A very interesting corollary to William Gibson's assertion "the future is already there, it's jut not evenly distributed" is discussed by Bill Buxton in "Sketching User Experiences:
"we should not count on any deus ex machina. We should not expect any magic bullets. It is highly unlikely that there will be any technology that we don't know about today that will have a major impact on things over the next 10 to 20 years. (...) innovation is not primarily about alchemy. Rather than trying to make gold, it has far more to do with learning how to find it, mine it, refine it and then work it into something of value. If Gibson is right, then the innovator is likely best to trade in his or her alchemist's chemistry set for some prospecting tools, and learn about geology, mining, smelting, design, goldsmithing, sales and marketing, so to speak. (...) it is generally not the underlying technology itself, but its deployment and associated value proposition that brings us suprise and delight, as well as generated wealth for those who executed well on their insights"
Why do I blog this? I like the analogy with geology and digging stuff about things to come.