ure?

Whether a glass is half empty or half full depends on whether you are doing the drinking or the pouring! The Future is something that we can be a part of, it is not some dim and distant region out there in time. The Future is a reality that is coming to pass with each passing day, with each passing decision. There are many futures out there. The Future is a function of our choices and creations. The Future is not a "single state" but a scenario of possibilities.

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What role does a Futurist play?

Essentially, the Futurist's job is to prepare people for the future so that when they get there, they are not surprised by what they find.

The purposes of Futures Studies are to discover or invent, examine and evaluate, and propose possible, probable and and preferable futures. Thus, the Futurist seeks to know what causes change and then helps people to recognize and understand the change.

Do you use tea leaves and crystal balls to tell the Future?

Hmm... If I had a dollar for every time I've answered that question!

The Futurist would say that prediction is not possible. Instead we focus on emerging issues and uncertainty which can make way for assumptions. Building on these assumptions, we make forecasts (tell stories of events which could happen) which more than often, are expressed by way of a scenario.

More questions?

The Futures Lab webpage will give you some idea of what I do from day to day. In addition to the links that I have posted, Phil Gyford's weblog Overmorgen and the UH-CL based, Cody Clark driven weblog Futurescan will provide you with a good idea of futures scanning. Metabridge has a reasonably thorough, if a little long winded rundown on scenario planning - worth a look. You can also check out some of the papers that I have written.