2009
Robot Visions
When I was a kid, barely old enough to read, I saw this book Robot Visions, by Isaac Asimov in the bookstores. I poured over Ralph McQuarrie’s illustrations (long before I ever knew who he was) and wanted to read it more than anything else.
Now, almost 20 years later, I discovered it in my uncle’s library — the original hardcover edition — and I’m finally reading it. And loving it!
It is truly an exciting time. Many predictions seemingly of the distant future are likely just around the corner. Others, we must still dream about.
It is my guess that the 21st century may see a society in which one-third of the population will be engaged in entertaining the other two-thirds.
And there are bound to be new forms of entertainment that one can now foresee only dimly. Three-dimensional TV is easy to forecast. And space may become a new arena for activity. In near-zero gravity, for example, the manipulation of balls may produce far more complicated forms of tennis or soccer. Ballet and even social dancing may become incredibly startling and require a new kind of coordination that’s delightful to watch, as it will be as easy to move up and down as it is to move forward and backward or left and right.
We’re already beginning to see this “work as play” phenomenon. People in my generation expect work to be fun. When it’s not, they quit and do something else (or “bum around” as long as their funds allow it). In fact, in my recent letter of resignation, I even stated that I was leaving “to pursue fun in the web startup world”. I considered writing something more “professional”, but decided against it because I wanted to be honest.
Experts in learning-theory like Kathy Sierra are realizing that you can apply game-design to just about anything, making even the most tedious tasks fun. After seeing this, there’s no reason to ever go back to the old way!
For those who see patterns and the robotic nature of decision-making (like science-fiction writers), the future may not be as clear as the past, but it is just as obvious.
