I believe I was in 4th grade when I learned about Halley's comet. I think what struck me the most is that was the first time I really considered the future and my place in it. I was overwhelmed for days thinking about what life in 1986 would be like. Now, we're only talking about a few years. I think it was about 1980 so at ten years old I had to consider six years forward. That was the first time in my life I didn't just live in the moment. It really was life changing at the time.
At that point I had only considered what science fiction movies and tv shows had taught me. Clothes in the future will be very tight. Everyone will be very fit and trim (even though robots do all the physical labor...) Food will come out of a machine (and somehow taste delicious...) and racism, poverty, pollution, civil rights and everything else we humans have waged war over will be put aside as we unite the entire planet against a global threat of _____!
Well I can tell you how I spent a lot of my 1986. Watching Top Gun, learning how to drive a stick, battling acne, listening to Bon Jovi on cassette (kids, I'll explain later) and trying to get to second base.... whatever that was.
As it turned out 1980 and 1986 really were not all that different. That trend has continued for the entirety of my life. A few things have changed but it's really just consumption that has changed. Music is still music it's just on an iPod. Books (I'll explain those too, kids) are still books they're just on a Kindle. TV shows are still crap just on a bigger screen.
So, food out of a machine? No problem. Flying cars? Nope. And what exactly is the deal with the Metric system? Jury still out? Are we just learning in case we travel abroad? Hmmmm?
I never did see Halley's comet. Maybe I'll catch it the next time around.
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