O, yes!
Philosopher and mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm said in 1680, over 200 years after the invention of the printing press, that “the horrible mass of books that keeps growing might lead to a fall back into barbarism.”
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Telephone.
The problems continue with modern technology. In 1877, The New York Times wrote a ferocious attack against Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone for its invasion of privacy. One writer wrote, “We will soon be nothing but transparent heaps of jelly to each other.”
The wealthy Mark Twain was the first in his town to put a phone in his house, yet passed on an opportunity to be an early investor, thinking it had no market.
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Radio.
Guglielmo Marconi thought he’d perfected “wireless technology” in 1895. He saw no further use for it. It took 25 years for people to realize the radio could be used not just for 1-on-1 communication, but for broadcasting. As the radio began to take off, he doubted the value of his work, asking, “Have I done the world good, or have I added a menace?” Further, when Marconi invented wireless audio transmission, he wrote to the ministry of Post and Telegraphs, explaining his wireless telegraph machine and asking for funding. He never received a response to his letter. Instead, the minister referred Marconi to an insane asylum.
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Cinema.
Actor Charlie Chaplin said in 1916, two years into his film career, “The cinema is little more than a fad. It’s canned drama. What audiences really want to see is flesh and blood on the stage.”
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Computers.
IBM Chairman and CEO Thomas J. Watson famously said in 1943, “There is a world market for about five computers.”
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Television.
20th Century giant Daryl Zanuck said in 1946, “Television won’t be able to hold on to any market it captures after the first six months. People will soon get tired of staring at a plywood box every night.”
All references taken from The Rise of The Image, The Fall of the Word, by Mitchell Stephens.
