Blogs

As a futurist, I always prefer the long view. But I’m often asked, what are the practical applications of futuring and foresight practice in navigating day to day life, making the sort of fast but high impact decisions that people are often called upon to make?

Before I read Christakis`s and Fowler`s recently published book “Connected – the amazing power of social networks and how they shape our lives” my first thought was “Oh no, not another book on social networks” as I associated social networks with Facebook, Twitter and all the well-meant advices on how to become more visible on the internet. Luckily, the authors chose a different approach.

Futurists got up close and personal with ten novel ideas and inventions at Futurists:BetaLaunch (F:BL), the World Future Society's first idea and solution expo and competition. F:BL was moderated by event partner Disruptathon and held in Vancouver July 8-10 during WorldFuture 2011: Moving from Vision to Action, the Society’s annual conference.

With all the depressing news of raging wildfires and killer tornadoes in the Southwest USA, the threat of climate change is now real, but where are the solutions? After all, this can only get worse.

thwaaack! OUCH! thwaaack! OUCH! thwaaack! OUCH!
Many Westerners regard Singapore as a weird tropical tyranny where: 1) You get caned with a bamboo stick for spray-painting graffiti. 2) Chewing gum is prohibited. 3) You get executed via hanging if you're convicted of drug-dealing.
The tiny archipelago-on-the-equator is all that, it's true, but it's also an astonishing model mega-city success, with astute futuristic sensibilities in its environmental, business, educational, infrastructural, and technological policies.

At the closing plenary of WorldFuture 2011 in Vancouver, Thomas Frey of the DaVinci Institute presented Eight Grand Challenges for humanity. It was a thought provoking presentation, though not without its critics.

Launching in 1975, BYTE was the flagship magazine of the personal computer era and remained a highly popular and acclaimed voice in consumer technology until it was shut down in 1998. Byte's now back, as of last week. Executive news editor Eric Mack took a moment from his busy day covering next generation consumer technology to introduce Byte's readers to Futurists:Beta Launch and WorldFuture 2011. Thanks for this great piece Eric, I couldn't have put it better myself. The piece in it's entirety is below. Check out byte at http://www.informationweek.com/byte/

The International Transport Forum, an intergovernmental think tank, recently published a study on car fleet renewal scheme in three countries.

For the past two weeks, I've been locked away with two colleagues and 28 of the brightest high school students in the US at our second annual Futures Institute as part of the Duke University TIP program.

Recently, SF author Charles Stross posted his thoughts on why he doesn't think the Technological Singularity will happen. Here's why I think he may be wrong.