Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Wrong Tomorrow - A Brin Predictions Registry?
Wrong Tomorrow is a new site created by Maciej Ceglowski to keep track of the predictions made by public figures. The site has a simple, friendly user interface, making it easy for users to enter the predictions. Ceglowski says:
The site FAQ mentions that research has shown that experts make predictions at a rate worse than chance. The Wrong Tomorrow site "exists in order to hold people and media outlets accountable for pretending to see into an unpredictable future."
The site then holds the predictions, displaying them sorted by author, date and status (see screen shot below).
"I figured it would be nice to have a single place where you could go to unequivocally check the track record of pundits in politics, finance and my own field, information technology."
(Sample predictions from WrongTomorrow.com)
This is a very likable site, and might serve a real social function - cutting down on the total number of blowhards by exposing their poor records. This is particularly true for people who make their living by claiming to see what is going to happen next.
This site might also bring to the fore the people who have an uncanny knack for seeing into the future and highlighting important aspects of it - namely, our favorite science fiction authors.
I'd like to suggest that the site also include a link or reference to the source of the prediction. (It turns out that you need to submit one when submitting a prediction.)
This site is similar to an idea expressed by David Brin in his 1990 novel Earth.
"Anyone who tries to predict the future is inevitably a fool. Present company included. A prophet without a sense of humor is just stupid."That was how his grandmother had put it, once. And she ought to know. Everyone praised Jen Wolling for her brilliant foresight. But one day she had shown him her scorecard from the World Predictions Registry. After twenty-five years of filing prognostications with the group, her success rating was a mere sixteen percent. And that was better than three times the WPR average.
(Read more about Brin's World Predictions Registry)
Be sure to take a look at the Wrong Tomorrow website. See also David Brin's article Accountability for Everyday Prophets: A Call for a Predictions Registry. See also my list of ideas from Brin's novel Earth, which now stands at 23 and David Brin's blog post on the prediction registry.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 4/2/2009)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Culture ")
Switzerland May Cap Population At Ten Million
'The population of Castle Hagedorn was fixed...' - Jack Vance, 1967.
California Governor Candidate Calls For Voting By Phone
'... every veephone on the continent would display, over and over, two propositions.' John Brunner, 1975.
Chinese Hospital Tries Vonnegut's 'Harrison Bergeron' Cosplay
'He wore spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half
blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides.' - Kurt Vonnegut, 1961.
A Remarkable Coincidence
'There is a philosophical problem of some difficulty here...' - Arthur C. Clarke, 1953.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
FTC: Says Ring Employees Illegally Surveilled Customers
'Then she looked up with a smile and moved closer to the camera.'
Switzerland May Cap Population At Ten Million
'The population of Castle Hagedorn was fixed...'
Project Silica Offers 'Long-Term' Digital Storage
'... folios and tapes and playable discs of platinum alloy.'
Can 'Tactical Umbrellas' Shield One From Drones
'... another corner of his mind began to think about the shields.'
Crystalline Structures In Space, You Say?
A massive space borne lifeform from ST:TNG.
Garçon! A Menu For Artemis II, S'il Vous Plaît
'Michel Ardan, as a Frenchman, was declared chief cook, an important function, which raised no rival.'
Amazing Photonic Crystal Light Sail
'That sail will be twenty thousand miles at the wide part.'
Blue Collar AI Goes To Work To Mine Its Own Crypto
Blue collar bot.
Rogue AI Replicated Itself
'Sapiro’s computer just kept dialing at random, hanging up on humans, until it got a fellow computer of the same type as itself.'
HandelBot Helps Two-Handed Robots Learn Piano
'I request that you feed the correlation between those dots and the levers of the panel into my memory banks.'
Woven Fiber Electronic Skin For Robots
'... all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
When AI Takes Its First Breath
Any suggestions?
Chinese Aircar Light And Airy, Not For Blade Runners
Daytime version.
The Morphing Wheel And The Smartwheel
'If you surf over a bump, the spokes contract to roll over it.'
Transporting Antimatter
'...drawing plans for the magnetic tongs and bed plates and relays.'
Polish Turns Your Nail Into A Stylus
'He wrote on it, using the pointed fingernail of his right forefinger...'
