The Jetsons. Tex Avery's "House of Tomorrow". Star Trek. I often wonder how close are we to the advanced technology of "the future". After all, this is the future, right?
Science and technology have made incredible advances. Apparently, time travel is possible (in one direction). Hovercrafts are real. Video-chatting allows us to see people we're speaking with in real-time. Late performers have returned to the stage via hologram. Cars can self-park!
I'm admittedly excited about Galaxy Gear. However, I doubt this trend will stick.
For some reason, it feels like we aren't ready for it to be "the future" yet. Sure, we'll adopt the technological advances that preserve us and make our lives easier, but society hasn't fully embraced the futuristic age.
To my knowledge, no major car company is producing a hover car. No one is adding cybernetic upgrades to themselves. Futuristic home furnishings are regarded as mere novelty items. We have the technology; we just don't have the will to implement it. Why is that?
The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.
--Albert Einstein
Perhaps we have too much respect for the past to abandon it. (This would explain trends like Instagram and "vintage" decor and clothing.) Maybe we have too many issues to work out in the present to look forward to the future right now.
My theory is, along with all of the aforementioned reasons, fear keeps us from adopting serious technological advances. If we were to create this very different, wildly expensive infrastructure based on fairly new technology, the likelihood of glitches and failures would be astronomical! And the costs would be just as high. There would be no turning back, and life on Earth could get really bad really fast.
"Doesn't look so cool now, does it?" - Our Robot Overlords
So, it might be better to ease our way into the futuristic world with a talking phone or a fancy watch than having your cyber-brain installed...
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