Arthur Radebaugh (1906–1974) was an illustrator and industrial designer. In his early years he found lots of work in print advertising, but in the 1950s, when much advertising moved to photography and he was looking for extra income, Radebaugh created a fascinating one-panel Sunday comic strip that made predictions about the future called “Closer Than We Think”. The feature ran from 1958 to 1963 and so he produced about 70 visions of the future.

Here are 10 predictions of the future from 60 years ago, not listed in any particular order. A surprising number of Radebaugh’s predictions that people believed were just a couple of years away have only just become true in the past few years — more than 50 years after many people anticipated. So when I hear predictions about the progress of things like quantum computing, I’ve more skeptical than most people with regards to how quickly progress will be made.

1. Self-driving automobiles.

2. Laser surgery.

3. Computer-based and online learning.

4. Genetically enhanced food sources.

5. Very large TV and video displays.

6. Global economy and working remotely.

7. Digital media.

8. Industrial robots.

9. Electric automobiles.

10. Virtual reality.