[originaltext] The term "culture shock" has appeared in the popular vocabula

The term "culture shock" has appeared in the popular vocabulary. Culture shock is the effect that immersion in a strange culture has on the unprepared visitor. Peace Corps volunteers suffer from it in Borneo or Brazil. Macro Polo probably suffered from it in China. Culture shock is what happens when a traveler suddenly finds himself in a place where "yes" may mean "no", where a "fixed price" is negotiable, where laughter may signify anger. It is what happens when the familiar psychological cues that help an individual to function in society are suddenly withdrawn and replaced by new ones that are strange or incomprehensible.
    The culture shock phenomenon explains much of the bewilderment, frustration, and disorientation that plagues people in their dealing with other societies. It causes a breakdown in communication, a misunderstanding of reality, an inability to cope. Yet culture shock is relatively mild in comparison with the much more serious disease—future shock. Future shock is the frightening disorientation brought on by the premature arrival of the future. It may well be the most serious disease of tomorrow.
    Future shock is a time phenomenon, a product of the greatly accelerated rate of change in society. It arises from the imposition of a new culture on an old one. It is culture shock in one’s own society. But its impact is far worse. For the traveler can at last turn back to his own familiar culture, but the victim of future shock can not.