possibility studies
Language is a blueprint for culture. We put ourselves into our words, from grocery lists to theorems. Needs are certainly encoded into language, but beyond those needs we see that imagination itself is just as much encoded into language, and different cultures have different languages. How is this possible? It suggests that imagination is dynamic,
... See morepoetrynw.org • Magical Realism and the Sociology 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
"“To be aware of . . . the market of competing dreams is quite important, when we think about what kind of a new story . . . we should be able to tell,” says Indra Adnan, of the political platform Alternative UK. Indeed, we must urgently transition from our current provincial, chauvinistic, and hierarchical nightmare to a planetary vision of human
... See moreThe 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
... See moreGeoff Mulgan • Another World Is Possible: How to Reignite Social and Political Imagination
the scientific and technological imagination means very little absent an active social and human imagination [e.g., when tech gets it wrong - apple, google ads]
exploring alternate realities reveals the interlocking contingencies of the status quo, speculative stories may prove useful not just to those imagining the future, but those who seek to invent it.
Eliot Peper • The Possibility Engine
What changes the world in the end is the generative ideas, not the detailed blueprints. But the blueprints are useful tools for thinking with—they help to clarify ideas and can show unexpected consequences. Developing them is part of being positively engaged with the world. It’s easy to be against things and easy to be a critic; much harder to
... See moreGeoff Mulgan • Another World Is Possible: How to Reignite Social and Political Imagination
Most germane for our purposes, knowledge, too, can be analyzed as a network. In this case, nodes can be pieces of information, or experiences, or words, or knowers themselves, while the edges can be the relationships between those pieces of information, those experiences, words, or knowers.
Perry Zurn, Dani S. Bassett • Curiosity and Networks of Possibility
Speculative-fiction writers riff on reality like jazz musicians riff on standards, summoning strange new worlds, challenging assumptions, and subverting expectations. By journeying through these invented worlds, readers flex their own speculative muscles. Yoga for the imagination is invaluable in an evolving world where flexibility enables
... See moreEliot Peper • The Possibility Engine
The book focuses on a simple question: how could we become better at imagining the society in which we might like to live a generation or two from now?