8 Dumb Tech Predictions From Smart People
8 Dumb Tech Predictions From Smart People
It’s a fact that even the smartest people on the planet say some pretty dumb things. Many times the dumb things they say seem smart at the time, but in the end, this is the Internet and nobody really gives a crap about context. So in that spirit, here’s a visual journey through some of the head-scratching words spoken by really smart people in technology and science.
1. Bill must have forgotten to adjust for inflation. But still….
2. From his 1995 book Silicon Snake Oil, Stoll also called e-commerce “baloney.” However, in 2010 he humbly noted, “Of my many mistakes, flubs, and howlers, few have been as public as my 1995 howler … Now, whenever I think I know what’s happening, I temper my thoughts: Might be wrong, Cliff…” In Mr. Still’s defense, many of us don’t buy stuff on the Internet. We just steal it.
3. Former Senator Dole redeemed himself when he was featured in a Viagra commercial.
4. Well, it’s nearly 20 years later, and while the Internet may have suffered a moral collapse, its infrastructure is very much alive. Although, we are running out of IP addresses.
5. Computers were a lot bigger back then, but still…just a tad off.
6. It’s been over 10 years since Bill Gates made this proclamation. Meanwhile, I have a very important call later today with a Nigerian fellow regarding some important wire transfers.
7. In fairness, the iPhone and its many iterations since aren’t so much a “cell phone” than a the nerve center of your digital existence. To not be fair at all, this was an incredibly bad prediction.
8. Believe it or not, YouTube was a scrappy upstart before it was acquired by Google in 2005 and became the video juggernaut it is today. Still, back then, even its co-founder was worried about the service’s future. Lesson to be learned: never, ever underestimate the drawing power of cats.
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