Category Archives: Futurist

This marks a major step forward for their domestic space program. Seoul to Satellite

South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced a lofty goal last week: To launch a rocket developed in his country thats capable of landing a robotic lander on the Moon by 2030.

In a speech given on March 25 at the Naro Space Center in Goheung, South Korea, President Moon unveiled plans to develop South Koreas space program to land on Earths only natural satellite along with sending a craft to the Apophis asteroid thats slated to pass by our planet in 2029, according to SpaceNews.

We will actively push for challenging space exploration projects that build on the foundation achieved by developing a Korean launch vehicle, President Moon said in his speech. By 2030, we will achieve our dream of landing on the moon by using our own launch vehicle. The technological prowess, experience and confidence that will be gained from exploring the moon, the first step in space exploration, will provide a solid foundation for space development.

The South Korean President also hopes to partner with the private aerospace industry in order to help achieve the countrys goal. He specifically named SpaceX as a potential partner saying he wanted to create an innovative industrial ecosystem that nurtures global space companies such as SpaceX.

Technology owned by state-funded research institutes will be transferred to the private sector in stages, President Moon said. We will pursue institutional improvement as planned to establish a space industry cluster and vitalize the space service industry.

The Korea Aerospace Research Institute was established as South Koreas space agency in 1989 but has only completed relatively minor space missions including satellite launches, and launcher and spacecraft development.

As such, President Moons speech signals a major step forward for the countrys space program and comes just a month after the government vowed to spend more than half a billion dollars on space projects in 2021.

If they make it to the Moon, it would mark a huge milestone in the programs history which would be fantastic. After all, the more domestic space initiatives there are, the more opportunities well have to unlock the mysteries of our solar system.

READ MORE: South Korean leaders vows landing on the moon by 2030 [SpaceNews]

More on the Moon: Ridiculous Analysis Claims You Could Build a House on the Moon for $60 Million

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South Korean President Announces Plans To Land On The Moon By 2030 - Futurism

Norwegian superyacht designer Kurt Strand just cant seem to get enough of The Sunshine State. Shortly after penning a menacing 436-footer known as Miami, hes unveiled a stunning sailing superyacht concept called Florida.

The futuristic 525-footer is equipped with space-age technology that will allow her to sail off the coast of the southeasternmost US state and beyond without releasing harmful emissions. Thats largely due to the vessels ingenious sails.

Florida is equipped with three carbon-fiber wing masts that each support a sizable 262-foot retractable sail. A cut above the typical canvas variety, these sails are covered with cutting-edge solar panels that automatically position themselves to capture the suns rays. This means when theres no wind, Florida can switch into solar sail mode and run on sunshine.

Fittingly, the vessels interior was inspired by the Florida Keys.Kurt Strand

Conversely, when the gusts are aplenty, the vessel sails along normally while the solar panels continue to capture clean energy that is then stored in a battery bank onboard. To ensure the sun-absorbing panels are always perfectly glossy, the vessel also features a built-in system that washes and polishes the sails each time they retract.

On the off chance that theres no wind or sunshine, Strand says the superyacht can also run on a hydrogen fuel cell system. The vessel is fitted with hydro generators that produce power while the yacht is under sail. Again, this energy is stored in the battery bank and can be used to create hydrogen onboard the yacht. (Theres also a backup generator in case all that new tech fails.)

Aside from propulsion, Florida features a spacious layout and endless high-end amenities. Fittingly, the vessels interior was inspired by the Florida Keys and features a color palette of pastels that are synonymous with Miami. Sticking with the eco-friendly theme, the floors and furnishings are made from recycled materials and vegan leather.

The amphibious limousine tender can actually drive up onto the beach.Kurt Strand

At the center of the vessel is a circular two-story lobby and bar where one can enjoy an Old Cuban cocktail. Elsewhere, there are 12 luxury suites that can sleep a total of 24 guests, plus cabins for 40 crew. Seafarers will also have access to a fitness center, cinema and spa.

Outside, meanwhile, there is a helipad on the foredeck, a large swimming pool aft, a beach club and a supercar garage. Theres also a huge selection of toys, including a 40-foot electric Beach Cruiser, an amphibious limousine tender that can actually drive up onto the beach, plus Jet Skis and off-roaders because why not?

We just have one request, can we get a Tampa superyacht next?

Check out more renders of Florida below:

Kurt Strand

Kurt Strand

Kurt Strand

Kurt Strand

Kurt Strand

Kurt Strand

Kurt Strand

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This 525-Foot Superyacht Concept Is Powered by Solar Sails When Theres No Wind - Robb Report

An invisible force is tearing apart the closest star cluster to the Solar System and astronomers are trying to figure out what it is, as Science Alert reports.

The ripping apart isnt much of a surprise in and of itself. Gravitational forces tend to rend apart star clusters to form tidal streams, which are essentially rivers of stars.

But something else, far more violent, appears to be causing the stars in the Hyades cluster, some 153 light years away, to be obliterated and scattered.

The European Space Agencys Gaia space observatory has been helping scientists create a detailed three dimensional map of the Milky Way.

Now, a team of astronomers from the European Space Agency and the European Southern Observatory have combed through recently released Gaia data. What they found was hundreds of stars associated with Hyades tidal tails, which are even smaller threads of stars that emanate from both behind and in front of a given cluster.

Hyades tails alone were found to span thousands of light-years. What made them even more unusual, however, was the fact that many of the stars werent accounted for when the team used computer simulations to map the stars movements during their lifetime of hundreds of millions of years.

In other words, something absolutely huge must have interacted with them to cause them to form these trails.

There must have been a close interaction with this really massive clump, and the Hyades just got smashed, said Tereza Jerabkova, ESA research fellow and lead author of a paper about the researchpublished in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

In the paper, Jerabkova and her colleagues suggest that this massive clump may be a dark matter sub-halo, meaning naturally occurring clumps of dark matter that scientists believe may be shaping the galaxy.

With Gaia, the way we see the Milky Way has completely changed, Jerabokova said. And with these discoveries, we will be able to map the Milky Ways sub-structures much better than ever before.

READ MORE: Something Invisible Is Tearing Apart The Nearest Star Cluster to Earth [Science Alert]

More on Gaia: Astronomers Discover Hannibal Lecter Stars That Wear Planet Corpses

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Something Is Ripping Apart the Nearest Star Cluster to Earth - Futurism

On April 15, Mercedes-Benz will officially present its electric sedan EQS, which is essentially the gasoline-free version of the brand's flagship S Class model.

Its lineage means of course that we're expecting to see the best of the best with the EQS, and that starts with the highly futuristic, magnificent-looking dashboard of the future, which the automaker has just unveiled some two weeks before the model itself gets its turn in the spotlight.

What's striking, of course, is the sheer size of the multimedia screen, which stretches the length of the dashboard. The rest of the presentation is tasteful and the materials chosen breathe elegance, at least from looking at them.

Mercedes-Benz EQS, interior

The screen is covered by a monolithic sheet of glass and encompasses the instrument cluster, the centre screen and the area in front of the front passenger. Behind this sheet of glass are several screens, allowing for flexible and intuitive organization of cabin and entertainment system information and controls.

The Mercedes-Benz Hyperscreen can display a variety of ambient backgrounds when not in use, complementing the ambient lighting in the cabin.

If the Hyperscreen doesnt float your boat, know that Mercedes-Benz will offer a more conventional, vertically oriented floating screen, like the one in the new S Class. In the EQS variants without a solid screen, the dashboard can be adorned with wood trim or other materials, with different finishes and designs.

Whichever screen is chosen, the centre console just below is beautifully designed, floating almost weightlessly between the front seats and leaving plenty of storage space underneath.

Mercedes-Benz EQS, seating

As for the exterior of the new EQS, we'll have to wait until April 15 to get the full picture, but the model is going to look like the Vision EQS concept, albeit likely without the excessive styling elements more typical of prototypes.

Different sounds...Weve all experienced it - an electric car moves almost soundlessly. Mercedes-Benz decided to enhance things with synthesized sounds that simulate a comfortable car ride and others that offer more aggressive and sporty notes. We'll have to see how that works out, because so far, all the artificial sounds that have been proposed throughout the industry have been frankly unconvincing.

We'll be talking about this car again in mid-April.

Mercedes-Benz EQS, steering wheel

Mercedes-Benz EQS, main screen

Mercedes-Benz EQS, console

Mercedes-Benz EQS, de nuit

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Mercedes-Benz Showcases Futuristic Dashboard of its Upcoming EQS The EQS is essentially the all-electric version of the S-Class sedan. Not...

Imagine calling this incredible house your potential new home?

Situated in one of Radlett's premier roads, sits this beautifully-designed contemporary detached property, which looks like it should be on the hit Channel 4 TV show, Grand Designs.

This 4,597 sq. ft home has six bedrooms, six bathrooms, and four reception rooms ready for a lucky buyer.

What's more, there are four floors which the occupants can reach by their own individual private lift - now that's not something you would expect in a Hertfordshire property right?

Each of the rooms are spacious with a modern interior and some of the reception room can even be converted into a cinema room or a gymnasium.

Transport links from Radlett are excellent with the M1, M25, and A1(M) motorways all within easy reach making the international airports at Heathrow, Luton and in the City readily accessible.

According to Zoopla, the schools in the area are also high regarded, making this a perfect location for families to settle down in.

The home is located in The Warren, Radlett, Hertfordshire WD7, and is listed for a staggering 2,500,000.

We have put together a visual story so you can see inside the spectacular home - maybe it could be yours?

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Hertfordshire property: The futuristic Radlett house that looks like it belongs on Grand Designs - Hertfordshire Mercury

Long before the great building games likeMinecraftorTerraria, there was The Sims and their fervent communities of builders.The community inThe Sims 4is no different, taking advantage of the game's most advanced building tools yet to create extravagant creations that are in a constant state of evolution thanks to the hard-working developers.

RELATED:The Sims 4: 10 Cheapest Starter Homes In The Gallery

It is all thanks to a toolset that is regularly being updated. With the aid ofplatforms like the Gallery, creators can upload their builds for any Sims player to download for free, leading to all manner of fantasies being able to be played out. With that being said, here are ten of the most downloaded futuristic residences off ofThe Sims 4Gallery.

Despite being one of the most distinct-looking builds on this list, this Loft From The Future by user kaichen04 is one of the lowest downloads in the future category ofthe Gallery. This octagonally shaped home has a tree growing out of its center as well as an indoor farm/garden. As the name implies, the lofts and balconies serve as its main draw.

Loft From The Future is built on a 30x30 lot space, costing an estimated $211,928 (in simoleons, of course) and coming equipped with two bedrooms and one bathroom. It is smaller than it seems, despite its rather frightening size, making it a great home for a small family!

This impressive build also has shockingly low downloads despite its uniqueness. It was created by user Ripit01 who describes it as the following:

"This highly detailed home of the future is set on an Industrial Techno planet. Will host a family of 7. Beware of zooming Hover Space Cars, almost as bad as the city trash!"

The devil of this build is in its details and the nighttime shot does an excellent job of highlighting them, from the different colored panels to the steam coming off thetopand the hovering car parked on the side of the roof. It is truly excellent. The stats state that the residence costs $612,276 and comes with four bedrooms and three bathrooms on a 30x20 area lot.

Fun fact! Despite being named 40x20 Future by the builder leDeego, the Gallery actually claims that the home sits on a lot that is 40x30 tiles. The home is one of the rare few inThe Sims series that chooses to include a garage area for a possible car that a Sim might own. The overall design seems to be inspired by post-modern architecture styles, sticking heavily with a minimalist style.

It succeedsin some of the minimalist aspects as the home only costs $194,548, hiding away a four-bedroom, two-bathroom floor plan in its rather simple design.

This modern home designed by user CelestialSky1 and reposted by PriBorges is fantastically designed on the exterior, giving the impression of one structure being built up by multiple smaller modules. The amount of time needed to convey such an effect may have taken quite a while, even with such advanced build tools.

RELATED:The Sims 4: 10 Most Popular Rooms In The Gallery Fans Need To Download

The stats for this home include a price of $655,966 on a lot of 40 tiles by 30 tiles. According to the comments section, however, the listing of three bedrooms and three bathrooms is incorrect as when downloaded, the actual number is about ten bedrooms and three bathrooms.

For those Sims who want the future home life that looks like it could fit right in the middle of a metropolitan area, then they should look no further than user tennczowy's take on the Future Home. This build was reposted by user Hoexel in case there is any difficulty finding it. The most eye-popping feature of this house is despite the squareness of the roof, it appears to almost concave like a sphere when looked at from an isometric view.

The description of this home lists it for $177,780 built on a lot with an area of 30x20. The number of bedrooms and bathrooms is not listed, however, when looking through the multiple photos, it seems that this house has four bedrooms and three bathrooms.

This curvacious home was designed by user: Nanou_Arno and their take on the Future Home. It certainly seems to follow designs that attempt to merge and fuse the designs of modern architecture with the forms and shapes of the more natural state of things. Space is actually quite small, making it another great choice for small families seeking quaint living in the future.

The description says that the home costs $61,769 with one bedroom and one bathroom on a lot of only 30x20 tiles! Perhaps it is following an economic and eco-friendly theme as well.

Retrofuturism is an insanely popular aesthetic, especially for how it bleeds its influence into designs for a multitude of things. Architecture is no different as user Allieraptor decided to put their own mark on the now time-honored style. They describe an expansive entertainment area with an indoor pool as well as an outdoor pool near a sustainable garden. The touch of mint green to the wooden color scheme is a fantastic addition, building on the theme.

The statistics for this home are a price of $473,341 on a 50x50 lot. The home features five bedrooms and a staggering nine bathrooms!

This home of the future designed by 0kiwigreen0 is certainly alien in appearance. It is certainly aided by the plethora of blue mushrooms growing in and around the house, but something about the bone-like color of the building along with the way it is structured just feels "extraterrestrial."

RELATED:Sims 4: Most Creepy Homes On The Gallery

The statistics for this home say that it costs $202,653 and that it sits on a lot sized 50x50. The number of bedrooms and bathrooms is zero, however looking at pictures, the best estimates are one bedroom and two bathrooms.

Starter homes are fantastic additions to add toThe Sims 4Gallery, as having a set template to build off of can set the imagination ablaze with a shower of new ideas. That was possibly user schnuck01's intention when they designed this home. From the description's overall tone, it sounds like they really want people to take their homein new and exciting directions.

The profile for this home has it starting at $17,867 with two bedrooms and one bathroom built on a 30x20 area lot.

This home by user Xenami is not actually called "Future Hill Home." It is actually originally titled "Future Home 2,"yet it did not feel fitting for the most downloaded futuristic residence on the Gallery to be called something so banal, so liberties were taken when crafting this list. This residence currently sits at over 15,000 downloads on the Gallery and it is easy to see why. Curves are notoriously difficult to work withwhen building structures, so the fact that this home pulls it off so well is a testament to Xenami's skill as a builder.

Plus the house on the pond is just impressive in itself. This home's stats sit with a price of $114,404 with two bedrooms and one bathroom on a 40x30 lot.

NEXT:10 Open World Games That Have No Combat

Next Mortal Kombat: 9 Best Non-Canon Character Endings In The Franchise

Grey Ussery is an aspiring writer from Louisiana who admires fantasy and science fiction. He is currently a List Writer for GameRant.com, where he produces content related to video games and video game culture. Some of his interests include languages, nordic cultures, video games, history, reading, and music. The idea that fascinates him the most is the idea of the "lore" of a story and its world. He hopes to be able to create engaging lore one day; writing that makes someone want to take a break from the main story in order to enjoy something more...supplementary.

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Sims 4: Most Futuristic Homes On The Gallery | Game Rant - GameRant

The videos are incredible.Light Show

On March 4, SpaceX launched its latest batch of broadband-beaming Starlink satellites into orbit using one of the companys workhorse Falcon 9 rockets.

But the launch didnt go entirely as planned. The rockets second stage failed to light its engines during deorbit and spent the last 23 days in space until careening through the Earths atmosphere last night in an epic light show.

Its reentry lit up the skies like a spectacular fireworks display around 4am local time over the Seattle area. Videos of the uncontrolled reentry showed up on social media, with bewildered onlookers trying to make sense of what theyve just seen.

Videos show the second stage breaking up into small pieces as it burns up.

The rocket stage was mean to slowly make its way back down to Earth in a much more controlled manner.

Basically, if an object is in orbit around the Earth, it doesnt need any propellant or anything to keep going around the Earth, itll just go around and around and around, Bill Burnyeat, community astronomer for Canadian Planetariums, told local Vancouver news station News 1130.

But the deorbit burn never occurred.

Its kind of like if you had a car that was moving in a parking lot but there was no one driving and the car was just driving around and around randomly, then eventually would hit something, Burnyeat added.

The pressure the stage met when it hit the atmosphere was so intense that even the metal glowed as it burned up.

Most it will burn up in the Earths atmosphere so theres no real danger of it falling on someones head, Burnyeat told News 1130.

READ MORE: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket debris creates spectacular light show for Metro Vancouver [News 1130]

More on reentries: Amazing Footage Shows Ancient NASA Satellite Burning Up During Reentry

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Watch a SpaceX Rocket Stage Burn Up Spectacularly in the Earth's Atmosphere - Futurism

By Motoring Staff Mar 29, 2021

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STUTTGART - Mercedes-Benz will soon take its electric car game into the large luxury sedan segment with its EQS, and unlike the German carmakers current EQA and EQC models, which are based on the corresponding combustion models, the EQS wont just be an S-Class with batteries.

Mercedes says its upcoming flagship electric sedan will be the first to be based on the companys new modular architecture thats dedicated to high-end battery vehicles. Think of it as something akin to Teslas skateboard platform rather than being an adaptation from an existing architecture.

Although the technical details remain a mystery, Mercedes has just revealed the interior of the EQS, and its being described as a Digital Deep Dive Design in which almost the entire dashboard is a giant screen. The concave screen stretches out in front of the occupants from the left to the right A-pillar and it was designed to resemble an ocean wave.

This cockpit also takes Artificial Intelligence to the next level. Depending on the equipment level specified, the car has up to 350 sensors of various types, which are used as sensory organs in all parts of the car. They measure distances, speeds and accelerations, lighting conditions, precipitation and temperatures, seat occupancy as well as the driver's eyelid movements or the passengers' language. This wealth of information is processed by control units that, controlled by algorithms, make decisions at lightning speed.

The system learns the habits of occupants over time, Mercedes says, and the MBUX system aims to proactively show the right functions for the user at the right time. The context-sensitive awareness is constantly optimised, both by changes in the surroundings and by user behaviour.

With our EQS, we have created a completely new, future generation of luxury cars, says Mercedes design head Gordon Wagener.

Based on our style of sensual purity, we create desire by combining a beautifully seductive sculpture with the most progressive proportion. Key features such as the 'one-bow' design and a holistically integrated, highly reduced and seamless styling gives the EQS its sporty and progressive look. That's what sets it apart from any other vehicle we have ever created - that's what makes our EQS so extraordinary," Wagener added.

The EQS will be built alongside the S-Class at the companys completely carbon neutral Factory 56 at the Sindelfingen plant in Germany.

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Mercedes shows off the futuristic cabin of its upcoming EQS flagship sedan - IOL

A new leak has claimed Battlefiled 6 will drop the World War II setting of its predecessor and adopt a futuristic setting.

The news comes from reputable leaker Tom Henderson, who published a newsletter stuffed with new details about the upcoming entry in the long-running shooter series. The leaked information includes the games setting, single-player campaign details, and even the news that the game wont actually be called Battlefield 6.

Henderson claimed that Battlefield 6 will have a future setting, but fear not if youre not a fan of jetpacks it will only be a slightly futuristic setting. The game will reportedly be set around 10 years in the future so expect advanced military robots, drones, and jets but not hoover boots.

The game will also feature a supposedly revolutionary single-player campaign. Youll be operating as a special forces team, being recruited by either the USA or Russia.

There will also be support for co-op throughout the campaign. The last two Battlefield games focused on smaller vignettes known as War Stories, so it will be interesting to see if Battlefield 6 marks a return to a more structured campaign.

Henderson referred to Battlefield 6s online portion as Battlefield 3/4 on steroids and he also claimed there'll be a battle royale mode, which syncs up nicely with a previous leak that has been doing the rounds. He shot down the claim that Battlefield 6 will be a hub for previous Battlefield games, which was percolating on Reddit.

Henderson also revealed that Battlefield 6 will drop the number and just be called Battlefield. This is definitely a move we could see DICE making if the aim is to soft-reboot the franchise this year.

Henderson didn't give us any clues as to when the game might be released, but Fall 2021 seems to be the window currently being aimed for. We recently heard that Criterion, the developer of the Need for Speed franchise, has paused work on its next racing game to assist DICE in the creation of Battlefield 6. So fingers crossed the game doesnt slip out of this year.

The game is reportedly being developed with 128-player online matches in mind, so youre probably going to want a next-gen system (or powerful PC) to play this one. Make sure to check out our where to buy a PS5 and where to buy an Xbox Series X guides if youre struggling to get hold of the new games consoles.

Another leak has claimed that Battlefield 6 will be officially unveiled in May. So we shouldnt have to wait too long to see if these rumors are in fact correct and finally get a first look at the game.

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Battlefield 6 leak just revealed setting were going to the future - Tom's Guide

Thinking about the future allows us to imagine what kind of future we want to live in and how we can get there.

In 2018 we celebrated the fifty-year anniversary of the founding of the Institute for the Future (IFTF). No other futures organization has survived for this long; we've actually survived our own forecasts! In these five decades we learned a lot, and we still believeeven more strongly than beforethat systematic thinking about the future is absolutely essential for helping people make better choices today, whether you are an individual or a member of an educational institution or government organization. We view short-termism as the greatest threat not only to organizations but to society as a whole.

In my twenty years at the Institute, I've developed five core principles for futures thinking:

If somebody tells you they can predict the future, don't believe them. Nobody can predict large socio-technical transformations and what exactly these are going to look like. We are getting better at making point predictions. There are prediction markets and all kinds of data-rich tools with which we're trying to predict elections, market share prices, and the success of product introductions. All of these focus on one particular event, a particular point. But a lot of our work at the Institute for the Future is focused on comprehending big, complex transformationsrather than just one thing, one event. We're looking at the interconnection between technologies and society and economics and organizations.

One way to think about this is to look at the difference between waves and tides. Waves are what we see on the surface. They are fleeting events, they come and go, appear and disappear. But there is something bigger underneath that is causing these waves. Underneath the waves is the tide, causing all kinds of disturbances of which waves are just one sign. Our work involves trying to understand those tides, the deeper forces underneath the waves.

So, if no one can predict the future, why think about it? Because doing so helps you to inoculate yourself. In the medical field, inoculating yourself prevents you from falling ill. In futures thinking, if you've considered a whole range of possibilities, you're kind of inoculating yourself. If one of these possibilities comes about, you're better prepared.

Thinking about the future is also about imagining. It's about transforming how we think. It's about creating a map to the future and looking for the big areas of opportunity. We like to think about transformations, for example, in learning and work, and how they get connected and intertwined in various ways. And then we start thinking about zones of opportunity. How can we shape the future to make it more equitable? How can we amplify learning outcomes? What do we need to do to achieve these outcomes?

The future doesn't just happen to us. We have agency in imagining and creating the kind of future we want to live in, and we can take actions to get us there.

When we think about the future at the Institute, a ten-year horizon is our "sweet spot." This is for multiple reasons. Ten years is a safe place. People don't bring a lot of turf issues when thinking that far out, and they can agree on a desirable future to consider and to prepare for.

We use a cycle that we call the F-I-A process: foresight to insight to action (see figure 1). We believe that any successful strategy is based on a good insight about the future. So, as you think about the future and consider the tidesthat is, as you develop foresightask yourself a question: What does it mean for us? What's the insight? The same foresight, the same possibility, or the same tide may offer very different insights depending on your type of industry or organization. For example, if we're moving to a new way of accreditation or credentialing, one very different from traditional degrees, the insights will likely vary depending on your institution. Ultimately the goal is to use this foresight and the resulting insight as a way to determine the action to take. Although the foresight is usually five to ten years out, the action may be needed today or six months from now. What do we need to do today or tomorrow to either prepare for that future or to shape it in a more desirable direction?

What tools do we have to help us systematically think about the future and develop foresight? There is no data about the future; all the data we have is about the past. Historical data is useful when things continue as they are. You can just continue planning for the same trajectory. That's fairly easy.

The situation is different when things are changing and there are inflection points. I think we are in this space right now: notions of what learning is, how and where people learn, and the value of degrees and who grants degrees are all changing. What tools do we have to help us think about the future in this landscape? At the Institute for the Future, we use what we call signals of the future to help us develop foresight.

The science fiction writer William Gibson famously said, "The future is already here, it's just not very evenly distributed." Indeed, signals of the future are all around us today. Often these are things or developments that are on the margins. They may look weird or strange. They are the kind of things that grab your attention and make you ask: "Why is this happening? What is going on here?" A signal can be anything. It could be a technology, an application, a product/service/experience, an anecdote or personal observation, a research project or prototype, a news story, or even simply a piece of data that shows something different. Recently I read that 62 percent of jobs today do not afford people with middle-class livelihoods. For me, that was a signal. Unemployment is low, and the economy is booming. What is going on here? A signal is anything that makes you want to dig in and say: "Why? What is causing this situation?"

Let's take as examples an old signal and a new signal. In 1995, eBay first appeared on the horizon and created a lot of excitement. Strangers began to trade with each other. You trusted somebody you'd never met to sell you something, and you agreed to pay them! The significant signal here, the critical innovation of eBay, was the creation of a reputation system, for both the seller and the buyer. The creation of this online reputation system enabled strangers to conduct economic transactions easily. This idea could be carried into many different arenas, and it was. Today, all online transactions rely on some sort of a reputation system. Online reputation has become a new kind of currency. When I was a child, we were told: "Don't get into cars with strangers." Now most of us don't think twice about getting into Uber or Lyft cars with complete strangers. So, this signal, this notion of online reputation markets, changed the whole industry, allowing new kinds of transactions in which strangers come together. Just a few examples are Uber/Lyft, Upwork, LinkedIn, and the whole ecology of badges certifying that someone has certain skills or abilities.

That's the old signal. An example of a new signal is a video billboard in Sweden. It's placed at a bus stop. If somebody at the bus stop starts smoking, the billboard plays a video of a person choking. What this signal shows is that what used to be on our laptops and desktopsall of this information, all of this contentis moving into the real world. It will become available not just on billboards but all around us. We've talked about how the whole world can become infused with media, and that has happened. We can access content almost anywhere and interact with it.

If you are a futurist, you will get into the practice of looking for signals all the time. When you wake up in the morning and read the news, you will look at everything through the lens of these signals. You will naturally ask about events: "Is this a signal of something? Why?" This kind of curiosity and the ability to continually sense while also sharing with others is very important.

Ideally, people in organizations will think about signals and get together to share their observations. I call this sensing. To be a sensing organization, staff need to create some means, formal or informal, of aggregating these signals and working to interpret them. This will allow feedback and direction on what to do next.

I said earlier that there is no data about the future; the only data we have is about the past. While we cannot fully rely on past data to help us see the future, there are larger patterns in history that we tend to repeat over and over again. Thus, we need to look back to see forward. I've started to think of myself as a historian as much as a futurist. I'm trying to understand the larger story and to place what is happening today and what we see on the horizon into a larger context. We don't repeat our history completely, but we do repeat patterns. If we look at the invention of the printing press and the debates and worries that people had at that time, we see that those concerns are very similar to our current debates and worries about fake news, computational propaganda, bots and how they skew our public opinion.1 It's almost eerie. People were talking about fake information and propaganda and lies all those years ago!

What is the larger pattern? Changing our fundamental information, communications, and infrastructure changes our society in very dramatic ways. Why? Because of power dynamics. New media tools alter who has the voice, who has the platform, and who has the ability to shape opinion. In Gutenberg's days, the authority was with the church, which held the ultimate truth. But with the printing press, people could distribute leaflets. Luther nailed his thesis on the church doors. At that time, the transformation in the media led to social transformations, to scientific revolution, and even to wars. Eventually people created new rules, new regulations, new principles around how to value and assess this information and how to decide who has the authority to say what is true or not true. We are in the process of trying to figure this out again. This is our Gutenberg moment.

Ultimately, the goal of aggregating signals and connecting these to the larger historical context helps us understand patterns of changethe deeper tides I mentioned earlier. It helps us understand how we got to key developments shaping our future. What is the larger story? What are the tides of change? At the Institute for the Future, we've been working with a pattern that we call the Two-Curve Framework. It comes from Ian Morrison, former president of the Institute for the Future, who wrote the book The Second Curve. In the book Morrison argues that in any period of large transformationwhich I think we're going through nowwe are simultaneously living along two curves (see figure 2).

The first curve is the descending curve. This is the curve we've lived on for a long time. We have rules, we have regulations, we have usage patterns, we know how to live this way. But that way of doing things is slowly declining, and we don't know the exact angle of the decline. At the same time, a new way of doing things is emerging: a nascent curve. We're in the early stageswe're just now seeing signals of itbut this curve tells us something about a new way of doing things.

What we see, and what I write about in my book The Nature of the Future, is that the declining curve, the curve on which we've existed for a long time, is the curve of institutional production. It is a system in which most resourcesmoney and peopleare concentrated in large formal organizations, whether corporations, news organizations, or colleges/universities. But this way of doing things is on the decline. We're moving from institutional production to what I call socialstructed creation. In this way of doing things, a platform engages large numbers of people to create something that no formal organization could, with no or very little formal structure. The best example is Wikipedia. Today, the Wikipedia Foundation has about 300 staff and contractors, but the online encyclopedia has millions of contributors and billions of users from all around the world. Together they created what no one organization could create. We're seeing this new way of doing things in open-source software, in the news media, and in other parts of our lives.

Moving from the old to the new curve requires one to behave like an immigrant. I am an immigrant to this country, and I strongly believe that we are all immigrants to the future. We are all moving somewhere new, so it is good to have the mindset of an immigrant. When you're an immigrant, you must learn a new language, a new culture, a new way of doing things. These are exactly the attitudes and skills we need to bring to thinking about and shaping our future. We must be open to learning a new language, a new culture, a new way of doing things.

Being a futurist or thinking about the future is not a solitary affair. I have a lot of distrust for people who say: "I'm a futurist. I went to a mountaintop, and I saw this vision, and this is your future." That's not real futurism. Thinking about the future is a collaborative and highly communal affair. It requires a diversity of views. We need to involve experts from many different domains. When we think about anything, from higher education to work, we need to include people who bring different perspectives on the topicdemographics, economics, technology, artificial intelligence, organizations. We need young people in the room. A robust forecast is a collective endeavor; it's very much a product of collective intelligence. So, if you're going to create a sensing and signaling mechanism in your organization, make sure you're not bringing in people who all think the same way. Be sure to create a diverse group of people who can contribute their varied experiences and their differing knowledge to give you much more robust views of the future.

A few years ago, the Institute for the Future brought together a group of experts and contributors to develop a forecast that ties together innovations in blockchain technologies, new patterns of working and learning, and new forms of assessment. The product of this research was a provocative video scenario titled Learning Is Earning 2026.2 What if we could bring blockchain and new reputation systems together in education? What would that scenario look like? What would it mean for students? For educators? What challenges would be created? We produced the video to raise these questions and to provoke conversations.

Fifty years ago, Alvin Toffler warned us of the impending "future shock," a condition not unlike the culture shock experienced by travelers to foreign countries, involving disorientation, irrationality, and malaise. "Imagine not merely an individual but an entire society, an entire generationincluding its weakest, least intelligent, and most irrational memberssuddenly transported into this new world. The result is mass disorientation, future shock on a grand scale."3

We seem to be living Toffler's future today. Between climate change, media disruption, and the rise of automation and machine intelligence, many people are feeling like they are victims rather than makers of the future: they are victims of the future shock. To overcome this malaise, we must answer Toffler's call to make futures thinking a way of life not just for a few innovators in Silicon Valley but for everyoneincluding students, educators, and average citizens.

At its best, futures thinking is not about predicting the future; rather, it is about engaging people in thinking deeply about complex issues, imagining new possibilities, connecting signals into larger patterns, connecting the past with the present and the future, and making better choices today. Futures thinking skills are essential for everyone to learn in order to better navigate their own lives and to make better decisions in the face of so many transformations in our basic technologies and organizational structures. The more you practice futures thinking, the better you get. The five principles outlined abovenot focusing on predictions, uncovering signals, understanding historical trajectories, weaving together larger patterns, and bringing diverse voices into the conversationshould help you on your journey of making futures thinking a way of life for you and your community.

Institute for the Future (IFTF) is the world's leading futures organization working with businesses, governments, educational institutions, and social impact organizations to leverage its global forecasts and custom research to navigate complex change and develop world-ready strategies.

IFTF's Foresight Training program leverages over 50 years of futures content, tools, and methodologies to help individuals and organizations build foresight capacity. Our three-day introductory training in futures thinking creates new views of transformative possibilities in support of a more sustainable future.

Marina Gorbis is Executive Director of the Institute for the Future. She is the author of The Nature of the Future: Dispatches from the Socialstructed World.

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Five Principles for Thinking Like a Futurist | EDUCAUSE