Predictions hit UPIKE
0Written by Chris Figg
Many people tend to dream about the future, what kind of advances will happen or what the world will be like. However for some, it’s been something they’ve been looking towards since they were young. Michael Holcomb, associate professor of mathematics, was given a book when he was in grade school called Predictions Toward the Year 2018. Intrigued by what he found, Holcomb created a presentation and shared it with students on Sept. 27. The book was copy righted 1968 and written to predict how much the world would change by the year 2018.
One prediction was that there would only be six to eight nuclear weapon states (countries allowed to have nukes). Surprisingly enough, this number wasn’t to far off. There are currently nine nuclear states. If Iran ends up becoming nuclear, then it will boost the number to 10.
Another prediction was that eventually there would be technology that will be able to invade national privacy and could be used for covert wars. As scary as this seems, it’s become a reality. Cyber warfare is one of the most secretive forms of countries attacking each other. In 2014, it was declared that cyber crime is the number one security risk.
A prediction that was inaccurate was that man would be able to control the weather. This prediction is obviously wrong. There is no such thing as people having the kind of powers or technology to control the weather in any sort of way. This one was a little more laughable.
Though some of these ideas might have been something someone found funny at one point, it’s truly scary to see that it wasn’t all wrong and that some came true. “I was quite surprised about some of the predictions that came true,” said Holcomb.