7 Really Inaccurate Predictions About The Future

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"The Internet Will Fail" (1995)

[{"selector":"#anim-9d0abfcc-b568-4548-9de1-7e16c446f4c7","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-16d39105-66d1-433a-9a0f-e0c33da1622c","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -100.05514%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Floral Pattern Floral Pattern In 1995, Robert Metcalfe, a co-inventor of Ethernet, famously predicted that the internet would "catastrophically collapse" within a year.

"There is No Reason for Any Individual to Have a Computer in Their Home" (1977)

[{"selector":"#anim-3632c913-201a-4491-a021-643e9beb3566","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-0cc74ae4-9c54-4640-bb1b-c8c7e24ec7a0","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -100.05514%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Floral Pattern Floral Pattern Ken Olsen, the co-founder of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), made this prediction in 1977. Of course, today, personal computers are ubiquitous.

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers" (1943)

[{"selector":"#anim-b67eb206-abef-4690-976a-3238e73a6d7b","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-76e43cc7-8a93-49b5-a817-0854c0551388","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -100.05514%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Floral Pattern Floral Pattern Thomas Watson, then chairman of IBM, made this statement, vastly underestimating the global demand for computers.

"Television Won't Be Able to Hold on to Any Market It Captures After the First Six Months. People Will Soon Get Tired of Staring at a Plywood Box Every Night" (1946)

[{"selector":"#anim-4e4d62d9-cb4d-455f-b8e8-9841fb2e7f9f","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-d4329500-1901-47be-b5d5-ffc8e229075c","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -100.05514%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Floral Pattern Floral Pattern Darryl Zanuck, co-founder of 20th Century Fox, couldn't have been more wrong about the future of television.

"No Civil Aircraft Will Ever Fly Faster Than the SR-71 Blackbird" (1976)

[{"selector":"#anim-9865b8c9-e2e5-4a49-9a96-7bb9e21726e9","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-9e09507d-e377-4b06-ae06-fde3ce3cf7bb","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -100.05514%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Floral Pattern Floral Pattern The SR-71 Blackbird was an impressive aircraft, but it was retired in 1998. Commercial planes today, while not as fast, are capable of carrying hundreds of passengers.

"640K Ought to Be Enough for Anybody" (1981)

[{"selector":"#anim-4a552c3d-092b-4040-a424-936f5c6e5c39","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6f4e8133-09ce-48c1-bb87-9cdb22396699","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -100.05514%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Floral Pattern Floral Pattern Attributed to Bill Gates, this statement (though disputed) suggests a misunderstanding of future computing needs. Today's computers use gigabytes and terabytes of memory.

"The Horse Is Here to Stay but the Automobile Is Only a Novelty – a Fad" (1903)

[{"selector":"#anim-0ff94316-a2fc-4150-9e93-3d3424e83b34","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-8a34c086-8f6d-4444-8980-a91a7dc24f72","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -100.05514%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":3000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Floral Pattern Floral Pattern The president of the Michigan Savings Bank advised Henry Ford's lawyer not to invest in the Ford Motor Company because he thought the automobile was just a passing trend.

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