The man whose million-selling book “Future Shock” anticipated the disruptions brought about by the rise of digital technology has died at the age of 87.

 Alvin Toffler, first coined the term “Future Shock” in a 1965 magazine article.  His 1970 book of the same name diagnosed contemporary trends and headlines, from war protests to the rising divorce rate, as symptoms of a historical cycle overturning every facet of life.

He didn’t always get it right.  Toffler forecast “a new frontier spirit” that could lead to underwater communities and space colonies.  He also presumed that the rising general prosperity of the 1960s would continue indefinitely.

His most famous observation….”The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.

Alvin Toffler was was 87.