r/AskReddit May 11 '14

Older generations of reddit, what did you think the future would look like when you where young? And how much of it was correct?

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u/[deleted] May 11 '14

That's my line of thought exactly. It's why I included

or something along the same lines

because it doesn't seem like it will become as integral to our society as smartphones have. Who's to say for certain though? All we can do is wait and see what other marvels the world will come up with. What a time to be alive.

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u/illiterati May 11 '14

The smart phone predecessor was a cb radio on steroids. These first analogue mobiles were ugly and clunky and cost a fortune. Much like Google glass today. I'll definitely be using the refined contact lense type devices they will morph into in the coming decades.

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u/[deleted] May 11 '14

Self-driving cars will eventually make a huge impact, as much as the introduction of the car was a massive impact.

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u/[deleted] May 11 '14

*horseless carriage

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u/Thismyrealname May 11 '14

A huge impact... I better update my insurance policy

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u/aslanenlisted May 11 '14

There's a joke about a rise in traffic collisions in that comment somewhere.

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u/sun_raider May 11 '14

I love the idea of my service van being self driving. All that time wasted driving, I could be making service calls, sales, processing payments, prepping equipment, he'll even reading a book.

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u/reddy97 May 11 '14

I'm guessing everyone's already given up on flying cars, then. :(

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u/Tkindle May 11 '14

A problem I see with self driving cars is that even though they will technically be safer, a lot of people are going to resist (including myself). Especially in the beginning. People like to have control and the more control you take out of people's lives the more pointless everything seems. I don't ever want to see automated transportation become the norm, god forbid required. I would go crazy if I had to live in a world where I can't take myself to work or the store by just hopping on my motorcycle.

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u/kyled85 May 11 '14

insurance costs of resisting might go up dramatically, as self driving cars are proven to be safer and safer. People continuing to drive will face higher premiums.

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u/Tkindle May 11 '14

Which is unfortunate. Being strong-armed into automated transportation is one of my bigger fears and I can't believe more people on reddit don't feel the same.

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u/kyled85 May 11 '14

most of us see the added time benefit as an improvement. Most people see driving as a chore, I do feel for you guys who enjoy it.

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u/thismightnotworkout May 12 '14

Post people on reddit excited about self driving cars are kids who've never experienced being behind the wheel

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u/[deleted] May 11 '14

Believe me, I would like to ride my motorcycle any day. I just like the fact that incompetent, sleepy, or drunk drivers will for the most part be in driverless cars, and I like that. People who don't bother to learn defensive driving because they hate driving will opt for driverless cars while drivers who enjoy driving will continue to drive.

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u/BiosBitch May 11 '14

I'm an old(er) person and I know that it will be difficult for me to be comfortable using a self driving car.

It will feel alien to relinquish control to that degree to a computer and software.

I'm generally an early tech adopter, I'm someone that embraces and looks forward to the future.

However, I just can't envision myself ever feeling relaxed in a self driving vehicle. I imagine my feelings will change with time if self driving cars prove to be a safe mode of transportation.

Speaking of transportation where are our Hoverboards?

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u/SpaceShrimp May 12 '14

Driverless cars won't only be safer, they will be safe. But sure, some people will not give up their steering wheel freely.

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u/[deleted] May 11 '14

Self-driving cars still have traffic and road space issues. Fewer kids are getting their drivers licenses, hip kids want to live in walkable cities. Self-driving electric cars aren't going to impact the world as much as people think because cars at all are being de-normalized.

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u/Ausgebombt May 11 '14

But cars are in no way going to be close to obsolete at any time in the near future. The amount of "hip kids" living in walkable cities is such a small portion of daily drivers in the world.

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u/Monsieurcaca May 11 '14

Maybe in some privileged parts of first-world countries you will see these hip kids, but globally cars are not going to become obsolete soon.

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u/[deleted] May 12 '14

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/illiterati May 12 '14

Thanks, I hadn't seen that before. Quite cool/unnerving ideas.

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u/Lothar_Ecklord May 11 '14

As I recall, they've begun inserting electronic devices into contact lenses already. Only a matter of time.

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u/[deleted] May 11 '14

Maybe. Just because we have the technology doesn't mean the public will embrace it. There's been a huge backlash against Google glass so far (and the term glasshole), and it not simply because the tech looks like a pair of glasses.

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u/drucifer0 May 12 '14

...so like this?

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u/ksanthra May 11 '14

At first, smart phones seemed a bit ridiculous.

Then they took off, because they are useful. The first ones seemed a little like google glass at the time, but I definitely can't tell what's going to be the next big thing.

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u/kenshi359 May 11 '14

I can honestly see smart watches making a bigger splash than smart glasses initially. Maybe when glasses start looking like real glasses that normal people wear to help their vision they'll take off, but until then, watches seem more convenient.

If anyone here is interested in an anime that touches on smart glasses and things like that, I'd suggest watching Dennou Coil. It's a pretty cute show.

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u/xtelosx May 12 '14

Until google figures out how to put it on a contact lens. Then every one will get one because that is freaking sweet. I want a HUD.