L7 - How Futures Studies can Improve your Life and Work

Question 1

What is future studies?

Answer 1

An academic and consulting activity based on the identification and analysis of images of the futures, theories of social stability and change, methods of social forecasting and design, continuing trends and emerging issues.

Question 2

What is a prediction?

Answer 2

Intended to be a true and accurate statement about the futures.

Question 3

What is a forecast?

Answer 3

Intended to be logical, useful statement about the futures.

Question 4

List three types of futures?

Answer 4

• Utopia (impossibly perfect place)
• Dystopia (A bad place)
• Eutopia (A good place, best possible world we can imagine that isn’t a utopia)

Question 5

What is Dator’s first law?

Answer 5

The future is the be invented!!!

Question 6

What are the three components of the futures?

Answer 6

• Continuations
• Cycles
• Novelties

Question 7

Dator’s Second law of the futures?

Answer 7

Any useful idea about the futures should appear to be ridiculous.

Question 8

What is the role of technology in social and environmental change?

Answer 8

• Biology, environment, culture, technology and human action shape society
• Any of these change, behaviors, beliefs and values change
• Technology = major agent of change in the world. It changes behavior which changes belief

Question 9

What are the fours generic images of the futures?

Answer 9

• Continued growth (official view of future)
• Transform (to a higher level of existence)
• Disciplined (continued growth stalls, conservation)
• Collapse