motion-detecting automatic doors – an invention not introduced for another 60 years. In The Land Ironclads, he described army tanks, which were first used 13 years later. But Wells didn’t stop there. In 1914’s The World Set Free and 1923’s Men Like Gods, he predicted atomic bombs and voicemail, respectively.
3. Arthur C. Clarke
Throughout the 1950s and 60s, Clarke made a number of very specific predictions – some of which came true. In 2001: A Space Odyssey, he wrote about communication satellites – the first of which was launched 14 years later. Then, in The City and the Stars, Clarke described immersive virtual reality video games. 10 years later, the first visual flights simulator was invented. Finally, in 1962’s A Fall of Moondust, he predicted space tourism. 2001 marked the first tourist in space, and many more space tourism projects are in the works.
4. Stand on Zanzibar
In just one book, Stand on Zanzibar, Brunner made not one but a staggering eight accurate predictions. He described on-demand TV 40 years before it became the new norm, satellite TV three years before the first transmission, laser printers seven years before their invention and electric cars 41 years before they became a popular choice.
It wasn’t just technology, however. Brunner predicted such social and political milestones as the formation of the EU 24 years before it was founded, the decriminalisation of marijuana 43 years before the first two US states did just that, as well as society turning on the tobacco industry 15 years before the US banned cigarette advertising and the fall of Detroit into poverty 43 years before it became the poorest city in the US.
Do you think these predictions are coincidences? Or perhaps just inspirations on the scientists and inventors who created them? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.