Blurs

From the birth of television to the foundations of quantum physics, 1926 was a year that helped shape the modern world.  But a century ago, scientific confidence often exceeded scientific understanding. What will future generations think of the science we believe in today? A Century Between Two Worlds Imagine travelling back to 1926 and telling a scientist that, within a century, humans would walk on the Moon, transplant organs, edit DNA, communicate instantly across the planet and carry devices with more computing power than entire rooms of machinery. They might believe some of it. Much of it would sound like science fiction. Now imagine travelling in the opposite direction. A scientist from 2126 arrives today and examines our hospitals, laboratories, computers and scientific textbooks.  What would astonish them? What would they admire? And which of our most confidently held beliefs would make them smile in disbelief? The year 1926 offers an unusually revealing starting point...