Fahrenheit 451 Predictions

Picture a world where technology has changed the way we live our daily lives through the way we act and think. Well, you are living in it. Sixty four years ago, author Ray Bradbury wrote a book on what he imagined the future would look like. Fahrenheit 451 was a book of predictions. Most of his ideas on what he thought the future would look like have came true. In Ray Bradbury’s point of view, we are currently living in the future, and we now use technological tools that help us in our everyday lives. Some people even see technology as a necessity. The problem is that these inventions are distracting us from the real world and shifting our focus to things like social media. When Bradbury wrote this book in 1953, he essentially predicted the …show more content…
Most of these predictions were based on technological advances. The first prediction was the “seashells” and “thimble radios” that very much resemble the earbuds we use today. Guy Montag, the main character’s wife, Mildred, describes them as, “Seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean of sound, of musicians talk coming in . . . . There had been no night in the last two years that Mildred had not swum by the sea, [. . .]” (Bradbury 76). Mildred was addicted to many different technologies and these Seashells were just one of them. She used them to block out the real world and enjoy her own private, fake world in her ears.
Another prediction that Bradbury also envisioned were robot bank tellers from his short story The Pedestrian. The robot bank tellers are very similar to ATMs, because they are accessible mostly wherever and whenever they are needed. Also, in today’s society, many businesses are starting to become machine based. These machines, which can be compared to robots, are used to accomplish certain tasks because they are quicker, cheaper and are less likely to make an error. Although they are capable in getting work done fast and efficient, they are also the cause of unemployment