Science Fiction Prophet: Predictions Come True by H.G. Wells

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

September 21 marks 152 years since the birth H. G. Wells … Only a century later, it became clear how far-sighted the famous science fiction writer turned out to be. 80% of his predictions, which at that time seemed crazy assumptions, became reality in the future. In his science fiction novels, Wells envisioned buses, escalators, answering machines, central heating, automatic doors, and many other useful twentieth-century inventions.

In 1897 Wells published the novella The Invisible Man, the very idea of which later became the subject of controversy among scholars. Today, stealth aircraft are invisible to radars, and meta-material camouflage has been invented to create the illusion of invisibility. In his 1898 novel The War of the Worlds, Wells described the capture of the Earth by the Martians, who were destroyed by humans with the help of a simple bacterium. In the twentieth century. the search for extraterrestrial civilizations really took on a worldwide scale, and scientists and the military were actively working on the development of bacteriological weapons. In War of the Worlds, the author also writes about gas attacks and "heat rays" with the help of which the aliens destroyed their opponents - by this he anticipated the emergence of laser weapons. Wells' other idea, coming to fruition in the near future, is "the introduction of nutrients into the blood."

Even before the outbreak of world wars, the science fiction writer described their catastrophic consequences: inflation and other economic problems, unemployment, hunger and political crises. Aircraft heavier than air were still being planned, and Wells's Martians had already built their own aircraft. In the novel The World Set Free (1914), the writer discussed the possibility of splitting the atom and creating an atomic bomb. And these ideas, too, unfortunately, have found their embodiment in real life.

In 1901 Wells published his book On the Impact of the Progress of Mechanics and Science on Human Life and Thought, which contained many startlingly accurate predictions. The writer foresaw that rail transport would soon give up its leading position to road transport and expressed his assumptions regarding its evolution: crews - their jolts, clumsiness, the unpleasant smell left behind - could not be quickly eliminated. The author rightly assumed that the railways would soon be used only for the transportation of heavy goods and the mass transportation of people.

But the writer doubted the prospects of air transport: “Aeronautics is unlikely to bring significant changes to the transport system,” he wrote. "Man is not an albatross, but an earthly biped, very prone to fatigue and dizziness from excessively fast movement."

Wells pinned his hopes on the telephone, which were later realized by the Internet connection: “Just think about what will be done with the telephone when it comes into general use. The labor of wandering around the shops will almost disappear: you give orders by telephone and any goods will be sent to you at least a hundred miles from London; in one day, everything ordered will be delivered to your home, examined and, if unsuitable, sent back. The hostess of the house, armed with a pipe and without moving from her place, will have at her disposal local suppliers and all major London shops, a theater box office, a post office, a cabbie, a doctor …”.

Some of Wells's predictions did not come true: for example, he assumed that in large cities people would move using moving conveyor sidewalks. The author also underestimated the role of tanks and submarines in military operations. Scientist was also mistaken in his predictions regarding the creation of a single world state and the preservation of the main role of women as a housewife.

Unfortunately, the writer failed to convince mankind of the danger of world wars. History knows many examples of the implementation of the so-called "Cassandra Syndrome": Predictions That Nobody Believed Could Avert Catastrophes