Yeps . . .

This is the time of year for predictions. (And resolutions.) I ran across this article on Newsvine, and I thought it was interesting. Two lists: 10 things that science fiction predicted would happen that did and 10 things that science fiction predicted would happen that didn't. First the YEPS . . . did happen.

• Airport x-ray scanners (And you know what an advance I think these are.)
• Video phones
• Alien life (Yes, I did a double take too . . . but what we're talking about here is a life form that's not carbon based, i.e., "a microbial life form that thrives on arsenic.")
• 3D TVs (I'm not rushing out to get one.)
•  Big Brother (Everybody's business is public, thanks to the Internet. This is not exactly Orwellian, but it's scary enough.)
• Telepathy "Got a mobile phone and Bluetooth headset? Then you’re a telepath. Stay with me on this one. Telepathy is the ability to broadcast your thoughts across small or great distances to another persons mind instantaneously, seemingly without using your normal senses. With a wireless headset you can send thoughts (through speech) to anyone in the world almost instantaneously. Implant the headset behind your ears and mic at your throat, learn how to sub-vocalize (speaking with only your throat) and no one around you would hear. For all intents and purposes, telepathy. It makes me wonder if all of the crazy people wondering the streets muttering to themselves aren’t just early adopters." (a stretch)
• A permanent space station
• Tablet computers (Apparently, if my daughter and her family are any indication, as addicting as smart phones, too.)
• The Web ("2010 has seen the widespread deployment of some important new technologies that will fundamentally change the way you view the Internet’s most popular offspring. “Web 2.0″ was really just a marketing ploy compared to how HTML5, CSS3, and the new web typography are shaking things up.")
• Cyber Wars (Information warfare is a reality . . . but presently pretty hidden.)

Tomorrow, the NOPES. . . didn't happen. Happy New Year, everybody!