What kind of future is America going to have based on the promotion of illusion rather than the search for truth? WeÕve substituted image for substance, illusion for truth and then we wonder why our children are having difficulty finding their way in life. What this focuses for us is that technology is a means to an end, not an end in itself … Man does not live by data alone. We live in two worlds – the world of data as well as the world of meaning. The more information we amass, the more power our computers gain, the more essential meaning becomes. Finally we must express in fresh terms the enduring meaning of the American Experiment with liberty and responsibility. This is not the responsibility of someone else. ItÕs the task of anyone who believes that America has something great and unique to contribute to the future of the human endeavor.
Predictor: Wishard, William Van Dusen
Prediction, in context:In a September 1995 article in Insight on the News, journalist Gayle M.B. Hanson offers predictions she gathered from futurists, policy analysts and administrators. The article includes material culled from the Internet and direct interviews, including some remarks made by futurist William Van Dusen Wishard. Hanson writes: ”Asks [William Van Dusen] Wishard: ÔWhat kind of future is America going to have based on the promotion of illusion rather than the search for truth? WeÕve substituted image for substance, illusion for truth and then we wonder why our children are having difficulty finding their way in life. What this focuses for us is that technology is a means to an end, not an end in itself.Õ It is our responsibility, Wishard continues, to actively make our place in this new world. To cleave to those social and religious institutions that help us anchor ourselves in a hanging world. ÔMan does not live by data alone,Õ he says. ÔWe live in two worlds Ð the world of data as well as the world of meaning. The more information we amass, the more power our computers gain, the more essential meaning becomes. Finally we must express in fresh terms the enduring meaning of the American Experiment with liberty and responsibility. This is not the responsibility of someone else. ItÕs the task of anyone who believes that America has something great and unique to contribute to the future of the human endeavor.'”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Global Relationships/Politics
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Insight on the News
Title, headline, chapter name: Paved With Fool’s Gold?
Quote Type: Partial quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 33
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne