The Future: A Very Short Introduction
by Jennifer M. Gidley
- UK Oxford University Press 2017
- xiii, 164 pages: Illustrations; 16 cm.
Table of Contents Introduction 1: Three Thousand Years of Futures 2: The Future Multiplied 3: The Evolving Scholarship of Futures Studies 4: Crystal Balls, Flying Cars and Robots 5: Technotopian or Human-Centred Futures? 6: Grand Global Futures Challenges Conclusion References Further Reading & websites Appendix: Global Futures Timeline Index
Can we ever truly influence, predict, and direct our own futures? Are there multiple futures or only one awaiting us? Jennifer Gidley explains our innate fascination with the unknown future, and considers the role of the human consciousness in embracing multiple future possibilities, and creating a world of our choices.
Explains the history of our conception of the future from the emergence of the theory of linear time in ancient Greece two and a half thousand-years ago, and looks at the way human beings have prophesied, foretold, predicted, and controlled the future Introduces the exciting field of futures studies, spanning social, cultural, and environmental innovations, as well as technological advances, and dispels some of the common misconceptions about the field Discusses the reality of multiple futures in a world of quantum possibility, and explores how we can become the creative agents of our desired futures Part of the Very Short introductions series - over seven million copies sold worldwide