Technobabble’s real victim could be the industry itself, which is in danger of sliding into the same semantic swamp in which wallow lawyers, civil servants, military officers, socialogists and politicians.
Predictor: Barry, John
Prediction, in context:“Technobabble” author John Barry explores the possible outcomes of technology (and the vocabulary it involves) on language. Barry writes: ”Technobabble’s real victim could be the industry itself, which is in danger of sliding into the same semantic swamp in which wallow lawyers, civil servants, military officers, socialogists and politicians.”
Biography:John Barry was the author of the book “Technobabble” (MIT, 1991). He began working in the computer field in the late 1970s. While at InfoWorld magazine in the early 1980s, he started a column called “Computer Illiteracy,” in which he first explored the characteristics and consequences of technobabble, or techspeak. Later, at Sun Microsystems, he continued writing on the subject. (Author, Editor, Journalist.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1991
Topic of prediction: Community/Culture
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Technobabble
Title, headline, chapter name: Now-Then
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 175
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Bizzell, Natalie