In our own lifetime and throughout history, we have seen some strange and unique things that we may never have thought possible. Some living today could never have foreseen the level of communication we have at our disposal today and as for generations past... well numerous things we all take for granted would leave them stunned.
It makes you wonder what is still in the future. We might have our own ideas as to how far civilization will go in the field of technology. By the same token, there are some things that are just too silly for words. Much as I would enjoy the experience, I don't really believe a polar bear will join me for coffee at my favorite cafe. Then again, who knows what could happen in the future.
I often think about the life my great, great grandparents lived in a time before technological advances. I'm referring to a time before television, cinema, telephones, air travel, computers, ipods, sat nav, etc etc etc... Think of a little family sitting round an open fire talking to each other. In some cases, living without the benefit of artificial light, going to bed when it gets dark. No through-the-night television, not even a radio to listen to.
Would any of these past generations have considered we would possess the kind of material goods we have now? To them, what we now take for granted would have been a fantasy world. Tell them it would be possible to pick up a telephone in the UK and speak instantly to someone in the USA and they would think you were mad. What mankind has achieved in the past 50 years in particular is staggering when compared to life a hundred or more years ago.
It makes us wonder what will be available to us in the next 50 years. What we consider to be beyond reality may just become as commonplace as televison, computers or air travel. In fact, one day, we might find ourselves sitting in a cafe drinking coffee with a polar bear!
Grant