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The Door Into Summer
Apr. 28th, 2009 02:18 pmI seem to be going through one of my periodic "Heinlein Phases" - probably brought on by viewing (what's left of) Heinlein's home in Colorado Springs. Or possibly brought on by checking the audiobook shelf at the local library and picking up A DOOR INTO SUMMER. I've always loved this book since I first read it in the late 60's and have just finished another read through (or listen through).
What hit me this time - perhaps because I'm older now than I was in the 60s - are the things that Heinlein forecast both for 1970 and for the year 2000. DOOR was published in 1957, the year I entered Kindergarten. It's projections for the thirteen years between 1957 and 1970 included a short dirty nuclear war in which much of the East Coast of the US is destroyed, but most of his comparisons are between the 1970 when his story opens and the world of 2000 where much of it takes place.
So I started thinking about the differences, and the similarities, between how I do things today in 2009 and how I did them in 1969. In 1969 I was a sophomore in college in California. I drove a car (V8 engine) that got about 10 miles per 30 cent gallon of gas - but driving a car was pretty similar to what I do today. Cars had radios, occasionally 8-track tape players, big steering wheels, no airbags, and seat belts that we uniformly left unfastened. Babies were held in a passenger's arms, or lay on the bench seat, or sat up front next to the driver. There were red stop signs, traffic lights, and speed limits just like now - but no handicapped parking spaces. And no handicapped access to buildings, curbs, etc. either.
( Much more about temporal differences )
Okay, this went on way too long, so I've hidden it behind a cut. But I challenge all of you to take a look at what you were doing 40 years ago (or 30 or 20 or 10) and post a comment comparing the differences. We may not have flying cars. We may not vacation on the moon. But our lives are none the less very different in this year 2009.
What hit me this time - perhaps because I'm older now than I was in the 60s - are the things that Heinlein forecast both for 1970 and for the year 2000. DOOR was published in 1957, the year I entered Kindergarten. It's projections for the thirteen years between 1957 and 1970 included a short dirty nuclear war in which much of the East Coast of the US is destroyed, but most of his comparisons are between the 1970 when his story opens and the world of 2000 where much of it takes place.
So I started thinking about the differences, and the similarities, between how I do things today in 2009 and how I did them in 1969. In 1969 I was a sophomore in college in California. I drove a car (V8 engine) that got about 10 miles per 30 cent gallon of gas - but driving a car was pretty similar to what I do today. Cars had radios, occasionally 8-track tape players, big steering wheels, no airbags, and seat belts that we uniformly left unfastened. Babies were held in a passenger's arms, or lay on the bench seat, or sat up front next to the driver. There were red stop signs, traffic lights, and speed limits just like now - but no handicapped parking spaces. And no handicapped access to buildings, curbs, etc. either.
( Much more about temporal differences )
Okay, this went on way too long, so I've hidden it behind a cut. But I challenge all of you to take a look at what you were doing 40 years ago (or 30 or 20 or 10) and post a comment comparing the differences. We may not have flying cars. We may not vacation on the moon. But our lives are none the less very different in this year 2009.
