Blogs

Speeches by government leaders offer some of the most vivid applications of the future “frame” (see this excellent definition of frames for more info). Punctuated with references to history and destiny, they appeal to both the head and heart.

What will be the future of the city? I like to think it will be vaguely utopian—like Jane Jacobs re-written by David Harvey, but in my less optimistic moments I can’t help but think of fantastic, dystopian spaces like Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis”. But this betrays my own preconceptions--the instinctive way I discount culture (even though I'm a cultural anthropologist).

What's in the future for elementary and secondary schools in the United States? American classrooms need extensive reform because they lag far behind Europe and East Asian nations in international testing surveys, such as the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted every three years by OECD (Organization of Economic and Co-operative Development).

Google has just launched its much-anticipated Google Voice service and the song of cellphones floats upon the air. Suckers that we are, my wife and I are already signed up. The nifty features are these: You get one number that attaches to all of your other numbers. When someone calls that number, it rings on your home phone, your cell, and any other device you choose to connect.

Check out this segment from NPR on how scifi has inspired younglings to pursue careers in science and turn fiction into fact. Amit Singhal of Google talks about how he's helping to make search into something as easy as talking to the Enterprise's computer.

Locally and globally, we continue to see that the nature of jobs is profoundly changing, and what we do in order to earn our incomes, and how we do it, will never be the same. Importantly, none of this will ever again conform to what were the norms or rules or expectations across companies or through the years.

I was frankly flattered when I was invited to write in this space. I read the work of some of the other writers/bloggers on this site, so I feel I’m in distinguished company.
But— fair warning— I won’t be writing about the future. I will be writing about YOUR future. How to understand it. How to explore it. How to plan for it. How to achieve your vision of your future. This is personal futures.

Since I am introducing myself and personal futures, let me guide you toward more information about personal futures.

People born before 1992 were left feeling like geezers last week with the release of the famous Beloit College "Mindset List." Now in its 12th year, the list aims to help professors understand the unique perspectives of their incoming freshman.

On Thursday, August 19, 2010, The New York Times reported that a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine found that the ancient Chinese practice of tai chi may be an effective therapy against the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia. The study was based on a clinical trial at Tufts University Medical Center. Tai Chi combines slow exercises, breathing and meditation.

In deficit debates, you hear a lot about how we're "borrowing against our children's future." The counterpoint being (crashes aside)since the economy has always grown more efficient in the past, it will continue to do so in the future and we can pay off today's debt with tomorrow's increases in productivity.

So where does this belief come from?