Computers are an important part of our lives. They have transformed the way we lived. Right now, we are living in the future. But what did that future look like in a 1960s Japanese children’s magazine? Like this.
In 1969, Shonen Sunday published a series of articles called “Computopia”. They depicted how computers would be used in the future. There’s a future classroom that has children entering their answers into computers (and then using a “light pen” to mark their mistakes). The future classroom even had robots that could dish out shift discipline!
The future home article predicts that computers will become an inseparable part of daily life by 1989 and shows a future dad talking on a TV phone and reading the newspaper off the computer, and it depicts the son watching a 3D television. 1989, eh? Close!
While these articles were first published in 1969, they did pop up online a few years back. This week, they were rediscovered again by numerous Japanese blogs. What’s striking about the articles is that — sans the goofy outfits, disciplinary robots, and robot brains — the articles are somewhat accurate in many regards.
The future we are living in right now, though, really needs more goofy outfits.
Click the corner of the above images to expand to full size.
Computertopia [ノモシカツナ・告廣誌雜之和昭 via [Pink Tentacle via Toaster News]
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