My favorite college professor, Dr. Rudolph Binion, once made an observation that has stuck with me until today. He taught a fabulous two-part course called “European Thought and Culture” that spanned the 16th to 20th centuries.
Each week we read a different work through which we explored cultural, social and political history. The first was Christopher Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus,” based on the famous Germanic tale of a man who makes a deal with the devil to achieve certain feats. The professor pointed out to us how all the impossible things Faustus dreams of have become reality due to modern technology, such as the ability to fly.
I was reminded of this from the most unlikely of sources: Archie Comics. There’s a comic from 1997 entitled “Betty in High School 2021 AD” that’s currently making the rounds on the internet. It’s uncanny to say the least. Sure, there are the idiosyncrasies like Betty and her family wearing space age clothing even as the computer looks like an early model PC running MS-DOS. But Betty sits at the computer, web cam properly positioned, ready to start class. Her father comments: “They never have to carry books to school . . . and they never have to worry about the weather!”
Prescient is an understatement.
I remember as a sixth grader reading a story in our class reader that was set in the future. The detail that stands out is how it predicted telemedicine. The child is not well but instead of the mother taking him to the doctor, she video conferences him and the doctor is able to give a diagnosis. This was back in the late ‘80s — and here we are today living the story. Not so outlandish after all!
Reflecting on Dr. Binion’s observation, it seems that the human mind, as inventive and imaginative as it is, is only capable of perceiving or imagining things that are in the realm of possibility. On the one hand, that’s a limitation. But on the other hand, it means that any dream, any idea, no matter how crazy it sounds, is achievable, if not in our lifetime, then in a future one. It’s an exhilarating thought.
Shana Goldberg may be reached at [email protected]
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