I think flying cars in science fiction of the 50's were a result of the exploding aerospace industry. We went from the very first powered flight in 1903 to the

I think flying cars in science fiction of the 50's were a result of the exploding aerospace industry. We went from the very first powered flight in 1903 to the moon in 1969. Airplanes and rockets must have felt very much like computers do now -- subject to boundless, inevitable, mind-bogglingly rapid progress. Flying cars and starships must have seemed like reasonable extrapolations. On the other hand, one of the things I'm constantly surprised at, when I look at old sci fi, is how very little of the way the internet has changed society was anticipated. Even in stories where they clearly have instant point to point communication and powerful computers, they don't use it like we do. We have instant access to the sum of human knowledge. Forums, chats, wikis, teleconference meetings with arbitrarily bright experts! And it seems to be accelerating. Sometimes when our internet goes down, I complain about being cut off from the hivemind. I'm only half joking.