The Future Starts Here
An Optimistic Guide to What Comes Next
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The Future Starts Here
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Narrated by:
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John Higgs
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By:
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John Higgs
About this listen
At some point in the 1980s we gave up on the future. Before then, we imagined wonderful days to come, free from disease, work and want, in television series like Star Trek or events such as the 1939 Futurama World Fair. When we look ahead now, we tell dystopian stories of environmental collapse, zombie plagues and the end of civilisation. If it is true that we have to imagine the future before we build it, then this is deeply worrying.
There are of course good reasons for this bleak outlook. Serious environmental and societal problems are building, most notably climate change, inequality and population demographics. These will be accompanied by technological advances, including artificial intelligence and biotechnology, which will amplify the rate of change and make the future increasingly unstable and unpredictable.
But it is not just technology that is changing. We are changing too. The postmodern world is evolving into a metamodern one. In the metamodern world concepts previously shunned, such as meaning, purpose and sincerity, return not as absolute truths but as necessary tools. While the postmodern world view was detached, cynical and frequently pessimistic, the metamodern is naturally more optimistic. If we engage with the problems of the world, we can overcome them.
John Higgs takes us on a journey to find the individuals who are engaging with the changes that are coming, and through that engagement finding their own sense of purpose. As a result, the characters we meet along the way will not be titans of industry or world-renowned experts, but rather regular people who were curious about new technology and who have begun exploring its potential in ways that are meaningful to them. Through their stories, we will come to understand what this much-hyped new technology can and can't do, in order to see past the hype and headlines. In the process, we will come to a better understanding of what lies ahead and how, despite everything - despite all the horrors and instability we face - we can imagine a future worth building.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2019 John Higgs (P)2019 Orion Publishing GroupListeners also enjoyed...
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Colin Chisholm
- 20-09-22
A well reasoned reposte to the doom-mongers
Higgs eschews the nihilists and the fantasists and argues that we can have a degree of optimism. we are not necessarily heading for oblivion and future generations won't behave as we do now.
Never polemical, he has a knack of communicating big concepts in a plain, engaging way.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- J. Davis
- 17-10-19
Extraordinary Positive Inspiration
This is one of the most interesting and refreshing books I have read in a long time. It is a must read if you are a parent and would like to provide some hope for the future.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- oliver
- 19-01-20
Really enjoyable, and interesting book.
It’s great to have a well thought through positive book about the future. John Higgs brings lots of strands of thought together to create a book Well worth your time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 17-10-21
My new favourite author.
A range of future facing topics covered, it's always fun and feels like discussion you'd have with a well read friend over coffee or a beer.
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- Stephen J
- 19-01-23
Full of interesting perspectives
Lots of interesting ideas in this book. It definitely made me think. Would recommend it.
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- D. M. Brown
- 21-07-19
The most important book of the 21st C so far
Exactly what I say in the title. This book lays out neatly everything that has been swirling around my own head as emotional reactions to reality as it stands.
Essential reading for people of all ages.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Mike
- 12-11-20
great insight to generations, and our futures
loved it, might re read, very insightful and so well read with gentle enthusiasm throughout
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- JiminyQuippet
- 15-01-22
Rational, profound and hopeful.
John Higgs gives a splendidly measured reading of his own extensively researched and radically rational, persuasive investigations into reasons to be hopeful for the future. Terrific stuff.
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- Anonymous User
- 19-12-23
A Welcome burst of optimism
While Higgs in no way downplays the dire situation the human race finds itself in, he refuses to give into nihilism. If his very listenable book is correct, the kids really are alright.
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- Laura
- 10-05-20
I love John Higgs, there I said it.
Higgs has a way of writing that feels like a favourite teacher. Warm, encouraging and engaging , this is a great read for those raised on dystopian fiction and bleakness. Can't recommend enough.
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3 people found this helpful