The prediction, in brief:

I’ve listened to plenty of spoken and implied promises about computer networks … I claim these promises are myths, grounded in dreams of an information Shangri-la that can never be realized. And were it to happen, many of us would prefer to remain behind.

Predictor: Stoll, Clifford

Prediction, in context:

In his 1995 book “Silicon Snake Oil,” writer Clifford Stoll shares his take on the Internet’s future implications:”‘Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end,’ Thoreau writes in Walden … I’ve listened to plenty of spoken and implied promises about computer networks … I claim these promises are myths, grounded in dreams of an information Shangri-la that can never be realized. And were it to happen, many of us would prefer to remain behind.”

Biography:

Clifford Stoll was an astrophysicist who also wrote the influential books “Silicon Snake Oil” (1995) and “The Cuckoo’s Egg.” A long-time network user, Stoll made “Silicon Snake Oil” his platform for finding fault with the Internet hype of the early 1990s. He pointed out the pitfalls of a completely networked society and offered arguments in opposition to the hype. (Author/Editor/Journalist.)

Date of prediction: January 1, 1995

Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure

Subtopic: General

Name of publication: Silicon Snake Oil

Title, headline, chapter name: An Amalgam of Popular Fictions About the Internet, Including Brief Trips to China and The City of No Illusions

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 15

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney