From 1840: Alexis de Tocqueville predicted the Cold War
Amazing display of understanding of macro human sociology and evolution between two superpowers. At a time when world superpowers were not yet known and neither world war had yet taken place, predicting conflict on such a large scale magnitude represents either a large degree of insight, or a very pessimistic outlook on human evolution.
From 1863: When only 60 elements were known, a Russian chemist designed a periodic table that predicted the weights and properties of the missing 40+ perfectly
The ability to recognize past patterns, and predict future results is a undervalued talent in the technology field. Many past technological advances follow a certain trend in core concepts, and being able to recognize future opportunities provides a strong competitive advantage. Failure to do so falls along the lines of the commonly said advice; "those who don't know history, are doomed to repeat it."
From 1987: Roger Ebert predicted video-on-demand services Netflix and Hulu
At a time when television, entertainment, and internet capabilities were still in their infancy, the ability for Robert Ebert to combine all 3 and predict the video-streaming industry shows a remarkable understanding of all 3 functions unique combined potential. Just as it is important to recognize past patterns, recognizing future potential is equally important for innovation.
From 2006: The President of Euro Pacific Capital predicted the housing market crash
Foreseeing future opportunities is invaluable, just as is seeing future risks. At a time when every major bank in America was oblivious to the bubble their were creating, it is reassuring to know not all credit institutions remained blind to the growing problem. Euro Pacific Capital's foresight ability is a likely factor in their survival through the credit crash.
From the 1660s: One day humans would transplant organs from one body to another
In a time when human organs and their functions were hardly known, this prediction takes place as my number one simply by the extreme accuracy of which it predicted future medicine.
I really like the Netflix and Hulu prediction. Especially when it was predicted in 1987, that is a great forecast into the future. Imagine if the executives at Blockbuster had a similar ephipany, then the company would be different today.
I really enjoyed reading your post and could really tell that you put into a lot of effort and time because I never saw these quotes until I read your post. Great job and keep up with it!
The prediction about on-demand streaming was great - this is extremely to us as college students, as that is how most of us actually take in content nowadays! It is crazy to see how someone was able to predict this so long ago!
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteI really like the Netflix and Hulu prediction. Especially when it was predicted in 1987, that is a great forecast into the future. Imagine if the executives at Blockbuster had a similar ephipany, then the company would be different today.
Hey Chris,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post and could really tell that you put into a lot of effort and time because I never saw these quotes until I read your post. Great job and keep up with it!
Hi Chris,
ReplyDeleteThe prediction about on-demand streaming was great - this is extremely to us as college students, as that is how most of us actually take in content nowadays! It is crazy to see how someone was able to predict this so long ago!