Future shock


 * For the Gillan album, see Future Shock.
 * ''For the Herbie Hancock album, see Future Shock

Future Shock is a book written by the sociologist and futurologist Alvin Toffler in 1970. The book is actually an extension of an article of the same name that Toffler wrote for the February 1970 issue of Playboy. The book has sold over 6 million copies and has been widely translated.

Future shock is also a term for a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies, introduced by Toffler in his book of the same name. Toffler's shortest definition of future shock is a personal perception of "too much change in too short a period of time". The concept of future shock bears resemblance to the late 20th/early 21st century concept of "the technological singularity", and may have been influenced by Kuhn's concept of a technological paradigm shift.

Term
Toffler argues that society is undergoing an enormous structural change, a revolution from an industrial society to a "super-industrial society". This change will overwhelm people, the accelerated rate of technological and social change will leave them disconnected, suffering from "shattering stress and disorientation" – future shocked. Toffler stated that the majority of social problems were symptoms of the future shock. In his discussion of the components of such shock, he also coined the term "information overload".

His analysis of that phenomenon is continued in his later publications, especially The Third Wave and Powershift.

In Popular Culture

 * The title of the third season Futurama episode "Future Stock" (episode 21) is a reference to this book.
 * The comic Future Shocks took its name from this book.
 * A segment on the Daily Show starring Samantha Bee was entitled "Future Shock."
 * Kevin Goldstein's recurring column on the Baseball Prospectus website is titled "Future Shock".
 * The science fiction novel The Forever War (1974) by Joe Haldeman uses some elements inspired by this book for the story.
 * The science fiction novel The Shockwave Rider (1975) by John Brunner was directly inspired by this book.

Reprints
The book has been reprinted several times. ISBNs include:
 * ISBN 0-394-42586-3 (hardcover, Random House, 1970)
 * ISBN 0-8488-0645-X (hardcover, Amereon Ltd, 1970)
 * ISBN 0-553-20626-5 (mass market paperback, 1981)
 * ISBN 0-553-27737-5 (mass market paperback, 1984)
 * ISBN 0-553-24649-6 (paperback, 1984)
 * ISBN 5-553-85765-1 (mass market paperback, 1991)
 * ISBN 0-8085-0152-6 (mass market paperback in library binding, 1999)

Other external links

 * Discussion the impact of language on Future Shock (Streaming audio & mp3)


 * fr:Future Shock
 * he:הלם העתיד
 * ru:Футурошок
 * sr:Шок будућности