# The Future Could Surprise Us Even When We Expect It by Vernor Vinge > "It is a point where our models must be discarded and a new reality rules. As we move closer and closer to this point, it will loom vaster and vaster over human affairs till the notion becomes a commonplace. Yet when it finally happens it may still be a great surprise and a greater unknown." > **— Vernor Vinge**, *1993, “The Coming Technological Singularity,” VISION-21 Symposium* ## Sources and Context - **Full source:** [Vernor Vinge, The Coming Technological Singularity, university-hosted text](https://edoras.sdsu.edu/~vinge/misc/singularity.html). The passage describes a limit of present models as a projected intelligence transition approaches. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor|AI Escape Is the Wrong Metaphor]] - **Article:** [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Last Migration Will Not Be Human|The Last Migration Will Not Be Human]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Predictive Science|Predictive Science]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/The Coming Technological Singularity|The Coming Technological Singularity]] - [[wiki/Predictive Science|Predictive Science]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "It is a point where our models must be discarded and a new reality rules. As we move closer and closer to this point, it will loom vaster and vaster over human affairs till the notion becomes a commonplace. Yet when it finally happens it may still be a great surprise and a greater unknown." — Vernor Vinge, 1993, “The Coming Technological Singularity,” VISION-21 Symposium https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-vinge-future-surprise ```