# Things we know about the future based on fiction **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 3, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825 "2015-01-03T02:32:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CGav8r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@CGav8r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGav8r)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/21 "2015-01-04T14:40:27Z")
The cure for baldness still eludes the scientists of the future. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/22 "2015-01-04T15:56:24Z")
Neckties, however, are a thing of the distant past. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/23 "2015-01-04T17:11:16Z")
All future US presidents will be black and/or female, and every family will have at least one quirky homosexual. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/24 "2015-01-04T17:12:32Z")
> [@CGav8r](#): > > The cure for baldness still eludes the scientists of the future. However, no one will suffer from nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/25 "2015-01-04T17:26:35Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > All future US presidents will be black and/or female. With the occasional Latino or Asian, just to make it interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/26 "2015-01-06T09:11:15Z")
Far future art and pop-culture seems to alternate between “not present” and “[unabashedly ludicrous](http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120709161623/bloodandhonor/images/7/74/Ruby_Rhod.jpg).” ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/27 "2015-01-06T16:38:51Z")
Everyone has learned to be quiet. There are no longer loud raucous events, parties, activities, music or sports. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/28 "2015-01-06T17:28:32Z")
And bars like Ten-Forward are all “happening places.” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/29 "2015-01-06T19:17:28Z")
> [@CGav8r](#): > > The cure for baldness still eludes the scientists of the future. Strangely, no one frets about baldness either. There doesn’t seem to be a Hair Club in the future. Oh, and I’m guessing almost all the fat people have been executed or locked away. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/30 "2015-01-07T05:23:09Z")
In the future, advances in birth control technology and more advanced social mores will combine to make women completely promiscuous and willing to make hot monkey love at the drop of a hat, or an innuendo, as the case may be. But they will do so in the most socially awkward manner imaginable, for some reason. And all of these promiscuous women will joyfully drop all their promiscuous ways if they can only find their One True Love. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/31 "2015-01-07T16:23:13Z")
In the future, the vehicle of preference for getting around will be either a 50s Corvette or a late 60s- early70s muscle car, as no other conveyance will have been developed that will allow someone to get from A to B any faster in an emergency. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/32 "2015-01-07T16:23:58Z")
Bombs will still have red and green wires and you only need to cut one to disarm it. However, there are still no regulations for which wire is red or green so you have to guess. > [@terentii](#): > > However, no one will suffer from nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. Except for the genius scientist types; they still wear glasses. Otherwise how would you know they were genius scientists? > [@armedmonkey](#): > > Artificial gravity generators are so well made that they still function after everything else breaks and are even able to do so if the ship has lost all power. Good one! ---
**Author:** ![JoshuaSD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f1d935/32.png) [@JoshuaSD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoshuaSD)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/33 "2015-01-07T16:35:18Z")
Despite massive leaps in all forms of science any hand fired weapon will, when fired at the “good guys,” shoot out on a strange angle so as to hit the wall somewhere high and to the right of the target. Furthermore in defiance of to the normal laws of nature, the laser beam fired from these blasters will be easily tracked by the naked eye. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/34 "2015-01-07T17:15:14Z")
Sometime in the next two centuries, the science of building nuclear weapons will be lost. The most powerful shipboard weapons will only be able to damage a small portion of a ship’s outer plating, and ground attacks will be made by manned fighters flying strafing runs. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/35 "2015-01-07T18:29:51Z")
In addition, due to the aforementioned lack of railings and safety features, future humans will have evolved extraordinary levels of grip strength and will be able to dangle by one hand from all sorts of ledges, poles, rocks, cables, beams, crystal shards, vines, cliff faces, and speeding vehicles. This is obviously due to intense selective pressure, humans unable to dangle have long since gone extinct. It will not only be commonplace for humans to dangle by one hand over certain death, they’ll be able to use their free hand to program computers, activate self destruct mechanisms, fire weapons, duel with blades, retrieve McGuffins, or hold on to one or more other dangling humans. Despite these drastic evolutionary changes human arms and hands will have the same outward appearance and will not resemble chimpanzee forelimbs in any way. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/36 "2015-01-07T18:35:56Z")
When a space ship is atttacked by a laser beam type of weapon, the entire ship shakes as if it was hit with a physical artillery shell. And no heat is generated. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2015, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/37 "2015-01-07T19:19:00Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > In addition, due to the aforementioned lack of railings and safety features, future humans will have evolved extraordinary levels of grip strength and will be able to dangle by one hand from all sorts of ledges, poles, rocks, cables, beams, crystal shards, vines, cliff faces, and speeding vehicles. This is obviously due to intense selective pressure, humans unable to dangle have long since gone extinct. It will not only be commonplace for humans to dangle by one hand over certain death, they’ll be able to use their free hand to program computers, activate self destruct mechanisms, fire weapons, duel with blades, retrieve McGuffins, or hold on to one or more other dangling humans. > > Despite these drastic evolutionary changes human arms and hands will have the same outward appearance and will not resemble chimpanzee forelimbs in any way. Nonsense – this has already happened. Didn’t you get the memo? ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/38 "2015-01-08T17:05:34Z")
Speaking in terms of the 70s version of the future: [ul] [li]America has either been nuked or[/li][li]Turned into a totalitarian autocracy that stays in power by providing ‘opiates for the masses’ in terms of high technology.[/li][li]Every white guy seems to have a least one black female concubine with a ridiculously huge afro![/li][li]Every party scene will contain one of those stupid, white, [‘Egg’ chairs](http://nationalfurnituresupply.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/oval_red_egg_chair.jpg)![/li][li]Every apartment, business, residential complex will look like a generic shopping mall![/li][li]Cellphones are no where to be seen but the desk video phone will be ubiquitous![/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/39 "2015-01-08T17:19:17Z")
Cigarettes have been entirely eliminated, though a very few powerful men still smoke cigars. Any virtual reality game can be reprogrammed to kill the players’ real life bodies. ---
**Author:** ![Sgt.Storm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/57b2e6/32.png) [@Sgt.Storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sgt.Storm)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2015, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825/40 "2015-01-08T17:30:41Z")
Cancer has clearly been cured, as everyone smokes, everywhere, at all times. On moonbase, in submarines, while working on open computer consoles, etc. Sexual harassment is no longer a “thing” and no one cares that the (male) station commander is blatantly hitting on the cute female scientist/tech/whatever. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-we-know-about-the-future-based-on-fiction/708825.md?page=3)