Predicting the future

And - no - before you ask, this isn't about predicting the actual future, but more about writing about what the actual future might be like. This usually comes under the heading of Science Fiction. I read a lot of it but so far haven't tried my hand at writing it, the Saskia stories '2065' and 'New Earth' (www.saskia.me.uk) being the only exception so far. It's far more difficult than it seems and the present has a habit of overtaking what you've written, making it look a bit foolish. A case in point. I've just done reading 'Wasp' by Eric Frank Russell. A story set well into the future, when Earth is at war with the Sirian Combine. His cars and other vehicles are run by power beamed from a central power station, needing no fuel or batteries. A brilliant idea that won't be overtaken anytime soon. However, how do you select one item of data from a huge database, say the personal details of a suitable spy? Mr Russell uses punched cards. Now bear in mind that 'Wasp' was written in 1958 when computer technology was well in its infancy. Back then, punched cards were state of the art and nobody at the time had the slightest idea what would happen to computers in just a few short years. Mr Russell used what he knew at the time, but the present (2013) has overtaken him just a bit. Now all we need is the beamed power system........