Betting on the future
Twenty-six years ago tomorrow techno-optimist, Kevin Kelly, who was Executive Editor of WIRED at the time, visited Kirkpatrick Sale, a writer known for his doomsday views of technology's impact on humanity. During their discussion Sale reiterated his belief that our civilization would collapse within 25 years. Kelly asked him to define how we would recognize the collapse, then bet him $1,000 that he was wrong. They left checks for that amount made out to each other with William Patrick, an editor they shared in common, and they agreed that he would be the final arbiter of who won the bet. On December 31 of last year he made his judgment.
Article: A 25-Year-Old Bet Comes Due: Has Tech Destroyed Society?