# Time Will Always Tell **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 19, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459 "2023-01-19T15:54:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/1 "2023-01-19T15:54:51Z")
I was looking at the thread, “Self-Driving Cars are Still Decades Away”. I was thinking that it is a pretty safe prediction because it will take years to prove whether the OP is right or wrong in his prediction, and the thread will be buried and forgotten by then. Then I got to thinking about how long the SDMB has been around. Decades, in fact, so enough time has passed to show whether or not predictions made, say, twenty years ago actually turned out to be accurate. For example, suppose, at the turn of the century, someone posted that this century would be over quickly because the world is going to end in 2012. The passage of time would have shown that to be wrong. So, I’m just wondering if there are threads of that nature buried here that, over the time, show that the OP had brilliant predictive powers or a dud of a prediction. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/2 "2023-01-19T21:21:46Z")
Sadly, I think you’d have to know specific threads of posters. And maybe even plow thru many posts to find predictions. I seem to remember an old thread about “Who would still be here after 20 years?” Many, many posters chimed in “I will” and why. I doubt alot of them are still here and/or post much the ones who are. Or deceased. Some great ones are tho’ I’ll give it a search for you. I’ll let you know… ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/3 "2023-01-19T21:35:03Z")
Ok, quick search produced 100s of math threads. Not readin’ that. Some political campaign predictions. And one or two predictions about a Survivor TV show winner and one about the who would take Alex’s place on Jeopardy. Sorry, difficult to search that. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/4 "2023-01-19T21:36:26Z")
Predictions about COVID would be a rich and recent trove. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/5 "2023-01-19T21:37:15Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > So, I’m just wondering if there are threads of that nature buried here that, over the time, show that the OP had brilliant predictive powers or a dud of a prediction. Many of us in early 2016 wrote about how unlikely a Trump victory was, and we never could imagine it. I believe some accurately predicted the calamity. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/6 "2023-01-19T21:41:00Z")
Here’s a potentially good one from 2003, since we’re not that far off from 25 years… > [@The real future - Real world predictions for the world 25 and 50 years from now.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-future-real-world-predictions-for-the-world-25-and-50-years-from-now/188098/8): > > And here I thought we were supposed to predict where the MTV show The Real World will take place in 20 to 50 years. Real World Antartica Real World Submarine Real World Abandon Missle Silo Real World Space Station. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/7 "2023-01-19T21:54:04Z")
Some interesting calls here: > [@The real future - Real world predictions for the world 25 and 50 years from now.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-real-future-real-world-predictions-for-the-world-25-and-50-years-from-now/188098/10): > > Communications: > Software will be sold on a subscription basis. You’ll download the application and install it once, but you’ll need to keep up on the monthly payments to keep using it. > It is unlikely that computers will be replaced by hand-held units. The smaller screen size and awkward interface would be too problematic. Palm pilots will continue to merge with cell phones, though, until they’re the same thing. > Hard discs and compact discs should soon be replaced by memory cards. > Appointment-based television viewing will disappear. On-demand services will take over. Advertisers will have to get out of television and into places where it’s not just a guy with a remote control… like the movie theater. > > Transportation: > Because of energy limitations, we’ll see an apparent regression here. Bicycles, rickshaws, and possibly even horses will be used to get around cities. The majority of families will no longer own a car. Transportation will become so expensive that telecommuting will be the norm, and going to an office will be considered an extravagance. > Incidentally, I was skeptical about virtual sex, but the high cost of transport could very well fuel a boom in downloadable orgasms. > Space travel will not have made any real steps forward. The most a manned flight will do, 50 years from now, is go around the world at high altitudes. Same as now. It’ll be cheaper, but still inaccessible to John Q Public. > > Medical: > Heart disease, cancer, and the like will generally be nuisance chronic conditions. > But a disease like SARS will become a five-year event. Fifteen-year events will send some parts of the world back into the dark ages and cause political turmoil all over the world. Thirty-year events… don’t wanna think about it. But disease will soon replace terrorism as the major threat to national security, as terrorism has replaced nuclear war. OTOH, disease could very well cause terrorism and small scale nuclear attacks… > > Political and Economic: > The republican party will split due to an eventual conflict of interest between fiscal and social conservatism. > Marijuana will be legalized - and not just for medical purposes, because the courts will not be able to spend a lot of time making that distinction. > Alcohol will be completely banned in several American states. > China will get Taiwan and let go of Tibet. One thing that won’t change - the average American won’t care. > America will decline from its economic leadership of the world. For a while, there will be no clear successor. America won’t decline gracefully, so I’m afraid this is gonna be a mess. > Meat will become a very scarce and expensive product. So get that fat and cholesterol while it’s still available, cause it’s going soon… Where are you @Engywook ? Certainly a strong start there. Come back for a combination of acclamation and ridicule. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/8 "2023-01-19T22:49:15Z")
I have an article from Future Life magazine, predicting the wondrous things that are going to happen in the 80s, and beyond. It was written with the input of several famous futurists. It covers medicine, social, fashion, textiles, space, transportation, mining. It’s hilariously pie in the sky delusional. They predicted things by 1990 that still aren’t happening or even possible. If anyone cares I can scan and post it. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2023, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/9 "2023-01-19T23:19:12Z")
SPIN magazine used to have a column about AIDS, and in the early 1990s, an ID specialist said, “In 10 or 15 years, AIDS will mostly be a disease of drug addicts, and you won’t hear much about it.” I was skeptical about this, as I am of other futurist predictions, but in this case, s/he was right. A while back, C-SPAN’s monthly program “In Depth” had Ray Kurzweil, whom I’d never heard of at the time, on as a guest for this 3-hour interview program, and one of the first callers launched into a rant that included the phrase “this crackpot.” And when he started talking about nanobots, that’s when I realized the caller was probably right. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/10 "2023-01-20T12:14:18Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Sadly, I think you’d have to know specific threads of posters. And maybe even plow thru many posts to find predictions. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I’ll give it a search for you. I’ll let you know… You’re right on both counts, and you are a sweetheart for trying! > [@Riemann](#): > > Some interesting calls here: That’s for sure! There are some misses, but a bunch of the predictions are right on! > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > If anyone cares I can scan and post it. Please do! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/11 "2023-01-20T12:22:03Z")
Way back in the innocent days of August 2015, I was sure Trump didn’t really want to be president, and would drop out before the election. So I created this poll: > [@Poll/Pool: When will Trump get out of the race?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-pool-when-will-trump-get-out-of-the-race/727496): > > Personally, I don’t think Trump is serious about running for President. The actual poll post did not survive the transition to Discourse, but I found it on Way Back and reposted it after the 2020 election. For your convenience, here it is: > [@Poll/Pool: When will Trump get out of the race?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-pool-when-will-trump-get-out-of-the-race/727496/99): > > Sept. 1, 2015 1 0.56% bobo blesinger Sept. 15, 2015 1 0.56% dracoi Oct. 1, 2015 0 0% Oct. 15, 2015 1 0.56% Bosda Di’Chi of Tricor Nov. 1, 2015 1 0.56% foolsguinea Nov. 15, 2015 1 0.56% Locrian Dec. 1, 2015 0 0% Dec. 15, 2015 0 0% Jan. 1, 2016 2 1.12% commasense, silverfish Jan. 15, 2016 2 1.12% Snowboarder Bo, wolfpup Feb. 1, 2016 (Iowa Caucus) 2 1.12% boffking, llcoolbj77 Feb. 9, 2016 (NH primary) 3 1.68% Billdo, FatOrangeCat, Octari… Although people were allowed to vote for 15 months, only 14 out of 179 respondents imagined that he could actually win. So although I and my OP certainly fall in the “dud of a prediction category,” along with most of the other posters and voters, a small percentage of us showed “brilliant predictive powers.” Unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/12 "2023-01-20T13:59:34Z")
I don’t recall the details, but there was a thread bumped a week or two ago that had a comment in it accurately predicting when it was going to be bumped, and a few other details. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2023, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/13 "2023-01-20T14:01:40Z")
I particularly like the “predicting one’s own demise” predictions. LOL ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/14 "2023-01-21T12:17:25Z")
[My thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-will-be-our-next-president-note-who-will-be-not-who-you-would-like-it-to-be/760669/1) from July, 2016 asking who our next president will be is interesting to look back on. It was a poll, but it seems the new software ate the poll portion of it; the comments are fun to read, though. A few examples: - Hillary in a landslide - Clinton. She won the moment Trump became the endorsed Republican candidate - It is going to be Clinton. It was always going to be Clinton - I hate to admit it, but Trump is going to win - I’m horrified at the prospect of a Trump presidency - Americans won’t fall for Trump … at least not enough Americans will - This is the year of the crazy mmm ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2023, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-will-always-tell/978459/15 "2023-01-23T00:08:13Z")
Of course, some don’t need very much time at all to tell. I remember a Game Room thread where someone kept on insisting that computers could never possibly bluff successfully, even after people pointed out that poker-bots existed that could consistent beat the top humans, and had existed for years at that point. > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > SPIN magazine used to have a column about AIDS, and in the early 1990s, an ID specialist said, “In 10 or 15 years, AIDS will mostly be a disease of drug addicts, and you won’t hear much about it.” I was skeptical about this, as I am of other futurist predictions, but in this case, s/he was right. In the US, maybe. It’s still a pretty big deal in Africa.