Future Rising

a.As a species, we are profoundly talented architects of our own future. And yet, we so often struggle to come to terms with what this means and the responsibility that comes with it. As our world is driven along by the breakneck speed of innovation and rapidly-shifting norms and expectations, we sometimes need to take time out, to find a still, quiet place, as we try to piece together a picture of the future that makes sense. This book sets out to create such a "quiet place" in the minds and lives of its readers. Through a series of sixty short reflections, it takes them on a unique and often-startling journey into what the future is, how it molds and guides their lives, and why they should care. At times entertaining and at others profound, the book provides a highly original perspective on our relationship with the future that will delight and intrigue readers, while challenging them to think differently about the future we're building together. Written to be easy to pick up and hard to put down, the book starts at the beginning of all things with the Big Bang, and traces a pathway along the emergence of intelligent life, through what makes humans uniquely capable of imagining and creating different futures, to the profound responsibilities that this comes with. Along the way, it weaves together the familiar and the new, to leave readers with a rare and compelling vision of their relationship with the future, and their responsibility to it. On a more practical note, the book responds to a growing interest in books about the future, and especially how human behavior affects it--including our environmental impacts. Compared to the competition, it touches on more interesting ideas, it's easier to read, it isn't preachy, and it's short enough to avoid being mistaken for a doorstop!

a. Ca specie, suntem arhitecti profund talentati ai propriului nostru viitor. Si totusi, ne luptam atat de des sa ne intelegem cu ce inseamna acest lucru si cu responsabilitatea care vine cu el.