(CNN) -- At the 1964 New York World's Fair, people stood in line for hours to look at a strange sight. If only the future looked like "Star Trek," with its nifty gadgets that seem to solve every problem. They wanted to see the "Futurama," a miniaturized replica of a typical 21st century American city that featured moving sidewalks, computer-guided cars zipping along congestion-free highways and resort hotels beneath the sea. Forty years later, we're still waiting for those congestion-free highways -- along with the jet pack, the paperless office and all those "Star Trek"-like gadgets that were supposed to make 21st-century life so easy.
@highlight
Visionaries have long predicted how inventions will alter the future
@highlight
Some miracle inventions never had impact desired by creators
@highlight
Why "Beam me up Scotty" is closer than people realize
@highlight
"Battlestar Galactica" writer: "The miracle" has to come from us, not machines
"Beam me Up Scotty," is a tagline from another television show, "@placeholder".