17 Facts About Futures studies

Futures studies seeks to understand what is likely to continue and what could plausibly change.

Futures studies advocated for the establishment of a new academic study of the future that would be grounded in scientific methodology rather than just speculation.

Futures studies argued that a scientifically ordered vision of the future "will be just as certain, just as strictly science, and perhaps just as detailed as the picture that has been built up within the last hundred years to make the geological past.

Futures studies truly emerged as an academic discipline in the mid-1960s.

Future Futures studies had a parallel origin with the birth of systems science in academia, and with the idea of national economic and political planning, most notably in France and the Soviet Union.

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Future Futures studies was therefore primarily engaged in national planning, and the construction of national symbols.

Futures studies, however, exists in the realm of the uncertain but builds knowledge through attempting to falsify predictions and exposing uncertainty.

At present, the general futures studies model has been summarized as being concerned with "three Ps and a W", or possible, probable, and preferable futures, plus wildcards, which are unexpected, seemingly low probability but high impact events.

Therefore, the general practice of futures studies sometimes includes the articulation of normative or preferred futures, and a major thread of practice involves connecting both extrapolated and normative research to assist individuals and organizations to model preferred futures amid shifting social changes.

Futures studies posits that it is important to track the emergence of "Type II Wild Cards" that have a high probability of occurring, but low credibility that it will happen.

Futures studies education encourages the use of concepts, tools and processes that allow students to think long-term, consequentially, and imaginatively.

MA Program in Futures Studies has been offered at Free University of Berlin since 2010.

MSocSc and PhD program in Futures Studies is offered at the University of Turku, Finland.

Futures studies has been a futurist at Intel, and is the resident futurist at Arizona State University.

Singapore government's Centre for Strategic Futures studies is part of the Strategy Group within the Prime Minister's Office.

Foresight Futures studies can consider the possibility of "wild card" events—or events that many consider would be impossible to envision—although often such events can be imagined as remote possibilities as part of foresight work.

The scanning process includes reviewing social media platforms, researching already prepared reports, engaging in Delphi Futures studies, reading articles and any other sources of relevant information and preparing and analyzing data extrapolations.