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Published: January 18, 2024
Comets, planets and galactic distances can seem elusive to human understanding. The more everyday and close things there are, the easier it is. Or? When it comes to acquisition, it’s exactly the opposite. Listen to Gustaf Arrhenius explain why and what predictions about the future are often missing. He was recently a guest on the Heja Framtiden podcast.
“We can easily calculate exactly what the planets will look like in 150 years. And sometimes that’s important because some comets can pose a threat to Earth. But as soon as human action comes into play, things tend to get very difficult.” I tend to say that we are pretty good at predicting technological developments. However, we are not that good at predicting norms and culture. Let’s take the film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” It came out in 1968 and shows a future in which people make video calls. But it is the man who is on the road and calls a woman at home who is looking after the children at home. It is an example of how changes in equality between women and men have been completely missed. And often it’s just cultural changes that are the hardest to predict.”
Listen to the podcast: Heja Framtiden #502 – Gustaf Arrhenius
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