The great American science fiction author Isaac Asimov published his essay Visit to the World's Fair of 2014 on August 16, 1964 in the New York Times. Today, 50 years later, most of his predictions turn out to be true.
In his essay, Isaac Asimov described the innovations that will be known to mankind in 2014 with astonishing accuracy. For example he predicted equipment designed for short distance use, that will have a ladder on one side and space for stepping in the middle. According to him, these would be used underground, beneath cities, in the battle against traffic.
Asimov foretold that traffic will be huge, with insufficient parking spaces. Travel will become ever more difficult because of the constant need of deliveries to the suburbs.
The professor also describes the communications of the future. He wrote that they would be so advanced that we would be able to see and hear people on the other side of the world.
He accurately described the synchronized satellites in space which would help people connect with any point on Earth, even with the meteorological stations in Antarctica. The screens of the new devices would allow people to look at pictures, as well as to read documents and even entire books.
Asimov believed that the most fascinating part of the 2014 World's Fair would be small robot cars, so advanced that they would be able to set their own coordinates for specific destinations and maneuver in crowds on their own. The author prophesied that TV will be projected from screens set in the wall. He described 3-D forms and 3-D TVs that would be of a convenient size for everyday use.
In some aspects, Isaac's predictions went beyond the actual speed of technological development. He envisioned that in 2014 there would only be several jobs that man would be capable of doing better than machines.
The highest level of education will consist of learning about machines, future computer technologies and the languages that have yet to be created. Birth will be a strictly controlled process and a kind of world propaganda, humane and rational.
Medicine is also mentioned in Asimov's essay. According to him, the most important aspect of it in 2014 will be psychology. People will suffer mainly from boredom which will degenerate into a multitude of psychological problems and ailments.
