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A New History of the Future in 100 Objects: A Fiction
A riveting imagined history looking back on the twenty-first century through one hundred of its artifacts, from silent messaging systems to artificial worlds on asteroids.In the year 2082, a curator looks back at the twenty-first century, offering a history of the era through a series of objects and artifacts. He reminisces about the power of connectivity, which was reinforced by such technologies as silent messaging--wearable computers that relay subvocal communication; quotes from a self-help guide to making friends with "posthumans"; describes the establishment of artificial worlds on asteroids; and recounts pro-democracy movements in epistocratic states. In A New History of the Future in 100 Objects, Adrian Hon constructs a possible future by imagining the things it might leave in its wake.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 6, 2020
44 people are currently reading
149 people want to read
About the author
Adrian Hon
6 books89 followersAdrian Hon is co-founder and CEO at Six to Start, creators of gamelike stories and story-like games including the world's bestselling smartphone fitness game, Zombies, Run!, with ten million players. Six to Start's clients have included Disney, the BBC, Channel 4, and Penguin, and the company has won multiple awards including Best of Show at SXSW.
Adrian is author of A History of the Future in 100 Objects, and has written a column about technology for the Telegraph. He originally trained as a neuroscientist at Cambridge, UCSD, and Oxford.
Follow me on Mastodon.
Adrian is author of A History of the Future in 100 Objects, and has written a column about technology for the Telegraph. He originally trained as a neuroscientist at Cambridge, UCSD, and Oxford.
Follow me on Mastodon.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 18, 2021
Adrian Hon has taken the concept of the successful BBC radio series 'A History of the World in 100 Objects' and imagined a future version of this, looking at dates from 2020 to 2079. Hon makes it clear in his author's note that this is intended to be informative fiction rather than futurology, but the reality is that all futurology is fiction, and it's inevitable to read this book as much in the vein of futurology as pure science fiction.
Certainly the New History shows the futility of futurology as anything other than fiction, since the 2020/2021 examples have no reference to the pandemic - which is particularly ironic as object number 10 is an automated courier, first used to take something to a market, which is demonstrated in Wuhan.
To begin with, I really enjoyed the entries. (They can't really be referred to as objects because many of them are events, people or documents, rather than actual objects.) The first, for example, really brings out the power of the approach when it presents us with the pros and cons of an ankle tag for convicted criminals that is combined with smart speaker type technology to monitor exactly what they do and say.
Admittedly, some entries have irritating omissions, often when Hon becomes a bit too enthusiastic about the technology without thinking through downsides. So, for example, the second entry is a children's toy that is made lifelike by being effectively a remote-controlled puppet - there is no consideration of the potential for child abuse here. Similarly, the timescales can be hilariously over-compressed. So, for example, we see the adoption of a whole new hardware and (sub-vocal) messaging system which is already carrying billions of messages per day by 2022.
Nonetheless, for the first third of the book or so, I very much enjoyed reading the entries. After that, the novelty started to wear out and it became something of a chore to read the rest. It might have been better to pick fewer items and to have given longer and more interesting stories to them - the 100 objects format constrained the book into something that wasn't as readable as it could have been.
Two other moans. You can't blame the author, but some of the ideas are very familiar from existing science fiction. So, for example, 'object' 72 is downvoting, which is almost identical to the premise of the Black Mirror episode Nosedive. Perhaps less forgivable is the lack of portrayal of political developments outside of China. There is a lot of focus on China, but Russia hardly gets mentioned, while the assumption seems to be that both the USA and the EU will not see any further developments as a result of the political problems they are both currently facing.
A genuinely fun and interesting idea, but as the dire H. G. Wells future history style The Shape of Things to Come demonstrated, even the best writer of science fiction can struggle to make this kind of material enjoyable reading for a full-length book.
Certainly the New History shows the futility of futurology as anything other than fiction, since the 2020/2021 examples have no reference to the pandemic - which is particularly ironic as object number 10 is an automated courier, first used to take something to a market, which is demonstrated in Wuhan.
To begin with, I really enjoyed the entries. (They can't really be referred to as objects because many of them are events, people or documents, rather than actual objects.) The first, for example, really brings out the power of the approach when it presents us with the pros and cons of an ankle tag for convicted criminals that is combined with smart speaker type technology to monitor exactly what they do and say.
Admittedly, some entries have irritating omissions, often when Hon becomes a bit too enthusiastic about the technology without thinking through downsides. So, for example, the second entry is a children's toy that is made lifelike by being effectively a remote-controlled puppet - there is no consideration of the potential for child abuse here. Similarly, the timescales can be hilariously over-compressed. So, for example, we see the adoption of a whole new hardware and (sub-vocal) messaging system which is already carrying billions of messages per day by 2022.
Nonetheless, for the first third of the book or so, I very much enjoyed reading the entries. After that, the novelty started to wear out and it became something of a chore to read the rest. It might have been better to pick fewer items and to have given longer and more interesting stories to them - the 100 objects format constrained the book into something that wasn't as readable as it could have been.
Two other moans. You can't blame the author, but some of the ideas are very familiar from existing science fiction. So, for example, 'object' 72 is downvoting, which is almost identical to the premise of the Black Mirror episode Nosedive. Perhaps less forgivable is the lack of portrayal of political developments outside of China. There is a lot of focus on China, but Russia hardly gets mentioned, while the assumption seems to be that both the USA and the EU will not see any further developments as a result of the political problems they are both currently facing.
A genuinely fun and interesting idea, but as the dire H. G. Wells future history style The Shape of Things to Come demonstrated, even the best writer of science fiction can struggle to make this kind of material enjoyable reading for a full-length book.
January 28, 2021
A 2020 staff favorite recommended by Joe. Check our catalog: https://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore...
October 15, 2020
The interplay between science fiction and reality is a constant one. Fiction pushes the boundaries of possibility. It opens the minds of many thinkers who go on to turn some fraction of that dream into reality, through science, policy, or activism. But science also inspires the writer to take a glimpse of the future and flesh it out into a full-blown virtual reality.
Adrian Hon’s New History of the Future in 100 Objects plays back and forth constantly along that line between fantasy and reality. The book is exactly as the title describes. 100, sometimes interconnected vignettes of the future, centred around particular objects, memes or movements. Written from the perspective of a museum curator in 2082, it never stretches the bounds of scientific or societal change beyond the plausible. Though in some ways that makes it all the more terrifying.
The book was originally published in 2013, but this new edition from MIT Press brings it bang up to date, with 20 new or heavily-updated objects and edits to connect the stories to our current times.
Unlike a science fiction novel, the stories in this book are not pegged to a single period. Rather they have been gathered by the fictional future curator from our next sixty years. This starts in the current period – brave for any futurist – and unfolds in time order towards the curator’s present day.
The topics addressed are broad: food and faith, earth and space, love and crime. But all are anchored in an understanding of both humanity and technology that gives them that scary believability.
The stories are anchored too, in the prevailing technologist obsessions of our times. Transhumanism, universal basic income, and planetary terraforming feature strongly. It is presented as ultimately optimistic but not everyone would have such positive interpretations of such ideas. There are strong feminist critiques of the ‘brain in a jar’ basis of much transhumanism. UBI can be argued to be extended life support for consumerist culture. And many would argue our right to begin transforming the solar system having wrecked our corner of it.
But as I frequently have to explain, the role of a futurist is not necessarily to describe the world we want to see, but the world that we do see. This book is an exploration of our current trajectory, more than an attempt to define an alternative.
As someone who spends their professional life engaged with futuristic ideas, both in fiction and in fact, many of the ideas described here are familiar. But most will find this a book packed with novelty. As a vehicle for expanding your thinking, pulling off the blinkers and opening your mind to the possible, it has incredible power. It should be required reading for anyone struggling to imagine a social, technological, and political landscape beyond these times. And for anyone who wants to understand the potential consequences of our current path.
Adrian Hon’s New History of the Future in 100 Objects plays back and forth constantly along that line between fantasy and reality. The book is exactly as the title describes. 100, sometimes interconnected vignettes of the future, centred around particular objects, memes or movements. Written from the perspective of a museum curator in 2082, it never stretches the bounds of scientific or societal change beyond the plausible. Though in some ways that makes it all the more terrifying.
The book was originally published in 2013, but this new edition from MIT Press brings it bang up to date, with 20 new or heavily-updated objects and edits to connect the stories to our current times.
Unlike a science fiction novel, the stories in this book are not pegged to a single period. Rather they have been gathered by the fictional future curator from our next sixty years. This starts in the current period – brave for any futurist – and unfolds in time order towards the curator’s present day.
The topics addressed are broad: food and faith, earth and space, love and crime. But all are anchored in an understanding of both humanity and technology that gives them that scary believability.
The stories are anchored too, in the prevailing technologist obsessions of our times. Transhumanism, universal basic income, and planetary terraforming feature strongly. It is presented as ultimately optimistic but not everyone would have such positive interpretations of such ideas. There are strong feminist critiques of the ‘brain in a jar’ basis of much transhumanism. UBI can be argued to be extended life support for consumerist culture. And many would argue our right to begin transforming the solar system having wrecked our corner of it.
But as I frequently have to explain, the role of a futurist is not necessarily to describe the world we want to see, but the world that we do see. This book is an exploration of our current trajectory, more than an attempt to define an alternative.
As someone who spends their professional life engaged with futuristic ideas, both in fiction and in fact, many of the ideas described here are familiar. But most will find this a book packed with novelty. As a vehicle for expanding your thinking, pulling off the blinkers and opening your mind to the possible, it has incredible power. It should be required reading for anyone struggling to imagine a social, technological, and political landscape beyond these times. And for anyone who wants to understand the potential consequences of our current path.
December 20, 2024
I really do hope some of the inventions depicted in this book will show up. But for the others, not so much.
April 6, 2025
A fascinating and fictional look into things that might change the way we exist.
September 21, 2020
There have been many "History of [X] in 100 Objects" books published, but this is the first one I've seen from the future.
Requiring impressive creativity and (I assume) research, the next 80 years are reviewed based on inventions that are yet-to-be.
From prison reform to expanding sexuality to the role of AI in everything, the only reason this is science "fiction" is because you aren't working hard enough for the future.
**I received this story early from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Requiring impressive creativity and (I assume) research, the next 80 years are reviewed based on inventions that are yet-to-be.
From prison reform to expanding sexuality to the role of AI in everything, the only reason this is science "fiction" is because you aren't working hard enough for the future.
**I received this story early from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 19, 2020
Inventive. This is a fascinating survey of fictional devices, apps, functionalities that has impacted society as seen by a curator from the year 2082. It blends real accounts of existing technology to push the boundaries of imagination that feels very real. This book is perfect for geeks and hard science fiction fans.
Thanks to the publisher for the early access to a reading copy.
Thanks to the publisher for the early access to a reading copy.
October 4, 2020
An interesting speculative history of the 21st Century, as told by a narrator in 2082.
This book is a fictional transcript of a talk (?, it's not made fully clear what the format of the presentation of this is) given in 2082 looking back at 100 objects that defined the 21st Century. This is a very interesting topic and the author attempts to give some commentary on humanity and society through the selection and description of (currently) fictional objects and experiences.
The thing that I most struggle with is the timeline introduced by these objects. By the late 2070's, the book says that humanity will be living predominantly off-Earth and will be taking quick day trips to orbit Saturn. This seems a bit unbelievable, but I suppose that anything is possible in the next 50+ years. Even more so, I think that the objects of the 2020's show the most problems, probably because this book was originally written as a Kickstarter project in 2011. By 2025, the author says that governments will be using virtual reality technology to interrogate terrorists. That seems very plausible. However, by that same year, he also says that we will have a Sex Workers Union very well-established in New York City and having already developed an app that will allow sex workers to provide sexual experiences remotely for customers. This feels like much too fast timing for something like this, given the current political/technological/societal climate.
Overall, for people who enjoy reading science fiction and/or like speculating about the future, this would be a fun read. Especially if you just suspend disbelief for a while...
Thank you to NetGalley and MIT Press for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This book is a fictional transcript of a talk (?, it's not made fully clear what the format of the presentation of this is) given in 2082 looking back at 100 objects that defined the 21st Century. This is a very interesting topic and the author attempts to give some commentary on humanity and society through the selection and description of (currently) fictional objects and experiences.
The thing that I most struggle with is the timeline introduced by these objects. By the late 2070's, the book says that humanity will be living predominantly off-Earth and will be taking quick day trips to orbit Saturn. This seems a bit unbelievable, but I suppose that anything is possible in the next 50+ years. Even more so, I think that the objects of the 2020's show the most problems, probably because this book was originally written as a Kickstarter project in 2011. By 2025, the author says that governments will be using virtual reality technology to interrogate terrorists. That seems very plausible. However, by that same year, he also says that we will have a Sex Workers Union very well-established in New York City and having already developed an app that will allow sex workers to provide sexual experiences remotely for customers. This feels like much too fast timing for something like this, given the current political/technological/societal climate.
Overall, for people who enjoy reading science fiction and/or like speculating about the future, this would be a fun read. Especially if you just suspend disbelief for a while...
Thank you to NetGalley and MIT Press for providing an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
December 6, 2020
This book was a quick read that I enjoyed in a weekend between chores and family time. While the premise of the book is fantastic and the synopsis made it seem like it would be an amazing book, it was a bit unbelievable. The book is set in 2082, and looks back at objects from the past, and gives commentary on what the world will be like. Some of it was just hard to believe given current developments and social climates. It seems more fantasy than science fiction, making it hard to follow along. For me, it reminded me how in middle school of 2000, I was saying we would have flying cars and robot servants in 2020, yet here living in some strange 1900s dystopian political climate with a global pandemic, and my car continues to obey the laws of gravity. While maybe the book was meant to be entirely fantastical, the way the synopsis and writing came off, it did not seem that way. It seemed to be more of a commentary on the future than a sci-fi novel, based on writing style. It was an interesting read and had thought-provoking thoughts on occasion, but overall, I found it to be far fetched and rooted more in fantasy than sci-fi. It was on that strange middle ground of not being too realistic to be seen as fantasy or dystopian, but too unrealistic to be sci-fi.
September 5, 2021
Calling this a fiction just goes to show how much of genre is content rather than form and how little that is necessarily what is interesting about books.
Hon's speculation is fascinating (there's the "I expect this to become obsolete" and then there's no mention of the mRNA vaccine, which tells you everything you need to know about publication date). It's interesting to see where he's optimistic and where he's pessimistic, where he has faith in us and where he, instead, has DEEP skepticism.
I think he might be a bit optimistic when it comes to climate change and ALSO I don't think he was intending to be.
I have my own deep skepticism, about what he imagines growing and what he imagines fundamentally changing. But isn't that always the way, when it comes to the future. And, as someone who loves to imagine SFF AI, I am deeply skeptical any of us will ever see it.
Hon's speculation is fascinating (there's the "I expect this to become obsolete" and then there's no mention of the mRNA vaccine, which tells you everything you need to know about publication date). It's interesting to see where he's optimistic and where he's pessimistic, where he has faith in us and where he, instead, has DEEP skepticism.
I think he might be a bit optimistic when it comes to climate change and ALSO I don't think he was intending to be.
I have my own deep skepticism, about what he imagines growing and what he imagines fundamentally changing. But isn't that always the way, when it comes to the future. And, as someone who loves to imagine SFF AI, I am deeply skeptical any of us will ever see it.
July 28, 2020
After reading this, this book is not what I thought it was going to be. Instead it talks about technology and how it has helped different corporations. It is not a discussion about different well-known inventions like the telephone or a Morse code machine. I actually felt this was rather dull. JMO..
You can tell the writer has a lot of passion for this book and probably did a reasonable amount of work, but the execution of this book was off. Some parts where fascinating but it is a no for me.
Thanks to Netgalley, Adrian Hon and MIT Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Available: 10/6/20
You can tell the writer has a lot of passion for this book and probably did a reasonable amount of work, but the execution of this book was off. Some parts where fascinating but it is a no for me.
Thanks to Netgalley, Adrian Hon and MIT Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Available: 10/6/20
October 16, 2022
For me the concept is a little too cute. The best entries are single ideas that would work well if included in a longer work. The worst entries are just criticisms of today, usually about America and nearly always about conservative values and policies. Either way, the overall effect is pretty thin.
February 17, 2021
Bit harder to read this than my usual books. It's like a collection of short stories. Some fun and thought-provoking bits!
May 22, 2021
This book imagines a detailed yet plausible future. I enjoyed reading this.
November 19, 2022
Fun reading, interesting perspective on some things we might see in future. Subvocal messeging, glasses, lace that provides embedded AI, post humans etc etc. Wide and wonderful things as good inspo
September 9, 2023
Plausible? Who knows? Who cares?
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews