I would not be surprised if the technological predictions come about from a solid understanding and application of physics. It makes sense that the Bell Labs di

I would not be surprised if the technological predictions come about from a solid understanding and application of physics. It makes sense that the Bell Labs director would have had a clear sight of what was possible in networking off into the realm of the internet. Similarly, somebody applying physics knowledge would not make the mistake of supposing gravity belts or suppressed lightning or man-made hurricanes. Meanwhile, some calculations about the amount of CO2 put into the atmosphere by fuel combustion could tell you something concrete about how its chemistry will change. Socially, it's less clear. It will probably work well to assume that culture is highly mutable, but human nature isn't.