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Herbert George Wells is known to everyone mainly as a science fiction writer. But in his sci-fi novels and short stories one can find many fairly accurate predictions about the future of science and technology. The "heat beam" of the Martians from "War of the Worlds" is a laser. The flight to the moon also took place, although not in the way described in the novel The First Men on the Moon. In the little-known novel The World Set Free (1914), Wells predicts the splitting of the atom and the creation atomic bomb. In one of his stories, we are talking about a television broadcast from Mars - and it was really carried out by space probes quite recently.
The great science fiction writer Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was also worried about the very real future of mankind.
Panard-Levassor car. 1895 Wells predicted a great future for cars.
The moving sidewalk at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 was a 730-meter-long canopy-covered conveyor with benches installed on it.
French airplane "Antoinette" in flight. 1909
The first vacuum cleaners did not necessarily have an engine. Pictured: American "foot vacuum" 1910. In order for it to work, it was necessary to stand on its furs and shift from foot to foot.
"Electric kitchen" of the beginning of the last century. Interestingly, cooks and housewives, accustomed to the heat of coal and wood stoves, at first almost froze in kitchens equipped with electric stoves, and all the burners were turned on for heating.
One of the first phones with a disc. End of the 19th century.
English bicycle infantry on maneuvers. 1898
German military airship over the Rhine. 1911
german tank The A7V is the only German model to see action in World War I.
Submarines, according to Wells, pose a danger mainly to their own crew, and not to enemy ships. In the photo: the French submarine "Dorada" with the crew. 1910
However, not everyone knows that Wells wrote a book dedicated to predicting the development of technology in the 20th century and how this development will affect humanity. To the surprise of the publishers, the book's circulation exceeded that of all of Wells' early science fiction novels. The book was first published in England in 1901. Soon after its publication, it was transferred to Russia, and twice: in Moscow - in 1902, and in St. Petersburg - in 1903. (Further quotations are from these translations, unless the old translation is too bad.)
In Moscow, the book was published under the title "Foresight" with the subtitle "On the impact of the progress of mechanics and science on human life and thought” (this is the exact translation of the original title).
The author begins with transport. He believes that the railways with their steam locomotives will lose their importance in many respects, giving way to his car: “The countless experiments with cars currently being produced so excite the imagination and so many people are working to improve them that it is hard to believe that the inconvenience of these crews - their tremors, clumsiness, leaving behind an unpleasant smell - could not be eliminated soon. And when this happens, very wide highways will appear, some of them private, toll roads. Perhaps they will develop special coatings for them. Traveling by car is more convenient than traveling by rail, as the traveler will be able to stop where he pleases, go slower or faster.
There will be vans with internal combustion engines for transporting small loads, and then motorized omnibuses. Along the roads there will be car repair shops. Railways will be preserved - at least partially - for the transportation of heavy loads and the "wholesale" transportation of people (this happened), but in order to increase the capacity of the cars, the track will have to be expanded (but this did not happen).
The development of the car will increase the size of cities. According to Wells, the radius of a livable city is usually equal to the distance that can be covered in an hour. If residents walk, the diameter of the city does not exceed 10 km, if they ride horses - twice as much, and if they use a car that develops a high speed - 45 km / h, then it can be 90 km. Moreover, Wells had no doubt that 45 km / h was not the limit for the cars of the future. And by the end of the 20th century, the population of London, St. Petersburg and Berlin will exceed 20 million inhabitants, and New York and Chicago - 40 million.
Here, as we know, the writer made a mistake. London has a little over 8 million inhabitants, St. Petersburg 4.5 million, Berlin 3.5 million, New York metropolitan area about 19 million, and Chicago almost 10 million.
Inside the city for pedestrians, Wells envisioned a network of moving sidewalk conveyors, which by that time had already been shown at the world exhibitions in Chicago (1893) and Paris (1900). It would be best to hide them in a system of tunnels so that equipment and passengers do not suffer from the vicissitudes of the weather. Wells was wrong here too. In cities, the car dominates, and "travolators" (as moving sidewalks are now called from English travel - a trip) are available at airports, large shopping malls, and in some places in the subway to overcome long transitions between lines.
Wells made a big mistake with aviation. He believed: “Aeronautics is unlikely to make significant changes to the transport system ... Man is not an albatross, but an earthly biped, very prone to fatigue and dizziness from excessively fast movement, and no matter how much he soars in dreams, but still live he will have to land." Nevertheless, the writer believed that by the year 2000, and even possibly by 1950, "an airplane will be invented that will take off into the air and safely return to its place."
He mentions the sensational novelty of those years - radio only once: a warship, having found superior enemy forces in the sea, will be able to call for help through a wireless telegraph.
The author devotes several pages to the life of the 20th century. Technical improvements in the dwelling will make servants unnecessary: “In the modern economy, servants are needed mainly because of the improper construction of houses. In the future, they will probably be built smarter. Sweeping garbage and dusting would be easily eliminated with a reasonable arrangement of houses. Since there are no good heating devices, huge quantities of coal have to be brought into the houses, and with it dirt, which has to be removed with a huge expenditure of labor. In the future, houses will probably be heated by pipes run into the walls from a common strong heat source. Houses will be ventilated through pipes in the walls, in which the air will be heated, dust will be retained, and the spoiled air will be removed by a simple mechanism. In many houses, the custom is still preserved to pour kerosene into lamps and polish shoes with wax, and this is done by servants. There will be no kerosene lamps in the future economy, and as for shoes, smart people realize how embarrassing it is to wear the obvious signs of someone else's constant labor, and will wear shoes that will take no more than a minute to clean.
A lot of unnecessary work is currently taking on the table. Washing dishes means washing and grinding each item separately, whereas one could put all the dirty dishes at once in a cleaning solvent for several minutes and then, draining it, dry it.
“At present,” Wells continues, “doing the kitchen business with all its accessories is rather burdensome. Remember throwing fuel under the stove, the accumulation of ash, unbearable heat, the need to grab onto pots and pans black with soot ... And in our imagination, an ill-fated cook is drawn with her face burning from the heat and her bare hands, greasy and soiled with soot. In the meantime, with the help of a pair of elegant taganchiks, heated by electricity, equipped with thermometers to control the temperature, cooking will turn into a pleasant pastime for any intelligent person. In addition, ugly chimneys will disappear from the roofs, and the roof will be transformed into a clean, attractive open balcony.
As you can see, the appearance is predicted here central heating, central air conditioning, electric kitchen appliances ... True, the recipe for a solvent that would wash dirty dishes in a few minutes is still unknown, but dishwashers appeared. And we really spend a minute or two cleaning shoes. And, as a rule, we do not fill lamps with kerosene.
Wells attaches great importance to the spread of the telephone. “Just think about what will be done with the telephone when it comes into common use. The labor of wandering around the shops will almost disappear: you will order by phone and any goods will be sent to you at least a hundred miles from London; in one day, everything ordered will be delivered to your home, inspected and, if unsuitable, sent back. The mistress of the house, armed with a pipe and not moving from her place, will already have at her disposal local suppliers and all the major London shops, a theater box office, a post office, a cabbie exchange, doctors ... "
With the help of the phone, it will be possible to work without leaving home, for example, to conclude transactions. And there will be no need to keep an office in the city center and go to work every day.
And the houses themselves will be built differently. After all, brick, so widely used in the 19th century, is just one step forward from the adobe huts of our distant ancestors. Brick absorbs moisture, is not particularly strong, and is very labor intensive to build. “Concrete blocks would turn out to be both cheaper and more suitable than bricks ... In the future, all materials will smoothly fall into place, moving along the paths laid out for this, and gradually walls will be formed that are as uniform as paint squeezed out of a tube by an artist” . So the writer predicted the technology of building houses from monolithic concrete!
Newspapers will change radically. If now they print “a little about everything” in order to attract the widest possible readership, then in the 20th century newspapers will become specialized - each on its own topic. The hottest and most needed news for many - exchange rates, exchange rates, lottery draw results, and similar information - will come to homes by wire and either printed on a telegraph tape or recorded on a phonograph roller so that the subscriber can listen to them at his convenience. time. The phonograph will be in almost every home, just as the barometer is now.
There will still be a lot of advertising in newspapers, but the pages with advertisements will be edited in the same way as all other newspaper pages. If an ad is intrusive and praises some questionable product for the thousandth time, it will either be rejected, or they will take a huge amount of money to place it, and even put it at the very bottom of the classifieds section.
A separate chapter is devoted to the methods of warfare in the 20th century. According to Wells, machines and trained specialists will replace horses and conscripted soldiers in the army. Clashes of huge masses of armed people will become a thing of the past, war will become positional with separate sorties of small groups of soldiers (this turned out to be basically true for the First World War, but not for the Second World War). The bicycle will play a big role - the infantrymen will be replaced by bicycle infantry.
Improved weapon. A gun equipped with “a special kind of telescope will allow you to aim at a point at a distance of a mile or more. It will be able to release either one bullet at a time, or, if necessary, a whole rain of bullets. It is very likely that such a gun will be carried by one person, but it is possible that the gun and ammunition will be attached to a bicycle under the control of two or more soldiers.
The air force, represented mainly by balloons and airships, will be used mainly for reconnaissance and surveillance. It is unlikely that they will be able to install firearms on aircraft, especially since they give a recoil impetus with each shot.
Wells is very skeptical about the future of tanks (there has not yet been a word like the vehicle itself). “It is possible to foresee experiments with armored mobile covers for attacking people in the shelled area. I even admit the possibility of a kind of land battleship, to which a step has already been taken with the advent of armored trains. But personally, I do not like and do not seem reliable these bulky, clumsy machines.
In the same way, the author does not see much use in submarines: “I confess, no matter how I spur my imagination, it refuses to understand what use these boats can bring. It seems to me that they are only capable of suffocating their crew and drowning. Already one long stay in them should upset the health and demoralize a person. The body is weakened by prolonged inhalation of carbon dioxide and petroleum gases under a pressure of four atmospheres. Even if you manage to damage the enemy ship, four chances to one that his people, breathing fresh air, will be saved, and you and your boat will go to the bottom.
It is curious that in the English edition of 1914 the author did not remove this passage. Meanwhile, a year after the start of the First World War, German submarines began to inflict British Navy great damage.
Wells points out that the aggressor in the wars of the 20th century is likely to be Germany, but that an alliance of other major powers will win.
In a special chapter, the writer considers the possibility of the appearance in the 20th century common language on the entire planet. As an Englishman, Wells would certainly like English to be the world language. But he thinks that this place will be taken by French, since it publishes more good books than in English. German is a language too original, inclined to replace international, understandable roots with its own. “Spanish and Russian are strong languages, but they do not have enough reading public to become dominant, and what future can there be for a language that does not have a reading public? I believe that these two languages are already doomed to be supplanted."
By the way, what does Wells think about the future of Russia? He believes that in the 20th century it will fall into two parts - western and eastern (but the author did not foresee the collapse of the British Empire). Most of the Slavic peoples will gravitate toward Western Europe, and not toward Russia. Odessa has a chance to become "Russian Chicago". The growth of St. Petersburg is unlikely to continue, because "it was founded by a man who did not foresee other ways of trade and civilization, except for the sea, and in the future the sea will play only a very small role in this regard." Despite the wide avenues, magnificent architecture, large political role, in the future, this city, surrounded by large masses of uneducated peasants, is likely to wither. And Russia, ruled by the reactionary authorities, will lag behind the Western countries more and more.
“It is possible that in the coming decades, Russia will politically gain dominance over China.” However, "Russian civilization does not have such properties that would provide it with a lasting impact on millions of energetic Asians who have grown together with their culture."
Wells was a supporter of eugenics - the doctrine of improving the "human race" by encouraging large families of healthy, beautiful, outstanding people useful to society and a ban on reproduction for the sick, weak-minded, vicious. “Society will allow the existence in its midst of a small part of the population suffering from diseases that are transmitted to offspring. This is, for example, a mental disorder, an incurable passion for intoxicants ... Out of pity, they will be allowed to live, but on the condition that these people do not produce children. And if this indulgence is abused, then the new society will hardly stop at the extermination of such elements.
If we talk about the society created three decades later in Germany, then Wells was right. But even in his time, opponents of eugenics pointed out that Beethoven had a terrible heredity - sick parents, sick brothers and sisters, and yet the fifth child in the family turned out to be a genius ...
Wells was also strict with criminals - he was a supporter of wide application death penalty. If a serious crime is not committed by chance, not under the influence of a momentary impulse, but is the result of the entire life of the offender, then after a thorough judicial investigation he will be convicted and eliminated from life - euthanized with an opium injection. “If a person cannot live happily and in freedom, without spoiling the lives of other people, then it is better for him not to live.” In addition, “the future state will hardly want to make jailers, watchmen and guards out of decent people” in order to save the lives of criminals.
As you know, the death penalty by poison injection is used in some US states. But in modern world the use of the death penalty, contrary to the writer's forecast, is narrowing.
As Wells believed, society would increase tolerance for such behavior, which at the end of the 19th century was considered immoral. The number of divorces and childless marriages will rise.
The world will be united by a common religion. But atheists will not disappear either.
The American historian Paul Crabtree, who analyzed H. G. Wells' "Foresights" in 2007, came to the conclusion that almost 80% of the writer's predictions came true, and 60% came true with great accuracy. Crabtree refers to the “failed” 20% predictions about the creation of a single world state, about the transition from democracy to technocracy - the power of an educated class, about maintaining the main role of a woman as a housewife ... Some other misses and successes of the writer can be judged by our summary. And those who speak English can read full text this really curious and instructive book on the Internet at
English writer, publicist Herbert George Wells was born September 21, 1866, died August 13, 1946. Known not only for books written in the fantasy genre, but also for works about ordinary people and their problems. Wrote 40 novels, a huge number of stories, taking up several volumes, philosophical works, books for children.
Parents
Father and mother worked as servants in a rich estate. They later purchased a small china shop that did not generate income. The family mainly lived on money earned by Wells Sr. professional game to croquet.
Young years
From childhood he loved to read. This was facilitated by a broken leg, which he was "lucky" to get at the age of 8 years. In 1874 he entered the "Commercial Academy". His father dreamed that his son would become a businessman. However, the young man did not finish the course. .
The head of the family broke his rib and had to part with the game of croquet, and with it and with education. At thirteen, Herbert was self-employed as a clerk in a pharmacy. Only the desire to work as a teacher forced him to continue his studies and he intensively engaged in preparing for college exams.
At London College, Herbert became interested in biology, anatomy and physiology. In 1891, he already had several degrees in biology. In 1893 he became professional journalist. It was then that he wrote his first books.
Personal life
Wells has been married twice. The first wife is Isabella, he lived with her for four years, after which they divorced. The second wife, Amy Catherine, with whom he lived for more than 30 years, died of cancer. His third and last love was Maria Zakrevskaya-Budberg, an emigrant from Russia. He lived with Mary civil marriage until death.
Death
While still a student at London College, Wells contracted tuberculosis. Against this background, he had health problems. Several times the writer had a stroke. Died of improper metabolism. His sons, according to the will of their father, cremated the remains and scattered the ashes over the English Channel.
Some of the achievements of science that Wells predicted in his writings
- radioactive substances . This topic was first mentioned in a book.
- bacteriological weapon . In the novel, the aliens died from simple bacteria. Indeed, scientists and the military have been working on developments in this area.
- Gas attacks and thermal (laser) beams . They are written about.
- Invention of the atomic bomb . In the work, the author suggested that scientists could split the atom, which, unfortunately, happened.
Herbert George Wells, Great Britain, 09/21/1866-08/13/1946 The future writer was born on September 21, 1866 in Bromley, a suburb of London. His father was a shopkeeper and professional cricketer, his mother was a housekeeper. He was educated at the Midhurst Classical School and at King's College, University of London. Graduated from the University of London (1888). By 1891 he received two academic titles in biology, since 1942 he was a doctor of biology. In 1893 he published textbooks of biology and physiography, in 1930 - the popular book "The Science of Life" (vols. 1-3, together with J. Huxley). exact sciences and assistant to T.Kh. Huxley, in 1893, professionally engaged in journalism. Since 1895, Wells has written about 40 novels and many volumes of short stories, several dozen polemical works on philosophical, sociological and historical issues. The novel "The Time Machine" (The Time Machine, 1895) Wells opened history science fiction 20th century, this work is dedicated to the journey of the inventor into the distant future. This was followed by The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), The War of the Worlds (1898), The First Men on the Moon ”(The First Men in the Moon, 1901), which told, respectively, about the transplantation of human organs into wild animals, about invisibility, the invasion of the Martians on earth and the journey to the moon. These novels made the writer famous as the most significant experimenter in the science fiction genre and showed his ability to make the most audacious fiction believable. Subsequently, in works of this kind, for example in the novel "The World Set Free" (The World Set Free, 1914), he combined scientific accuracy with political predictions about the coming world state. The thesis of a science capable of creating a world state in which a person can reasonably use his inventions is repeated with enthusiasm in all the books of Wells, but his optimism, until then boundless, was crushed by the Second World War, after which he gave vent to despair in the book " Mind at the End of Its Tether (1945) predicted the extinction of mankind. science, lectures on all conceivable and unthinkable subjects, responses to topical events, so that, in his own estimation, only a few of his writings contain components that guarantee their durability; among them: "Love and Mr. Louisham" (Love and Mr. Lewisham, 1900), "Kipps" (Kipps, 1905), "Anna Veronica" (Ann Veronica, 1909), "Tono-Bange" (Tono-Bungay , 1909), The History of Mr. Polly (The History of Mr. Polly, 1910), The New Machiavelli (The New Machiavelli, 1911), The Research Magnificent, 1915, The Insight of Mr. Brittling ( Mr. Britling Sees It Through, 1916), Joan and Peter (1918), The World of William Clissold (1926), are all autobiographical to varying degrees. Wells admitted that the only book that stated the most significant ideas of his life was "What are we doing with our lives?" (What Are We to Do With Our Lives? 1931), and considered The Work, Wealth, and Happiness of Mankind, 1932 to be his most important work. However, he made his way to a wide readership thanks to the book The Outline of History (The Outline of History, 1920), which remained on the bestseller lists for many years. visited Russia three times (in 1914, 1920 and 1934). During the 2nd World War W. supported the Soviet Union. Wells lived in London and on the Riviera, often gave lectures and traveled a lot, was married twice. Wells died in London on August 13, 1946. S.V., 24.10. 2006
H. G. Wells was born in 1866 in Bromley, Kent. Wells' career may have been defined by an accident - as a child he broke both legs, and spent all the time at home, due to which he read a lot. Then Wells graduated from high school and received further education at the College of Education in London. It was at the College of Education that Wells studied under the famous biologist Tomasz Huxley, who had a strong influence on him. Wells' "science fiction" (although he never called it that) was clearly influenced by his studies at the Normal College and the interests he developed in biology.
Wells became famous with his first work, The Time Machine, in 1895. Shortly after the publication of this book, Wells wrote the following: The Island of Doctor Moreau (1895); The Invisible Man (1897), and his most famous work, The War of the Worlds (1898).
Over the years, Wells began to worry about the fate of human society in a world where technology and scientific development are advancing very rapidly. During this period he was a member of the Fabians (a group of social philosophers in London who advocated caution and gradualism in politics, science and public life). Wells now wrote less science fiction and more social critique.
After World War I, Wells published several scientific works, among them " Short story of the World (1920), The Science of Life (1929-39), written in collaboration with Sir Julian Hooksley and George Philip Wells, and Experiments in Autobiography (1934). During this time, Wells became a popular celebrity and continued to write extensively. In 1917 he was a member of the Research Committee of the League of Nations and published several books on world organization. Although Wells had many doubts about the Soviet system, he understood the broad aims of the Russian revolution, and had a rather pleasant meeting with Lenin in 1920. In the early 1920s, Wells was a Labor candidate for Parliament. Between 1924 and 1933 Wells lived mainly in France. From 1934 to 1946 he was international president of PEN. In 1934 he had conversations with Stalin, who disappointed him; and Roosevelt, trying, however, unsuccessfully, to offer him his own scheme for maintaining peace. Wells was convinced that Western socialists could not compromise with communism and that the best hope for the future lay in Washington. In The Holy Terror (1939), Wells described psychological development modern dictator, exemplified by the careers of Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler.
Wells lived through the Second world war in his Regent's Park, refusing to leave London, even during the bombing. His last book, Mind on the Edge (1945), expressed pessimism about the future prospects of mankind. Wells died in London on August 13, 1946.
Herbert George Wells- English writer and publicist, one of the founders of socio-philosophical fiction. representative of critical realism. Fabianist..
Born in Bromley, Kent, the son of a shopkeeper. Wells' career may have been defined by an accident - as a child he broke both legs, and spent all the time at home, thanks to which he read a lot. Then Wells graduated from high school and received further education at the College of Education in London. It was at the College of Education that Wells studied under the famous biologist Tomasz Huxley, who had a strong influence on him. Wells' "science fiction" (although he never called it that) was clearly influenced by his studies at the Normal College and the interests he developed in biology.
Wells became famous with his first work, The Time Machine, in 1895. Shortly after the publication of this book, Wells wrote the following: The Island of Doctor Moreau (1895); The Invisible Man (1897), and his most famous work, The War of the Worlds (1898).
Over the years, Wells began to worry about the fate of human society in a world where technology and scientific development are advancing very rapidly. During this period he was a member of the Fabians (a group of social philosophers in London who advocated caution and gradualism in politics, science and public life). Wells now wrote less science fiction and more social critique.
After the First World War, Wells published several scientific works, among them A Brief History of the World (1920), The Science of Life (1929-39), written in collaboration with Sir Julian Hooksley and George Philip Wells, and Experiments in Autobiography ( 1934). During this time, Wells became a popular celebrity and continued to write extensively. In 1917 he was a member of the Research Committee of the League of Nations and published several books on world organization. Although Wells had many doubts about the Soviet system, he understood the broad aims of the Russian revolution, and had a rather pleasant meeting with Lenin in 1920. In the early 1920s, Wells was a Labor candidate for Parliament. Between 1924 and 1933 Wells lived mainly in France. From 1934 to 1946 he was international president of PEN. In 1934 he had conversations with Stalin, who disappointed him; and Roosevelt, trying, however, unsuccessfully, to offer him his own scheme for maintaining peace. Wells was convinced that Western socialists could not compromise with communism and that the best hope for the future lay in Washington. In The Holy Terror (1939), Wells described the psychological development of the modern dictator, illustrated by the careers of Stalin, Mussolini, and Hitler.
Wells lived through the Second World War in his Regent's Park, refusing to leave London, even during the bombing. His last book, Mind on the Edge (1945), expressed pessimism about the future prospects of mankind. Wells died in London on August 13, 1946.
