Chris Willie Williams (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} disclaimerwill) wrote,@ 2008-04-09 15:40:00 |
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Global controls will have to be imposed.
The following are excerpts from the children's book Future Communication by Harriette S. Abels, copyright 1980 (part of Crestwood House's Our Future World series). In the future, grammatical scientists will be able to pinpoint the precise sentence in which this text transitions from being amusingly, sweetly naive to being completely heart-shredding in its overestimation of humanity.
Tomorrow's Newspapers
"Communication is going to get better, faster, and cheaper as we get into the twenty-first century. The biggest change in communication will probably be in the newspaper business. One futurist (person who studies the future) thinks the newspaper of tomorrow will be delivered to your home on a twelve-inch video disk. You will put this disk into a slot in your television set. The stories that you read will have not only the printed words, but full-color photographs, moving pictures, and stereo sound effects. When your favorite baseball pitcher pitches a no-hit game and you read about it in your morning newspaper, you will also be able to see that final pitch and the wild excitement of his teammates that follow it."
People and the Media
"Some futurists working in the field of sociology, the study of human society, see us living in a future worldwide 'global village.' They see the electronic media giving us a feeling of friendship for all the people of the world. When it is possible through that medium for a person in New York to meet electronically with a doctor in Africa or a farmer in China, today's problems between people will almost disappear.
"In the field of government, all futurists agree that someday we will be one world with a one-world government. Electronic communication is a big step in that direction. Third-world and emerging nations will be on a more equal footing with our Western countries. National boundaries between countries won't mean as much.
"Town meetings used to be an important part of small community life. In the future the hope is to have electronic town meetings, but with people from around the earth. This will encourage more people to take part in their government, at the local or national level, or even worldwide.
"Cable television and satellites, along with computers and home terminals, will give us an electronic network that can greatly add to everyone's interest and sharing in government."
People to People
"Today we use the telephone as one way of communicating with other parts of the world, relying on operators to put through our calls. In the future, a mother who lives in California will be able to talk to her daughter in Bangkok, Thailand over her ham radio set without having to go through the telephone operator. For closer calls, citizens' band and mobile radios will be even better than they are now.
"It will be possible for a wife in the suburbs to call her husband anywhere in the city to find out what time he will be home for dinner. While his wife is waiting the husband will call traffic control, and when he hears how the traffic is on the highway, or if the electric busses are running on time, he will tell her what time he will be at their front door."
Bees
"Because bees have such a highly developed language, it is possible for them to use it in governing themselves. When a hive decides to move to a new location, they start an operation called 'swarming.' Scout bees are sent out to look for a new site in a hollow tree, a hole in the ground, or perhaps a box. They then hold what might be called a nominating convention inside the old hive. Each of the scouts describes her favorite spot. She does this by a special dance, and tells how strongly she feels about the new location by the number of times she repeats the dance. Once the choice is narrowed down to two or three places, the scouts go out again for a final look. Next they meet in a 'high court' session where, by conversation and great discussion, they reach an almost unanimous agreement, and the hive flies to the new home.
"How the study of communication between these creatures will help the human race is not yet clear."
Television and Education
"The big new use of television in the future will be in the field of education. ...
"The TV Screen itself will not be the small twenty-one or twenty-seven inch box that we have today. It will be common to have screens permanently fixed in one or more of the walls in your home. They will cover an area perhaps as big as six feet by six feet. The effects of a TV screen of this size on our minds will be enormous. ...
"This huge TV screen and the speed with which it will bring news and information into our lives should also affect us in other ways. When we see such tragedies as an apartment house fire with its victims, or a terrible automobile accident, perhaps it will teach us to be more careful in all areas of our everyday life. There is a big difference between reading about such things in your daily newspaper, or seeing them on your tiny TV screen of today, and seeing them in life-size images in your living room.
"If there is ever another major war and it is seen on this giant screen in front of our eyes, maybe for the first time in history of man we will all stand up and shout, 'No! No more! Man has grown beyond this type of animal behavior!'
"The TV system of the future can be used for good or for evil. A shouting political leader, with a fascinating way of wrapping his silky words around us, could use this future TV system to rule the whole world. It will be up to all of us to see that this wonderful new tool is used for good, and not for evil, in the centuries ahead."
CURRENT MUSIC: Just a random mix.
CURRENT MOOD: Discouraged.
CURRENT FAVORITE EXCHANGE FROM PARADISE HOTEL: Contestant one: "It's self-explanatory." Contestant two, agreeing: "It's very explanatory."
The following are excerpts from the children's book Future Communication by Harriette S. Abels, copyright 1980 (part of Crestwood House's Our Future World series). In the future, grammatical scientists will be able to pinpoint the precise sentence in which this text transitions from being amusingly, sweetly naive to being completely heart-shredding in its overestimation of humanity.
Tomorrow's Newspapers
"Communication is going to get better, faster, and cheaper as we get into the twenty-first century. The biggest change in communication will probably be in the newspaper business. One futurist (person who studies the future) thinks the newspaper of tomorrow will be delivered to your home on a twelve-inch video disk. You will put this disk into a slot in your television set. The stories that you read will have not only the printed words, but full-color photographs, moving pictures, and stereo sound effects. When your favorite baseball pitcher pitches a no-hit game and you read about it in your morning newspaper, you will also be able to see that final pitch and the wild excitement of his teammates that follow it."
People and the Media
"Some futurists working in the field of sociology, the study of human society, see us living in a future worldwide 'global village.' They see the electronic media giving us a feeling of friendship for all the people of the world. When it is possible through that medium for a person in New York to meet electronically with a doctor in Africa or a farmer in China, today's problems between people will almost disappear.
"In the field of government, all futurists agree that someday we will be one world with a one-world government. Electronic communication is a big step in that direction. Third-world and emerging nations will be on a more equal footing with our Western countries. National boundaries between countries won't mean as much.
"Town meetings used to be an important part of small community life. In the future the hope is to have electronic town meetings, but with people from around the earth. This will encourage more people to take part in their government, at the local or national level, or even worldwide.
"Cable television and satellites, along with computers and home terminals, will give us an electronic network that can greatly add to everyone's interest and sharing in government."
People to People
"Today we use the telephone as one way of communicating with other parts of the world, relying on operators to put through our calls. In the future, a mother who lives in California will be able to talk to her daughter in Bangkok, Thailand over her ham radio set without having to go through the telephone operator. For closer calls, citizens' band and mobile radios will be even better than they are now.
"It will be possible for a wife in the suburbs to call her husband anywhere in the city to find out what time he will be home for dinner. While his wife is waiting the husband will call traffic control, and when he hears how the traffic is on the highway, or if the electric busses are running on time, he will tell her what time he will be at their front door."
Bees
"Because bees have such a highly developed language, it is possible for them to use it in governing themselves. When a hive decides to move to a new location, they start an operation called 'swarming.' Scout bees are sent out to look for a new site in a hollow tree, a hole in the ground, or perhaps a box. They then hold what might be called a nominating convention inside the old hive. Each of the scouts describes her favorite spot. She does this by a special dance, and tells how strongly she feels about the new location by the number of times she repeats the dance. Once the choice is narrowed down to two or three places, the scouts go out again for a final look. Next they meet in a 'high court' session where, by conversation and great discussion, they reach an almost unanimous agreement, and the hive flies to the new home.
"How the study of communication between these creatures will help the human race is not yet clear."
Television and Education
"The big new use of television in the future will be in the field of education. ...
"The TV Screen itself will not be the small twenty-one or twenty-seven inch box that we have today. It will be common to have screens permanently fixed in one or more of the walls in your home. They will cover an area perhaps as big as six feet by six feet. The effects of a TV screen of this size on our minds will be enormous. ...
"This huge TV screen and the speed with which it will bring news and information into our lives should also affect us in other ways. When we see such tragedies as an apartment house fire with its victims, or a terrible automobile accident, perhaps it will teach us to be more careful in all areas of our everyday life. There is a big difference between reading about such things in your daily newspaper, or seeing them on your tiny TV screen of today, and seeing them in life-size images in your living room.
"If there is ever another major war and it is seen on this giant screen in front of our eyes, maybe for the first time in history of man we will all stand up and shout, 'No! No more! Man has grown beyond this type of animal behavior!'
"The TV system of the future can be used for good or for evil. A shouting political leader, with a fascinating way of wrapping his silky words around us, could use this future TV system to rule the whole world. It will be up to all of us to see that this wonderful new tool is used for good, and not for evil, in the centuries ahead."
CURRENT MUSIC: Just a random mix.
CURRENT MOOD: Discouraged.
CURRENT FAVORITE EXCHANGE FROM PARADISE HOTEL: Contestant one: "It's self-explanatory." Contestant two, agreeing: "It's very explanatory."
