English
In the last article talked about people´s predictions for the year 2050. There will be robots that do everything and we will all be elderly cyborgs who survived World War III. Maybe! History shows that the predictions people make tend to be surprisingly accurate….
In 1900, a magazine asked its readers to send in their predictions about the future. For example, they imagined that houses would be climatized with hot air and cold air that came through pipes. Although they didn´t correctly imagine the form the technology we know today would take, they knew perfectly well that there would be air conditioning. Many more of their predictions have come true since then, even before they imagined they would, for better or worse.
Sometimes what we dream of for the future isn´t what´s best for us, even if it is feasible. For example, these readers thought the cars would be much more common than horses, and horses become a cult object for the wealthy. Now, we see that our forefathers were right, but the price of progress is that we are suffering a great economic and ecological crisis because of our dependence on oil and cars, not to mention a health crisis caused by living a much more sedentary lifestyle than our ancestors lived.
They also thought that photography would become a part of everyday life, and capable of representing the day´s events almost instantly. They also saw the possibility of live television broadcasts, or as they said “People will be able to see what´s happening in the world from anywhere else” Thanks to the Internet and television, we are always part of the audience, and we´re always watching what happens. Moreover, thanks to security cameras and social networking, we are part of a constant spectacle in which we could easily become a star, even when we do not want to become one.
While this allows us more mental entertainment options than ever, the social changes it causes are not always positive. We just have to think about the technology addicts who can hardly hold a conversation or find love, or boring afternoon programs focused on the sexual and dietary habits of our favorite celebrities. Intimacy, for some, is already dead.
A good way to preserve our connection to the real world and our privacy is to go on vacation. When we travel, we can walk the streets anonymously and escape our daily routines. In Istanbul, you´ll see that some things change, but progress is not as linear as we sometimes dream it will be. Rent apartments in Istanbul to see the history and future happening all at once.
