Writing the Future
Science fiction authors and futurists don’t predict the future. They extrapolate based on current conditions and talk about potential futures. A science fiction story will focus on one potential future and explore it in depth, while a futurist might come up with a range of scenarios to discuss. One popular way to represent a range …
A STEEP analysis is a look at how: Social Technological Economic Environmental and Political factors affect a business or organization. These are all external factors and thus not something the business or organization can control. This is also sometimes referred to as a PESTLE analysis, with the additional letter L referring to Legal considerations.
People tend to focus on the short term due to biases like presentism and availability heuristics (favoring familiar and easily recalled information). Foresight methods, such as Scenario Planning and Future Design, help individuals overcome these biases and think about the future more effectively. Scenario planning is a method for envisioning multiple plausible futures to improve …
You are right to be worried about your growing feelings of cynicism and you need to take action to protect yourself and those around you. … Cynicism is not a neutral position—and although it asks almost nothing of us, it is highly infectious and unbelievably destructive. In my view, it is the most common and …
A gesamtkunstwerk is one of those wonderful German compound words meaning "total work of art." It is a term coined by K. F. E. Trahndorff in 1827 and later popularized by Richard Wagner. It refers to a creative work that synthesizes multiple art forms, such as music, drama, and visual arts, into a cohesive whole. …
Very simply, backcasting is a planning method that starts with defining a desired future outcome and then works backward to identify the steps and policies needed to achieve it. Unlike forecasting, which predicts future trends based on current conditions, backcasting focuses on how to reach a specific goal regardless of current trends. It’s commonly used …
Solarpunk is an aesthetic, cultural, and literary movement that envisions an optimistic future where humanity has successfully addressed climate change and social inequality through sustainable technology, renewable energy, and social justice. It emphasizes green architecture, community cooperation, and harmony between nature and technology. It is a subgenre of science fiction or speculative fiction and is …
A wicked problem is a complex social or cultural issue that is difficult to solve completely due to: Incomplete/contradictory knowledge The number of people/opinions/jurisdictions involved Large economic burden Interconnected with other (often equally wicked) problems Sometimes require behavioural changes across society. Examples include climate change, poverty, healthcare access, and racial inequality (which are all intertwined!)
Futures studies, also known as futurology, or sometimes strategic foresight, is an interdisciplinary field dedicated to the systematic exploration of potential futures. Unlike traditional predictive approaches, futures studies employ a range of methodologies to explore various scenarios that could unfold based on current trends and emerging signals. Practitioners in this field draw insights from multiple …