Practical imagination

Eric Liu and Scott Noppe-Brandon, in Imagination First, develop this idea further: ‘The true utility of imagination is measured not by some ratio of innovations-per-ideation. It is best measured by whether the ecosystem as a whole is richer in possibility, and whether the society we feed with our imagination enables all participants in the market o

Why did they choose imagination as the concept to underpin their work? D’Alena told me how initially he was skeptical about using the word because he thought they needed a more ‘practical’ one. However, he has subsequently come to appreciate how effective focusing on imagination has been, having observed that ‘imagine’ was one of the most-used word

Some imagination points forwards and some points only backwards; some draws on the experiences and thoughts of the frontiers of its time—science, art, social organisation—and some rejects these. However, it’s not enough simply to be ‘for progress’ or to seek to ride the tides of history. Instead, the most interesting patterns of social imagination

imagination is an extremely powerful force for change and humanity can build bridges and empower us to create worlds that are more in line with our values. Imagining allows us not just to see a different future but to explore the impacts of it happening

Eric Liu and Scott Noppe-Brandon, in Imagination First, develop this idea further: ‘The true utility of imagination is measured not by some ratio of innovations-per-ideation. It is best measured by whether the ecosystem as a whole is richer in possibility, and whether the society we feed with our imagination enables all participants in the market o