Today is Back to the Future Day. My kids, who wouldn’t even be alive until almost 20 years since the first movie came out are more excited about it than I am. I suppose that’s the generational thing. When we saw Back to the Future all those years ago, our hopes rose high that we’d be using new gadgets. We thought there would be hoverboards, self tying shoes, flying cars and Mr. Fusions.
Back to the Future didn’t get everything right, but our lives are so far advanced from the days when it first fired up our imaginations. We now have miniature supercomputers in our pockets that replaced the pagers and brick phones of the 80s. We have ALOT of Velcro shoes. They don’t tie themselves, but they certainly are simpler than laces. (One of these days I’ll need to teach my youngest how to actually tie shoes). We do have a first generation hoverboard, but we’ve also got Segways and such that are just as futuristic compared to the 80s.
I think my greatest disappointment is the lack of flying cars. Granted, as bad as traffic is, I can’t imagine how it would be if we had to worry about movement with the addition of flight. It would be amazing to zip around without concern of roads and highways and potholes, but it would likely be unnerving as well. I suppose I’ll just stick with my mini-van.
Mr. Fusion! What a great idea. Take ordinary day to day refuse and use it as a fuel source. I know that there is all sorts of research being done on clean energy and recyclable fuel sources. One day we’ll get there.
I guess that’s the cool thing about movies like Back to the Future. They aren’t exact predictors of the future, but they do offer hope. Who would have thought in the late 60’s that we’d actually have handheld communicators and watches capable of what Dick Tracy did. Who could have predicted the ability to allow kids in remote parts of the world to have access to the internet through durable, usable technology developed with them in mind. Here’s hoping that 30 years from now, we’ve done a great job trying to make the world an even better place that our kids will be proud to call home.
Until, Doc Brown has left us a message:
Strong and Courageous? 