of the book relates: Beyond the fear and chaos of
contemporary life, there is good news to share.
While some of his ideas may seem over the top
(one sub-heading in the chapter Towards Abun-
dant Food, reads “Feeding one hundred billion
people), Wood is no Pollyanna. He is well aware
of the potholes in the road to a better tomorrow.
Hacked A.I., rogue nanotechnology, environmen-
tal degradation, demagoguery and short-term
profit motive are among the many barriers he
sees to attaining the book’s many goals. He
eschews the term “techno-optimism” in favor of
the preferred “optimistic techno-realism.”
Wood defines transhumanism as the notion that
“we can take advantage of science and technolo-
gy to control our own evolution and get to a better
place,” and he describes the book as “an invita-
tion to get involved in the process.”
You may not agree with every aspect of his vi-
sion. (Would we really want a world of 100 billion
people, even if we could sustain it?) But you can
certainly admire Wood’s passion and proactive
approach to the many challenges of our future.
You can certainly read, react, and respond.
You may not agree with every aspect of
his vision... But you can certainly admire
Wood’s passion and proactive approach to
the many challenges of our future.
-Mark Sackler
72 HF |
April 2019
Book Announcement
The Little Book of Foresight
by James Breaux
MSF
January 13, 2019
A
new foresight reference book is available in kindle and
paperback form.
Foreword:
This little book is intended to accompany you on your futures
journey as you do the work of foresight. It is not a complete
cookbook, does not have any startling original ideas, or magic
spells for divining the future. Instead it is here on your desk(-
top) waiting to help you unlock the creativity that will put you
into that amazing flow which is why you are doing futures work
in the first place.
The intended audiences for this book are practitioners working
in foresight occasionally and students of foresight and future
studies who might be looking for a quick “pick-me-up” to get
moving on specific projects.
The book is a compilation of popular methods, tools, and tips
selected based on my own “go to” material when I’m seeking
answers. Moreover, the book references source material and
provides citations to the originators of the material. The kindle
version has live links to the web-based materials.
You can find the book at https://tinyurl.com/y7rt9foz
Cost US $7.99 kindle, US $9.99 paperback.
HF | Human Futures 73