possibility studies
Thin imagination is vague and partial, whereas thick imagination combines ideas, philosophy, programmes and detailed implementation. Most influential ideas achieve their impact by becoming thick in this sense, as well as through repetition.
Geoff Mulgan • Another World Is Possible: How to Reignite Social and Political Imagination
The idea is that it's a system for imagining and executing big projects that actually works. The theory emerges from the intersection of two maxims.
First, there's William Gibson: "The future is already here—it's just not evenly distributed."
Then, there's William Faulkner: "The past is never dead. It's not even past."
Mashing those together, we get
... See moreEliot Peper • Robin Sloan: Binding the Moon
There is strong evidence that hope is good for us, and if imagination helps us to hope, then we should worry if it is blocked.
Geoff Mulgan • Another World Is Possible: How to Reignite Social and Political Imagination
There are many incredible individuals, communities, and organisations dedicated to cultivating this fertile soil, nurturing the infrastructure of possibility across the many levels of society (though some may not recognise themselves or their work as such, nor use the language of the ‘imagination’ or ‘futures’). While this work sits largely on the... See more
Will Bull • Building the Infrastructure of Possibility
will have histories that have not been written yet. Possibility is the hope we wear when we charge into battle. It is stronger than assumption or reaction because it is intentional.
Kelly Hayes • Let This Radicalize You
our engagement with possibility is, at all times, constrained (e.g., by what is, by previous imaginations of what could be, by their enactment). This doesn’t mean that we cannot envision radical possibilities but that constraints – themselves never fully fixed in time and space – are enablers of our relationship with what is possible, both in its
... See moreVlad P. Glăveanu • Possibility Studies: A Manifesto
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
Vlad P. Glăveanu • Possibility Studies: A Manifesto
Imagining and articulating possibilities is how all flourishing futures begin. Stories are the origination point of world-building.