Essays · 8 May 2024

Progress & Possibilities Sequence

This Sequence is a series of short thoughts on Progress and Possibilities.

The future is not predetermined. It is not inevitable. While it is impossible to predict, there is room to change what future we arrive at. Exploring what could happen is a useful first step on that journey. The future can be be influenced by individual choices.

Small actions can make a difference. The future is influenceable; and it is influenceable by seemingly small contributions. Individual choices matter.

By imagining ‘what could be’ the best possible futures, makes those futures much more likely to be made real.

There is no particular order in which the Sequence must be read. The short-thoughts below tend towards Futures work, but will increasingly include more quantitative, historical aspects of Progress Studies as posts are added.

• In Praise of Possibilities

• Ways of Exploring

• Ways of Exploring II

• The Deployment Age

• Exploring the Possible with Kevin Kelly

• Idea Maze, Multi-Maze

• How are you Navigating?

• Stepping Stones in Idea Space

• Progress and the accumulation of Knowledge

• DESIGN FICTION: Great Hall of Possibilities

• Human-Centred Design’s Christian roots

• Lewis Mumford On Technology

• The Hype Cycle and Perfect Prediction Horizons

• Exploring the Intuition Spaces of Others

• Principles of Futures Thinking

• In Praise of Futurism

• The Futures Funnel

• Levels of Uncertainty

• Signalling in Innovation Management

• Proof-of-Concept. Prototype. MVP. Pilot.

• Doubt and Double-loop Learning

• The Management Quantum Effect

• Talkers are dangerous

• Invention & Innovation

• Age of Augmented Invention

• Trends: Pattern errors & extrapolation errors

• Signals: Tools for seeing the future

• Fallibilism and Product Management

• Adaptive preference and shrinking Product Vision