When Science FICTION Becomes Science FACT! 

I feel bad for the guys who didn't live to see the day to say "I told you so"

Some of these are not predicting the future, but inspiring the future.

“The best way to predict your future is to create it.” ― Abraham Lincoln

Thing is, every one of these men look like they could be a Timelord.

Does Science fiction predict the future or does it inspire science to create that future. Like the original flip phones - based on the communicators from the original Star Trek.

The NSA part was hilarious! xD

Maybe these predictions came true because a lot of people were listening to them and trying to make them a reality.

And my answer is: Pattern-recognition. They didn't predict the future, but we are extremely good as interpreting the past ideas as being (close enough to) what we see today. Also, sometimes the authors actually inspire the future, H.G. Wells for example basically invented the tank to the point he received a thank you from Churchill for it. It is probable the same is true for aerial warfare.

you forget people read or watch or hear about science fiction stories and inventions about the future, and this inspires them to make them into actual things

Sometimes people should wonder if SciFi predicted the future, or created it. For example, if we discover how we could make forcefields, do you really think they'd be called anything but forcefields? And couldn't all of those predictions about the internet have inspired people to create it?

I've gotten some really great questions about the video over at the blog too, check out the discussion here: www.itsokaytobesmart.com/tagged/Answer-Bag

I know a lot of engineers love reading science fiction so sometimes i feel it is a engineering making science fiction a reality, at least with stuff like the automatic doors.

Even though Nikola tesla never wrote Sci fi he also predicted modern-day cell phones

I am 61. I was lucky enough as a young girl to have a friend who was deeply into science fiction. She had all of Heinlein, Bradbury, Well's, everyone. I remember reading Stranger in a Strange Land with her and the two of discussing what we would use as our identify, our "screen saver". What a wonderful memory. Thank you for this.

I can understand that you don't mention 1984, after all you love the NSA. ;) Sorry, but I had to mention it...

At least part of it is the fact that science fiction helps inspire some of those that becomes scientists to become scientists and there memories of the books influence what they perceive could be possible.

People see things in science fiction and try to make it reality, the submarine was based of the book 20,000 leagues under the sea. The mobile phone was inspired by Star Trek. Voice recognition software started in science fiction.

What we don't always discuss is the influence that science fiction has on actual science. We work towards the sorts of goals science fiction sets for us; the example of the Columbia missions is a great one, and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the NASA engineers used the name as an homage to Verne. We want to see the kinds of things science fiction authors have introduced to us, and then those things get invented...it doesn't seem like a coincidence to me! Especially now that classic sci-fi like Asimov, Wells, and others are all such big parts of our cultural lexicon, their imaginings seem like goals. And, additionally, I wonder how much of these predictions are actually super spot on - how much of their description is just close enough to be interpreted as something we have today, and how much of it is actually reality.

There are probably many ways Science fiction becomes real. One of the ways i think Science fiction becomes real are because people may be motivated to try to find a way to make it real. And i guess that many things can't be made because we still are far away from having what we need to make it, or it may be impossible to make in any way.

Actually, it is 2015 and we DO have hoverboards-- a company called Hendo Hoverboards makes them. (Although it is true that they aren't nearly as common as in the movie). Also there are flying cars (go to AeroMobil's website to see a really cool video) but again, not common. Still, they exist!

I think the one aspect that this video doesn't address is the self-fulling prophesy, which I think is best summed up in a quote from the Matrix. "What's really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you still have broken it if I hadn't said anything?" That fact that the act of prediction itself can mold the future. The people who create the technology of tomorrow are often influenced by the science fiction of today and that in turn affects what they create or how they create it.

Lost it when he said "From Gallifrey"!

Still waiting for that hoverboard.

Really liked the NSA part.

It's interesting how Asimov himself imagined a way of predicting human behaviour, called "psychohistory" in his Foundation novels. An idea that you can predict the future behavior of large groups of people based on simple mathematics is very appealing to me. The wishful thinking that you can explain human nature with something as simple as numbers, and bring some order to the chaos.

What about the influence they make on the sciencists who read those stories?

You didn't mention William Gibson! =O

The Jetsons has so many things that are now real. Video phones (FaceTime), Computerized Vegas gambling games, an electronic newspaper with video links (viewable on a machine that looks like a computer but uses soft buttons instead of a mouse), electronic event ticket scanning (but their ticketing system not only validates the ticket but takes you to your seat), and an automatic vacuum that really looks like a Roomba.

born too late to explore earth, born too soon to explore the universe just born to suffer crap.

When it comes to the Total Recall part, I swear I very recently saw a documentary about future technology where they mentioned that memory implantation will be a reality by 2050.

Thank you for speaking at a non-internet pace. So many internet videos I do not show in the classroom because the speech is too fast for my students.

I'm going to school to be a elementary school teacher right now. Your videos have made me want to obtain a middle school endorsement in science now :)

H.G. Wells got his idea for 'Atomic Bombs' from a paper by Frederick Soddy that commented on the amount of energy that is released by elements as they decay, saying "The man who can put his hand on this store of energy could destroy the world if he chose." H.G. Wells dedicated 'The World Set Free' to Soddy as well! Another little tidbit: Leo Szliard worked out how to make a nuclear chain reaction possible only AFTER reading 'The World Set Free'! Not only did that book predict the Atom Bomb, it had a direct hand in it's development.

I think there is no predicting that shirt.

I think the people who make fantastically accurate predictions aren't pulling the stuff out of thin air, I bet they thought through these things to the point where if they were given enough money and manpower, they could bring about some of those things rather quickly. In 1914 we already knew about radiation and sort of how it worked and all it would take at that point is a clever mind to connect the dots for the A-bomb. I think one of the most important takeaways is that these people came up with really great ideas far in advance, planting the seeds of those ideas in the minds of the people who read their works who have that lightbulb of inspiration one day on how exactly those ideas could be carried out. In a way it's like a self-fulfilling prophacy. Thank you Joe! This video is my favorite because it points out a very interesting thing that should be considered.

"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DIDN'T MENTION THIS BOOK! QUICK, SOMEONE GIVE ME A SOMA!.....all better now. Sorry, friend. I forgive you.

A lot of the reason that good science fiction seems to predict the future could be that scientists and engineers are inspired by good science fiction and set their goals to where the science fiction says they will be.

Sent here from idea channel.

While I found this extremely eerie and awesome, I feel compelled to point out that you, yourself, stated that science is about observing the past.... usually. so, to me, it stands to reason to think that the reason these things are considered "right" is because someone read it and said "man, this would be awesome!" and then set to work on learning how it would be possible. it's not so much as a "prediction" as it would be a "inspiration". Based on technological evolution of the times, those who wrote the "predictions" could accurately guess, sure. but, they would serve to give someone else a springboard into something that they would love to have, by laying the groundwork.

Science fiction if often not a predictor of the future but rather a blue print of a possible future. Just like project managers good sci-fi writers often know how to avoid scope creep and keep goals realistic.

You got my "Thumbs Up" at 5:00 with your NSA joke hahaha.

I never took War of the Worlds seriously for one main reason....ANY alien...ANY planet...ANYWHERE...distance between them not mattering...Any aliens that are advanced enough to travel to another world would never be so stupid as to just touch down and wander out into an environment filled with microbes they've never encountered before, with absolutely no protection. Beings with such little forethought would never have reached the point of interstellar travel.

Also check out William Olaf Stapledon’s _Star Maker_, a novel written in 1937. That book is often known for the author’s prediction of genetic engineering & post-WWII societal changes, but what strikes me as genius are his vision that foreshadowed the emergence of many concepts in high-energy physics: String theory, high-dimensional space-time, cyclic universe that preserves information, etc. Olaf Stapledon was not trained in science but he drew much inspiration from contemporary scientific knowledge e.g. relativistic effects on light & time, star formation, etc.. It is this kind of friendly and intellectual flow of ideas between practitioners of science & the arts that keeps modern culture rich and insightful...

Gene Roddenbury predicted a few things as well that came true or are coming true, wireless commicators, tablet computers, touch screens and quantum computing for example. There is a bit of a grey area when it comes to Star Trek however as it inspires scientists to try and build the technology portrayed in the show such as warp drive (not quite a thing but work is being done to see if it's possible) and teleportation.

For me one of the most interesting aspects of great science fiction is that it not only informs the possibilities of tomorrow but informs the questions of tomorrow. For example William Gibson's recent near future novels - the Blue Ant trilogy - not only makes us think about the future possibilities of the technology we interact with, it also makes us think about the repercussions of what this interactions mean. In a world which is increasingly becoming "tomorrow" these are the types of insights that sci-fi (or spec-fi to borrow from Neal Stephenson) continues to offer, more so then the simple (simple being in scare quotes) prognostication of future technical developments.

dude, I cried with "hang out with people like Carl Sagan". I thank to all involved in this video

I hope that Stargate becomes real. \m/

I like the way you present yourself and the things you discuss. You're one of the more natural RU-vid personalities. Thank you

asimov and clarke, were not only scifi writers but, like sagan, great popularizers of science, and i have enjoyed their nonfiction as much as their fiction since i was a young child. in fact, i first learned about science from a series of illustrated nonfiction children's book written by asimov. this was my first exposure to any of his works. when i was checking one out for the 100th time the librarian told me i couldn't, that it was for the older kids, and i wouldn't understand it, but i took it out anyway the next chance i got

It doesn't hurt that , often times, scifi becomes reality because once the idea is out there peopel love the thought and strive to make it reality.

i've sooo waited to talk about this with someone, i think this curious thing (the fact that science fiction seems to predict the way technology develops) it's to attribute to the fact that some of them have been scientists themselves (giving them the means to imagin moreaccurately the way things can develop) the moreromantic explanation for me is that science fiction like any type of narration in ART and art has always had a role in human histor and society, that is inspiring men to dream and do things. specifically science fiction narrates about the future, and what better way to change the future that with the means of science and technology? after all every kid who is passionate about science fiction is very likely to become a scientist having dreamed all his youth about new planets and labs and machines of some sorts. so that's it for me all science fiction and science fiction authors do is inspire the young scientist of tomorrow, who one day will remember the things in this stories and tryendelessly to render them real through science (I'm italian so I don't speakenglish very well, sorry for every blunder)

The real question is. Does science fiction predict the future? Or does science fiction drive scientists to create it and turn it into science fact?

The Forever War is a great science fiction book from the 70's. Explores time dilation and is a good war novel in general.

Cracked Articles did a thing on Future Predictions. Mr Wells was mentioned a lot. Funnily enough there was a man, who's name evades me, that predicted the Titanics building and sinking way before it was conceived. Had it sunk by an iceberg in the arctic, not enough lifeboats, even the dimensions were almost spot on. Great episode. :)

Has'nt Star Trek had a few correct predictions like for example the replicatior which is a lot like a 3d printer.

Remember the colored computer disks (squares) that they used on Star Trek? like a hard floppy that we were still using ten years ago? TV & movies have also come up with some good ideas which were later put into use in the real world! :D

Orwell's Big Brother = NSA , telescreens = laptop PCs with built-in cameras and microphones. P.S. the title "Ralph 124C41" actually means "Ralph, one to foresee for one"

Your only half right Yes there are people with these amazing predictions, BUT the people who invented it were almost set the challenge of inventing it because of these predictors. I'm kinda saying people enjoy making science fiction a reality. like what Edward Kenway and Huntracony said later in the comment section. Like the comment if you agree ?

I heard an interview once on NPR with Sci-Fi writers and they said they didn't "make up" anything, but used things that already existed

I would like to add phycohistory and predictive search algorithms as another prediction. It has become… eerily accurate.

Telephotography already existed during Mark Twain's time, so he was writing about technology that already existed. What was used by large newspaper companies later was in common use with fax machine and computer printers.

Jules Verne who predicted submarines

I think my favorite example of this is the one people know the least - Golf in the Year 2000 (1892). Live TV, bullet trains, commercial flight, water-wicking fabric, and an increase in female legislators, the UN, solar power, plus automatic doors 7 years before Wells. The only thing he got wrong is that he thought these developments would all be in the service of golf...

Arthur C Clarke 2010 odyssey 2: it was very satisfying for Heywood Floyd to have a button because nearly all buttons were touchpads. (think it was Floyd but may have been Walter and not an exact quote)

I predict humans will be able to live underwater one day. Maybe 2075.

Arthur C. Clarke pretty much had the iPad in his 1976 book 'Imperial Earth'. It was called the Minisec.

HOVERBOARDS HAVE ALREADY BEEN INVENTED! NOW IT LOOKS LIKE I'M SCREAMING, BUT THAT'S THE POINT.

Also, if you check out Gibson's work, you'll notice how a lot of terms he first invented in Burning Chrome and the Sprawl Trilogy are being used right now to describe some internet phenomenons.

"we wont have hover boards by Otc. 2015" xD uh... no one told this information to Lexus i guess seeing how they have been working on such a project and so far its working

When thousands of people make predictions, chances are some will get several things right and this will inspire somebody to make a youtube video about them.

Great episode, however don't forget William Gibson and Neuromancer, though it was written in the 80's it had great foresight and decent accuracy about the modern internet. "What if the act of writing it down, in fact, brought it about?"

It's 2015,hoverboards are slowly but surely being created.

I think one of the best authors of sci-fi and often taken for granted is E. C. Tubb, with his Dumarest Saga. It is based on a more realistical vision of how mankind would spread to other planets and how chaotic and medieval the colonization of some worlds would become, with many discrepancies such as worlds full of wealth and some full of hazards or archaic societies packed with slavery and turmoil. TO date it is my favorite series of sci fi books and a great experiment into human mind and soeciety as a whole. And this is what most sci fi writers hope to achieve when they dream of the future, of how technology will impact our lives.

Science Fiction is so good at predicting the future because both fiction and innovation are made by people who can dream or formulate new ideas.

I think a huge portion of the reason great science fiction writers predict the future is simple: Scientists and especially engineers are great fans of great science fiction. The classic works not only predict the future; they create the future by inspiring engineers to make the predictions real.

I don't know if Mark Twain's prediction was entirely his own. He was good friends with Nikola Tesla. Here is an excerpt from Tesla's autobiography: The first "World System" power plant can be put into operation in nine months. With this power plant it will be practicable to attain electrical activities up to ten million horsepower and it is designed to server for as many technical achievements as are possible without due expense. Among these the following may be mentioned: 1. The inter-connection of the existing telegraph exchanges of offices all over the world; 2. The establishment of a secret and non-interferable government telegraph service; 3. The inter-connection of all present telephone exchanges on the Globe; 4. The universal distribution of general news, by telegraph or telephone, in connection with the press; 5. The establishment of such a "World-System" of intelligence transmission for exclusive private use; 6. The inter-connection and operation of all stock tickers of the world; 7. The establishment of a "World-System" of musical distribution, etc.; 8. The universal registration of time by cheap clocks indicating the hour with astronomical precision and requiring no attention whatever; 9. The world transmission of typed or handwritten characters, letters, checks, etc.; 10. The establishment of a universal marine service enabling the navigators of all ships to steer perfectly without compass, to determine exact location, hour and speed, to prevent collisions and disasters, etc.; 11. The inauguration of a system of world-printing on land and sea; 12. The world production of photographic pictures and all kinds of drawings or records. In other words, Tesla came up with the internet and suggested using Tesla Coils to transmit the data, transmit energy (which wasn't mentioned in this excerpt), and also, as was mentioned here, to do things like create a GPS-like system and basic terraforming. I think it's more likely that Mark Twain was predicting that Tesla's ideas would become a success.

The next question is then, How much does prediction affect the advancement of technology. Predictions of things that are based on a good amount of scientific knowledge are often doable, but are people inspired by fiction to create things. For example, H.G. Wells predicted tanks and lasers. Are sci-fi authors simply developing technology without creating it, and their mental creation of a logical machine gives engineers ideas that allow the thing to be created.

For a lot more instances of science fiction authors predicting the future, check out "prophets of science fiction". It is a documentary series made by the science channel and produced by Ridley Scott. You can find it on Netflix. Coincedentally I just happened to be rewatching it this week and was actually watching the h. G. Wells episode when this and the idea channel's video was published. Weird.

What the flip, Jules Verne! How do you even go about thinking that up? ...One of my favorite people of all time. Thanks for reminding me.

1:44 - Okay, so those figures that Verne gave were 'not bad'. But you don't mention that Verne's spaceship was a bullet that was to be fired out of a cannon with the astronauts inside!

I think Sci-Fi doesn't predict the future it creates it. It plants the seeds that grow in the minds of the people who will action on the vision.

The lensman series had me interested. The idea of forging materials at the pressures and temperatures found at the core of a star opens possibilities of producing things that are way beyond anything even remotely obtainable with current technology. The stories are pretty far fetched but then so were lasers.

This presentation of ideas has a distinct similarity to the vlog brothers' videos (now going on for more than 7 years) regarding the sciences, history (US and world) and numerous top 10/50 lists of items.

The shoes from back to the future and C3-P0 with Google Translate.

I agree with the point that you maid, I also think those science fiction writers often inspire scientist to endeavor to make their favourite childhood science fiction technology come true - a sort of self fulfilling prophecy.

I love how space x is trying to make a new rocket ship that works exactly like those old 50s sci fi rockets that launch straight up but then lands in reverse, they are basically trying to create a reusable rocket ship that doesn’t have to break apart in space. I think it’s neat because I used to see those old sci fi rockets and laugh because I thought it was a ridiculous idea. I hope they are successful with em in the future.

Science and History are essentially in an eternal battle of order and chaos. that's why I love those topics so much, it's reality on the grandest scale.

I think there's also a bit of a "chicken and egg" element to these predictions. Many innovative scientists and engineers admit to being inspired by popular science fiction. This can, consciously and unconsciously, influence their designs and shape their work. And so the DNA of those works of fiction shows up in the products of today.

1:05 is funny because lexus actually made a hoverboard

Aldous HUxley - Brave New World. Incredible predictions! Also Stanisław Lem - an incredible writer with many great predictions!

My guess at why science fiction is good at predictions is that when we read of these mind-blowing technologies, we dream of them becoming a reality and end up eventually creating such items. Now this may not explain the atom bomb or how they predicted dates but this can explain the tablet, the internet, the hover board (like the one Lexus made, while not like the ones in B2F it still doe actually hover) and many other technologies.

I think it would be more fair to say that Douglas Adams predicted Wikipedia than the internet, as Wikipedia is essentially the Hitchhiker's Guide, and our phones, tablets, and computers take place of the physical Guide device.

Perhaps one of the underlying factors that allow science fiction authors to predict humanity's future with such accuracy is that basic human nature stays pretty much constant.

You missed H.G. Wells' invention of the tank, and the prediction of the heavily mechanized first world war in his 1903 short story "The Land Ironclads".

I love all of these! Another answer could be that these were great writers, and the people that read them went on to want to MAKE those things happen, thus the things they predicted came about thanks to their ideas being spread! But it's crazy uncanny hearing Arthur C Clark talking about what is essentially smart phones!

The last science fiction saga I read was the Ender cycle from Orson Scott Card. There are lots of interesting things about science, alien life and new phylosophi current. I hope some of them will be true in the futur ^^. For those who's wondering, yes the movie "Ender's Game" is inspired by those books (the first one of the saga) but I think the movie was based on a comic book or something ... The books worth it ;-)

Nobody mentioned Robert Heinlein who precogged drafting software, autonomous vacuum cleaners, pocket calculators, and lots of other things, many of which haven't been invented YET but may be soon.

Wasn't a prototype hoverboard already created, before October 2015?

Karel Čapek predicted (in a way) how human captives would become test subjects for experiments (like during the Holocaust), and he also predicted his own death.

Michael Crichton's "Next". Maybe not all of it, and maybe not right this second, but that man knew what was coming. (PhD in Molecular Biology probably helped).