The world of 2020 and beyond
“No-one can predict the future, but perhaps the most authoritative and authentic description of the future comes from interviews with the world’s leading scientists. I have interviewed the 150 top scientists who are inventing the future, in three areas: life, the mind, and matter, which are the three pillars of science.”
—Michael Kaku
Michio Kaku, professor of Theoretical Physics, City University of New York offers these thoughts on the future from his 2005 conference presentation posted on The Futures Foundation web site.
The Universe in One Year
December
The following website provides an interesting conceptual view of the development of the universe and the much more recent evolution of life on earth in the form of a calendar.
The Central Question of the Future
The central question of co-evolution is not what the computer will become, but what kind of people we are becoming…
Can human understanding about human understanding increase? Can we learn what actually makes teams work? Can we truly understand cognition? Do we have a moral obligation to use enhancement technology to make ourselves beings who are more compassionate, moral and wise? Is it our only chance for survival? The planet comes with an expiration date.
–Joel Garreau (Radical Evolution)
Futuring: The Exploration of the Future
Futuring: The Exploration of the Future by Edward Cornish is an excellent first read for educators and students wanting to learn more about what the future holds and how futurists attempt to study the topic. Although it’s used as a text in introductory future studies courses, the clarity and engaging writing style avoid the dry and encyclopedic tone that plague a good number of basic texts.
Cornish highlights future trends and issues, describes methods used to study the future, and provides a history of future studies. Calling the 21st century the Great Transformation, he encourages us to use the strategies employed by the great explorers of the past when preparing for the voyage ahead:
1. Prepare for what you will face in the future.
2. Anticipate future needs.
3. Use poor information when necessary.
4. Expect the unexpected.
5. Think long term as well as short term.
6. Dream productively.
7. Learn from your predecessors.
