Is predicting the future difficult? Obviously. But that shouldn't keep any of us from giving it our best shot.


What's your favorite highly improbable future? If we ever manage to travel faster than the speed of light, we must first imagine that it is… Read more

In the year 1900, John Elfreth Watkins, Jr. decided to give clairvoyance a go by asking "the wisest and most careful" thinkers from "the greatest institutions of science and learning" what they thought might transpire over the course of the 20th century. And while Watkins doesn't mention who these "wise and careful" minds are, it's downright impressive how many of these predictions have actually come to pass in the 100 years (well, 112, now) since this column was written. It almost makes you wonder if the days of C, X, and Q being part of the English alphabet are numbered. (Click the image below to embiggen, or click here to see a transcription.)


[Via Letters of Note]

Hat tip to Courtney!