Yes, we have all stepped into the New Year and slowly but steadily getting our mind out of the holiday season and the mood. And work is definitely not one of the things that people want to talk or discuss about. So, only to help you pull your mind out of the lazy mood, here are some interesting factors about the New Year 2020 that no one ever told you about. Read about these interesting 2020 predictions that were made decades ago. And let’s see how true they have turned out to be.
HUMANS WILL REACH MARS
Prediction: In 1996, the National Research Council stated that NASA will launch human exploratory missions to mars within the next quarter of the century.
Fact: Well, looking at the predictions, part of it has already been proved true as 8 unmanned space crafts have successfully landed on mars. Hopefully, the next missions come successful and allow astronauts to step foot on the red planet which has been a matter of keen interest for a lot of countries and research centers.
AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY WILL REACH 100
Prediction: In 1999, Ray Kurzweil a futurist predicted that the human life expectancy will increase to 100 by the end of 2019. He also mentioned that there will be jewelry and watches to diagnose chronic and acute health conditions.
Fact: Part of the prediction has become true. While we all have seen technology amazements in the form of our advanced watches, clothing and jewelry that help us track our blood pressure, heart beats and diabetes levels, the life expectancy of a normal human has not reached 100. Instead, it has only decreased over the last few years. The life expectancy in 2019 was 72.6 years as per the results of surveys and research conducted by the United Nations.
COMPUTERS WILL TAKE OVER, BUT STAY INVISIBLE
Prediction: Computers will become invisible
Fact: Today, we live a life that is surrounded by computers and gadgets all around. Kurzweil also predicted that by 2020, computers will grow invisible and instead they will be embedded in almost every place you can imagine. Right from walls, chairs, desk, clothes to human bodies as well. Today, we have smart chairs, smart tables and more, each of them embedded with invisible computer gadgets.
EVERY INDIVIDUAL WILL BE TRACKED
Prediction: Kurzweil predicted that people will have no privacy in the world by 2020. No matter where you go or what you use, every single move of yours will be stored somewhere.
Fact: The prediction turned true, especially with the use of smartphones, smartwatches and other digital gadgets that keep a track of all your moves on the internet and also physically.
BOOKS WILL SLOWLY BECOME EXTINCT
Prediction: Another prediction made by Kurzweil was that paper books will be dead by 2020. The wireless network will help people scan and read books that they wish
Fact: This is not entirely true. According to a report, 675 million hard copies of books were sold since 2014. However, a lot of people are now slowly focusing more on e-books for their easy accessibility, it is a little difficult to predict if hard copies will really be dead in the coming few years.
WORLD TOTAL POPULATION WILL BE 8 BILLION
Prediction: The International Food Policy Research Institute predicted in 1994 that the world’s population will reach 8 billion by the year 2020.
Fact: According to the prediction, countries like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and a few countries of Africa will alone contribute about 1.5 billion to the predicted growth. The current world population in 7.7 billion and by 2027, India will overtake China as the world’s most populated country.
