The Magic Ball prediction
The future
The Magic Ball isn't the only one trying to predict the fate. Science fiction has sometimes made predictions that later turned out to be right. Let's have a closer look at some examples in the culture coming from the past, predicting the future.
Walking on the moon
While Neil Armstrong walked on the moon on July 21, 1969, 104 years earlier, Jules Verne wrote "From the Earth to the Moon" which tells the same story.
Hoverboard
Everyone remembers the skateboard, in the movie 'Back to the Future'. It is capable of flying a few centimeters above the ground. Currently, every month we can read about a new version of a hoverboard in the media.
Transplantation
Frankenstein's creature is somehow talking about organ transplants. At the time the book was written, people had no idea that this could be possible in the future. But today a large part of the human body's organs can be transplanted. The brain is certainly the Holy Grail.
Hologram
Holograms have been around for a long time in science fiction movies. In reality it's a bit complicated, but the science continues to advance. Here's an invention that could give a new reality to the Magic Ball.
Autonomous cars
In the movie 'Total Recall' (the 1990 one with A. Schwarzenegger), taxis are driven by robots. Nowadays autonomous cars are almost part of the present reality.
Radio
Jules Verne again: In 1889 he made the prediction that in the future men would no longer read the newspaper but would listen to it. The first radio broadcast didn't take place until 1920. This man is really a genius.
Stay under control
Aldous Huxley, in his 1931 book 'the best of all worlds', describes a society where everyone takes a medicine that keeps them happy. It was only 20 years later that doctors made the connection between depression and medication. Currently, about 1 in 6 Americans Takes antidepressants.
General surveillance
George Orwell's book '1984' depicts a company where control is total. Cameras, microphones, interception of communications are used for widespread surveillance. Some people suggest that our present is even worse.
Conclusion
Human can be wise when it comes about to imagine the future. Actually, I think the big thing is the singularity. You can check about it on Wikipedia. To summarize it in a simple way: In the future, a computer is going to be able to upgrade itself, and it's going to become uncontrollable. This new intelligence is going to quickly far surpasses all human intelligence. We are going to become the monkeys and maybe quickly the microbes for this new 'being' point of view. Some movies have already described this situation, for example 'Transcendence' directed by Wally Pfister and written by Jack Paglen. I don't want to spoil the movie but my idea is that the end is nonsense. What do you think?