* * * * *
                                        
                  Sadly, yet accurately, still no flying cars
                                        
Tell me, does any of this sound familiar?

> (1) Random acts of violence by crazy individuals, often taking place at
> schools …
> 
> (2) The other major source of instability and violence comes from
> terrorists, who are now a major threat to U.S. interests, and even manage
> to attack buildings within the United States.
> 
> (3) Prices have increased sixfold between 1960 and 2010 because of
> inflation. …
> 
> (4) The most powerful U.S. rival is no longer the Soviet Union, but China.
> However, much of the competition between the U.S. and Asia is played out in
> economics, trade, and technology instead of overt warfare.
> 
> (5) Europeans have formed a union of nations to improve their economic
> prospects and influence on world affairs. In international issues, Britain
> tends to side with the U.S., but other countries in Europe are often
> critical of U.S. initiatives.
> 
> (6) Africa still trails far behind the rest of the world in economic
> development, and Israel remains the epicenter of tensions in the Middle
> East.
> 
> (7) Although some people still get married, many in the younger generation
> now prefer short-term hookups without long-term commitment.
> 
> (8) Gay and bisexual lifestyles have gone mainstream, and pharmaceuticals
> to improve sexual performance are widely used (and even advertised in the
> media).
> 
> (9) Many decades of affirmative action have brought blacks into positions
> of power, but racial tensions still simmer throughout society.
> 
> (10) Motor vehicles increasingly run on electric fuel cells. …
> 
> (11) Yet Detroit has not prospered, and is almost a ghost town because of
> all the shuttered factories. However. a new kind of music … has sprung up
> in the city.
> 
> (12) TV news channels have now gone global via satellite.
> 
> (13) TiVo-type systems allow people to view TV programs according to their
> own schedule.
> 
> (14) Inflight entertainment systems on planes now include video programs
> and news accessible on individual screens at each seat.
> 
> (15) People rely on avatars to represent themselves on video screens …
> 
> (16) Computer documents are generated with laser printers.
> 
> (17) A social and political backlash has marginalized tobacco, but
> marijuana has been decriminalized.
> 

Oh, and let's not forget President Obomi.

Wait—what?

What you read was eighteen predictions (The Millions : The Weird 1969 New
Wave Sci-Fi Novel that Correctly Predicted the Current Day) [1] (link via
Hacker News [2]) made by John Brunner [3] is his 1969 novel _Stand on
Zanzibar_ [4]. It's an incredible list, scarily accurate in its portrayal of
life in 2010. I never read that book, but I did read _Shockwave Rider_ [5]
that predicted a global network besieged with malware and The Sheep Look Up
[6], a book about global environmental collapse that was the single most
scary book I've ever read (that I try not to think about too much least I
start having nightmares again). Both of those were very good (even if The
Sheep Look Up [7] is too horrifying to think about), so I would think _Stand
on Zanzibar_ [8] would be great as well.

[1] http://www.themillions.com/2013/03/the-weird-1969-new-wave-sci-fi-novel-that-correctly-predicted-the-current-day.html
[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9399457
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Brunner_(novelist)
[4] https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0765326787/conmanlaborat-20
[5] https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0345467175/conmanlaborat-20
[6] https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00J5X5LVQ/conmanlaborat-20
[7] https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00J5X5LVQ/conmanlaborat-20
[8] https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0765326787/conmanlaborat-20

Email Sean Conner at sean@conman.org

.