Failed Predictions

I was listening to a talk in the department today and the speaker started with some failed predictions in computer sciences. Man has always been making predictions about future and sometimes he fails miserably. I googled some of the predictions which went seriously wrong, not just in computer sciences but in other disciplines as well. Here’s my top 10 list.


10. Nuclear Energy is not possible says Einstein

“There is not the slightest indication that nuclear energy will ever be obtainable. It would mean that the atom would have to be shattered at will.” — Albert Einstein, 1932

9. H.M Warner supporting music instead of dialogues in movies said nobody would want to listen to actors talking on screen,

"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?" — H. M. Warner, co-founder of Warner Brothers, 1927.

8. Germs don’t cause diseases.

“Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction." — Pierre Pachet, British surgeon and Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

7. Who needs Xerox machines.

" The world potential market for copying machines is 5000 at most." IBM, to the eventual founders of Xerox, saying the photocopier had no market large enough to justify production, 1959.

6. Inflation is over.

"In all likelihood world inflation is over." -- International Monetary Fund Ceo, 1959.

5. Nobody will ever need a 32 bits operating system.

“We will never make a 32 bit operating system.” — Bill Gates

4. Rail travel is hazardous

“Rail travel at high speed is not possible because passengers, unable to breathe, would die of asphyxia.” — Dr Dionysys Larder (1793-1859), professor of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy, University College London.

3. Does your PC has 4 GB of RAM?

“No one will need more than 637 kilobytes of memory for a personal computer.” — Bill Gates

2. Everything which needs to be discovered has already been discovered.

"There is nothing new to be discovered in physics now; All that remains is more and more precise measurement." -- Lord Kelvin, speaking to the British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1900.

And the biggest fail of them all,

1. Who needs a personal computer?

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” — Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp. (DEC).