I Have Seen the Future

Way back in the 1970s and early 80s there was a television programme, possibly called 'Tomorrow, Today', that projected how the next century would unfold as all the wonderful new discoveries and inventions would change the way we lived. It all seemed more science fiction than science as we viewed it on our black and white television, on the one available channel. Much of it also seemed preposterous, unnecessary even- why would anyone want to see the person they were talking to on the telephone? How safe would those jet backpacks really be?

Of course it was all conjecture as to how these fancy new-fangled 'electronics' and the like would actually look in practice, but there was one thing was very clear. Workplaces would change radically as automation replaced workers in industry and farming. Luckily, we were well prepared for the coming fall in demands on us as a workforce, and what governments all over the world would do was introduce much shorter working weeks to ensure work for all. We would all have to learn how to fill our much longer leisure hours as we all enjoyed the prosperity of our bright, new future. 

This sounded just splendid to me, and I set about preparing to embrace that future. I honed my skills of lethargy and sloth. It was a least I could do as a socially responsible, forward thinking citizen. I have been badly let down. Not only do I not have a hover car, I have a four day weekend mindset stuck in a two day weekend reality.