# Straight-Line Futures Are Persuasive and Usually Wrong by Pamela McCorduck > “A linear projection into the future of any science or technology is like a form of propaganda — often persuasive, almost always wrong.” > **— Pamela McCorduck**, *2004 Edge Annual Question, response passage* ## Sources and Context - **Original Edge response:** [McCorduck's Law — Pamela McCorduck](https://www.edge.org/response-detail/11493) — a verbatim passage from Pamela McCorduck's 2004 Annual Question response, expressing the author's position at the time. The linked response supplies its surrounding context. - **Local archival entry:** [[research/Edge 2004 Full Quotation Curation|Edge 2004 Full Quotation Curation]] (EDGE2004-031). ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Edge|Edge]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Were Never Going to Make It|We Were Never Going to Make It]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Last Migration Will Not Be Human|The Last Migration Will Not Be Human]] - **Article:** [[articles/Who Pays for Your Heaven|Who Pays for Your Heaven]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Probabilistic Forecasting|Probabilistic Forecasting]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “A linear projection into the future of any science or technology is like a form of propaganda — often persuasive, almost always wrong.” — Pamela McCorduck, 2004 Edge Annual Question https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-pamela-mccorduck-straight-line-futures-persuasive-usually ```