possibility studies

The problem is the gulf between this restless, fascinating technological imagination and the much more limited imagination that exists in relation to so much else. It’s not that alternative futures are absent.21 It’s just that the scientific side of imagination is far more prominent, far better funded and inevitably far less sensitive to the

Generations of intellectuals have turned away from the future, dispirited at best, cynical at worst.

Without curiosity, the space of the adjacent possible would exist but remain unplumbed and inactive. Curiosity then opens up adjacent possibilities, whether that means new nodes and edges or the reformulation of existing nodes and edges (and ultimately of the network itself).

While many of the foregoing assertions seem to suggest that human explorations of the possible lead to a variety of positive outcomes, from personal to societal, we cannot underestimate the darker sides of this engagement. For example, the discourse of possibility can become a burden when normatively imposed

Dominant narratives are keeping us hostage. By freeing up our imagination to what is impossible, we can break ourselves free as well. Just as much as we should not colonize the possible future, we should not colonize the so-called impossible future either.

On balance, we should always choose hope over fear. We may be wrong, but at least hope is productive (and there are worse things in life than disappointment).

Throughout my career, I’ve learned that with the right mix of determination, focus and patience, change is possible. World-weary realism often turns out to be extraordinarily unrealistic.

“Hope is the embrace of the unknown and the unknowable, an alternative to the certainty of both optimists and pessimists”—Rebecca Solnit *“Any useful idea about the future should appear ridiculous”–Jim Dator*