A Blog of the Ridiculous and Sublime, by Mark Sackler
“I’m a peripheral visionary. I can see the future but only way off to the side.”–Steven Wright
Oh, my. What does Friday taste like? Where are those “future of food” people when you need them? (I might add that any professional futurist knows that you have to look way off to the side, as well as straight ahead, to get any idea of what the future might really hold).
“No serious futurist deals in prediction. These are left for television oracles and newspaper astrologers.”–Alvin Toffler.
And stock market predictions are the province of charlatans–and economists. For cogent discussions of what the future might be, and all the issues it may entail, be sure to visit my futurist blog and podcast at www.seekingdelphi.com.
“I’m sure if Shakespeare were alive today, he’d be doing classic guitar solos on YouTube.”–Peter Capaldi
Yeah…um….NO! I doubt it. Shakespeare had his anachronisms, but that’s pushing it. As for the animals in my household, well, they’ll have to be satisfied with Tales of a Veterinary Spouse. But my Seeking Delphi podcasts are indeed now on YouTube, as well as iTunes. All the subscription links are below. Way below. Below the embedded videos of the first three podcasts. Sorry, no funny cat pictures–this stuff is too important to get flippant. Our future depends on it.
Seeking Delphi YouTube Channel
“It was a great success, but even great successes come to a natural end.”–Isaac Asimov, Robots and Empire
Ah. Everything meets its demise. But an increasing number of researchers, in an increasingly visible corner of biotech research, have other ideas. In my first podcast, available on my other, more serious blog, I discuss the prospects for radical increases in human longevity with author David Wood. His 2016 book, The Abolition of Aging, is a thorough study of the present state of anti-aging research and the many related issues. Don’t die yet; if you do, you won’t live to regret it.
The podcast is available at www.seekingdelphi.com and is also available on iTunes
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/seeking-delphi-podcasts/id1198998455
“I’m spending a year dead for tax purposes.”–Douglas Adams
“Another year shot to hell”–Anonymous
Douglas Adams had the right idea, though in my case I’d just spend the year dead to goof off. In other words, nothing has changed.
But I am making one resolution. My new Seeking Delphi podcast, on all things related to the future, will indeed debut by the end of January. I promise. Anyway, it’s too late for 2016, it’s already shot to hell.
“The future always comes too fast and in the wrong order.”–Alvin Toffler
Alvin Toffler
No funny chickens for this one. The world lost its foremost futurist in the past week, a man who was one of my heroes. Alvin Toffler taught the world how to think about the future some 45 years ago. It’s a lesson the world should relearn. I read Future Shock away back in 1973–and have been thinking about it–and the future–ever since.
Writing in the New York Times on July 6, Farhad Manjoo lays out clearly and concisely why Toffler’s ideas are so relevant today. I highly urge you to read this piece, and to read Future Shock if you’ve never done so. I intend to reread it now. We have never needed foresight more than we do today.
My foresight related blog is available at www.seekingdelphi.com
“Never predict anything, especially the future.”–Casey Stengel
The one and only
The Ol’ Perfessor knew what he was talking about. Well, maybe he didn’t, but the advice is sage nonetheless. It is notoriously difficult to predict anything in the future with consistent accuracy. So why in the world would anyone want to become a futurist? Why bother? Well, to be blunt, that is exactly why! Ignoring the opportunities and dangers of the future is what I like to call The Ostrich Syndrome. Go ahead, hide your head in the sand. The future is not going to go away. And if we can’t predict it, there are certainly ways to prepare for it. To prevent bad outcomes, or at least make them less likely. To create good outcomes, or at least make them more likely. And to be better prepared to deal with whatever does come.
The sad fact is, we live in a short-term oriented society with a short attention span. So what is the antidote to this malady? It is more thoughtful foresight. We have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Kurt Vonnegut compared science fiction writers like himself to the proverbial canary in the mine shaft, warning of weak danger signals before others perceive them. That’s what futurists do, though those weak signals can signal opportunities as well as dangers as the world changes. That’s what I aim to do with the rest of my life. I’ve enrolled in the University of Houston’s Masters in Foresight program. I’m adding a foresight element to a friend’s existing market research business. I’m becoming an advocate for taking a longer view of everything. Economics. Education. Environment. Government. You name it. And I’m starting a second blog, aptly named Seeking Delphi™ after the famed Oracle of Delphi. We can’t predict the future, but we can anticipate the possibilities, avoid the catastrophes (or some of them) and create the opportunities. So here goes something. See you tomorrow and beyond.
The first post on Seeking Delphi is linked here. Keep an eye out for the addition of a podcast in the coming weeks.
“Predictions are preposterous.”–Jackie Mason
“The Best way to predict the future is to invent it.”–Alan Kay
“I don’t try to describe the future; I try to prevent it.”–Ray Bradbury
Most predictions are indeed preposterous. So why would I become a futurist in my old age? The object is not to predict the future, but it could be to invent it (per Alan Kay) or prevent it (per Ray Bradbury). At any rate, as futile as it may seem, I predict that the next stage of my life will be highly focused on the future (as I said in a previous post, 65 is the new 45 and I need a renewed direction in life.). I also predict that my next post will create a new feature–called Seeking Delphi–and with it a second blog. And a very plausible scenario also includes a podcast. You can predict some things, though what I ultimately will do is not usually one of them. Stay tuned….
I'm not the most interesting man in the world, but I might have the most cluttered mind.
The Millennium Conjectures™ 