In 1814, French mathematician Pierre-Simon Laplace described an entity, later called Laplace’s Demon, that was capable of calculating and determining all future events, provided that the demon was given the position, masses and velocities of every atom in the universe and the various known formulae of motion.
The Physics Book by Clifford A. Pickover, 2011.
The Norns by Karl Ehrenberg, 1901.
“Make the most of today; put as little trust as possible in the future.”
The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone. The Annotated Sherlock Holmes by William S. Baring-Gould, 1972.
Slowly, the future continues to become, from one day to the next, forever. The line is from Shakespeare’s Macbeth (about 1606). It is one of the literary sayings that every American needs to know, according to E.D. Hirsch, Jr.
Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings by Gregory Y. Titelman, 1996.
Look to the future and put the past behind you. Of Biblical origin.
Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings by Gregory Y. Titelman, 1996.
To the north of the United States lies Canada; an intensely individualistic nation, which would oppose to the death any proposal for union with the States. As national feeling and sentiment now prevail, it seems unthinkable that Canada and the United States can ever become a part of the same comity of people.
The World in 2030 by the Earl of Birkenhead, 1930.
Leaving London after breakfast, passengers will travel in hermetically sealed, well-heated cabins. There will, of course, be no pleasure in looking out of the window, for, above, one will see a monotonously blue sky in which a cold sun for ever shines; and below, a level sea of cloud, white and dazzling with reflected sunlight, and broken only by distant glimpses of the grey waters of the Atlantic, which, no matter how the wind lashes them, will seem from such a height as unruffled as a duck-pond.
The World in 2030 by the Earl of Birkenhead, 1930.
By 2030, everyone will be able to share the amenities which to-day can only be commanded by a substantial income. The best seats in theatres, more elegant and convenient than any planned to-day; foreign travel; a library of well-printed books; a pleasant and varied wardrobe; will be the portion of the employed no less than of the employer.
The World in 2030 by the Earl of Birkenhead, 1930.
By 2030 men and women will seem, judged by our standards, harsh and unemotional. They will have recaptured and transformed into new fashions, the precision, lucid sense and keen criticism which distinguishes the small educated world of the eighteenth century. Wit rather than humour, comedy rather than farce, reason rather than sentiment, polish rather than naivete, ingenuity rather than ingenuousness will be valued.
The World in 2030 by the Earl of Birkenhead, 1930.
Women by casting away their trailing draperies and figure-distorting corsets have, in the last decade, gained enormously in health, vitality and beauty. Unless men wish to be left behind the opposite sex in physical and mental fitness, it is plain that they must follow women’s example, and rid themselves of their present fashions, which, convenient though they are, are unhealthy in that they constrict the neck, forbid the tonic properties of sunlight reaching the body, are too heavy, and, in regards to the external garments, collect dirt.
The World in 2030 by the Earl of Birkenhead, 1930.
As wealth accumulates to an even greater extent, the community will profit by the gradual contraction of the working week. Mr. Henry Ford, the American motor-car manufacturer, can already economically afford to pay his employees a minimum wage of a pound a day for five days’ work a week. He looks forward confidently to the inauguration of the four day week in industry; and he can even prophesy the coming of a three day week.
The World in 2030 by the Earl of Birkenhead, 1930.
A world shortage of copper will accompany the tin famine. Copper conducts electricity incomparably better than any other metal; the electrical industry uses only copper for the manufacture of a thousand different articles. The principal supplies of copper come from mines in Spain and the United States; and these sources are by no means inexhaustible.
The World in 2030 by the Earl of Birkenhead, 1930.
By 2030 it should be possible for any person sitting at home to be “present” at no matter what distant event. Stereoscopic television in full natural colours, and perfected wireless telephony will enable him to see and hear any event, which is broadcast, as effectively as if he stood beside the transmitting apparatus.
The World in 2030 by the Earl of Birkenhead, 1930.
The inability to adapt psychologically to rapid and novel advances and changes, esp. cultural, technological, moral and social innovations.
Misunderstood, Misused, & Mispronounced Words by Laurance Urdang, 1972.
“Because everything in her home is waterproof, the housewife of 2000 can do her daily cleaning with a hose.”
Yesterday’s tomorrows: past visions of the American future by Joseph J. Corn and Brian Horrigan, 1996.
