Future
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The future is the
In the
The concept of the future has been explored extensively in cultural production, including art movements and genres devoted entirely to its elucidation, such as the 20th-century movement futurism.
In physics
In physics, time is the fourth dimension. Physicists argue that
One of the outcomes of Special Relativity Theory is that a person can travel into the future (but never come back) by traveling at very high speeds. While this effect is negligible under ordinary conditions, space travel at very high speeds can change the flow of time considerably. As depicted in many
Some physicists claim that by using a wormhole to connect two regions of spacetime a person could theoretically travel in time. Physicist Michio Kaku points out that to power this hypothetical time machine and "punch a hole into the fabric of space-time" would require the energy of a star. Another theory is that a person could travel in time with cosmic strings.
In philosophy
Time |
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In the
Presentism is
Contrary to Saint Augustine, some philosophers propose that conscious experience is extended in time. For instance,
Everything past is unreal, everything future is unreal, everything imagined, absent, mental... is unreal... Ultimately real is only the present moment of physical efficiency [i.e., causation].[6]
In psychology
Human behavior is known to encompass anticipation of the future. Anticipatory behavior can be the result of a psychological outlook toward the future, for examples optimism, pessimism, and hope.
Optimism is an outlook on life such that one maintains a view of the world as a positive place. People would say that optimism is seeing the glass "half full" of water as opposed to half empty. It is the philosophical opposite of pessimism. Optimists generally believe that people and events are inherently good, so that most situations work out in the end for the best. Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope implies a certain amount of despair, wanting, wishing, suffering or perseverance—i.e., believing that a better or positive outcome is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary. "Hopefulness" is somewhat different from optimism in that hope is an emotional state, whereas optimism is a conclusion reached through a deliberate thought pattern that leads to a positive attitude.
Pessimism as stated before is the opposite of optimism. It is the tendency to see, anticipate, or emphasize only bad or undesirable outcomes, results, or problems. The word originates in Latin from Pessimus meaning worst and Malus meaning bad.
In religion
Religions consider the future when they address issues such as karma, life after death, and eschatologies that study what the end of time and the end of the world will be. In religion, major prophets are said to have the power to change the future. Common religious figures have claimed to see into the future, such as minor prophets and diviners.
The term "afterlife" refers to the continuation of
Some believe the afterlife includes some form of preparation for the
In grammar
In
Verbs in the future continuous tense indicate actions that will happen beyond the present and will continue for a period of time.[10] In the sentence, "She will be walking home," the verb phrase "will be walking" is in the future continuous tense because the action described is not happening now, but will happen sometime afterwards and is expected to continue happening for some time. Verbs in the future perfect tense indicate actions that will be completed at a particular point in the future.[11] For example, the verb phrase, "will have walked," in the sentence, "She will have walked home," is in the future perfect tense because it refers to an action that is completed as of a specific time in the future. Finally, verbs in the future perfect continuous tense combine the features of the perfect and continuous tenses, describing the future status of actions that have been happening continually from now or the past through to a particular time in the future.[12] In the sentence, "She will have been walking home," the verb phrase "will have been walking" is in the future perfect continuous tense because it refers to an action that the speaker anticipates will be finished in the future.
Another way to think of the various future tenses is that actions described by the future tense will be completed at an unspecified time in the future, actions described by the future continuous tense will keep happening in the future, actions described by the future perfect tense will be completed at a specific time in the future, and actions described by the future perfect continuous tense are expected to be continuing as of a specific time in the future.
Linear and cyclic culture
"The trouble with the future is that it's so much less knowable than the past."
John Lewis Gaddis, The Landscape of History.[13]
Part of a series on |
Human history Human Era |
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↑ Prehistory (Stone Age) (Pleistocene epoch) |
↓ Future |
The linear view of time (common in
Futures studies
Futures studies or futurology is the science, art, and practice of postulating possible, probable, and preferable futures and the worldviews and myths that underlie them. Futures studies seek to understand what is likely to continue, what is likely to change, and what is novel. Part of the discipline thus seeks a systematic and pattern-based understanding of past and present, and to determine the likelihood of future events and trends. A key part of this process is understanding the potential future impact of decisions made by individuals, organizations, and governments. Leaders use the results of such work to assist in decision-making.
Take hold of the future or the future will take hold of you.
—Futurewise
Futures is an interdisciplinary field, studying yesterday's and today's changes, and aggregating and analyzing both lay and professional strategies, and opinions with respect to tomorrow. It includes analyzing the sources, patterns, and causes of change and stability in the attempt to develop foresight and to map possible futures. Modern practitioners stress the importance of alternative and plural futures, rather than one monolithic future, and the limitations of prediction and probability, versus the creation of possible and preferable futures.
Three factors usually distinguish futures studies from the research conducted by other disciplines (although all disciplines overlap, to differing degrees). First, futures studies often examines not only possible but also probable, preferable, and "wild card" futures. Second, futures studies typically attempts to gain a holistic or systemic view based on insights from a range of different disciplines. Third, futures studies challenges and unpacks the assumptions behind dominant and contending views of the future. The future thus is not empty but fraught with hidden assumptions.
Futures studies do not generally include the work of economists who forecast movements of interest rates over the next business cycle, or of managers or investors with short-term time horizons. Most strategic planning, which develops operational plans for preferred futures with time horizons of one to three years, is also not considered futures. But plans and strategies with longer time horizons that specifically attempt to anticipate and be robust to possible future events, are part of a major subdiscipline of futures studies called strategic foresight.
The futures field also excludes those who make future predictions through professed supernatural means. At the same time, it does seek to understand the model's such groups use and the interpretations they give to these models.
Forecasting
Forecasting is the process of
Statistically based forecasting employs
Prediction is similar to forecasting but is used more generally, for instance, to also include baseless claims on the future. Organized efforts to
Modern efforts such as
In art and culture
Futurism
Futurism as an
Futurism in Classical Music arose during this same time period. Closely identified with the central Italian Futurist movement were brother composers Luigi Russolo (1885–1947) and Antonio Russolo (1877–1942), who used instruments known as intonarumori—essentially sound boxes used to create music out of noise. Luigi Russolo's futurist manifesto, "The Art of Noises", is considered one of the most important and influential texts in 20th-century musical aesthetics.[17] Other examples of futurist music include Arthur Honegger's "Pacific 231" (1923), which imitates the sound of a steam locomotive, Prokofiev's "The Steel Step" (1926), Alexander Mosolov's "Iron Foundry" (1927), and the experiments of Edgard Varèse.
Futurism expanded to encompass other artistic domains and ultimately included painting, sculpture, ceramics, graphic design, industrial design, interior design, theatre design, textiles, drama, literature, music and architecture. In architecture, it featured a distinctive thrust towards rationalism and modernism through the use of advanced building materials. The ideals of futurism remain as significant components of modern Western culture; the emphasis on youth, speed, power and technology finding expression in much of modern commercial cinema and commercial culture. Futurism has produced several reactions, including the 1980s-era literary genre of cyberpunk—which often treated technology with a critical eye.
Science fiction
More generally, one can regard science fiction as a broad genre of fiction that often involves speculations based on current or future science or technology. Science fiction is found in books, art, television, films, games, theater, and other media. Science fiction differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically established or scientifically postulated laws of nature (though some elements in a story might still be pure imaginative speculation). Settings may include the future, or alternative time-lines, and stories may depict new or speculative scientific principles (such as time travel or psionics), or new technology (such as nanotechnology, faster-than-light travel or robots). Exploring the consequences of such differences is the traditional purpose of science fiction, making it a "literature of ideas".[19]
Some
See also
- Alternative future
- Divination
- List of emerging technologies
- Neo-futurism
- Prophecy
- Future events
- Future of an expanding universe
- Future of the Earth
- Future of the Solar System
- Timeline of the near future
- Timeline of the far future
References
- ^ Encyclopædia of religion and ethics. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. pp. 335–337.
- ^ Moore, C.-L. & Yamamoto, K. (1988). Beyond words: movement observation and analysis. New York: Gordon and Breach. p. 57. (cf., The representation of time as a linear, unidirectional progression is a distinctly Occidental point of view.)
- ^ Eddington, A. S. (1921). Space, time and gravitation; an outline of the general relativity theory. Cambridge: University Press. p. 107.
- ^ "You Can't Travel Back in Time, Scientists Say". Live Science. 7 March 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- ^ Broad, C.D. (1923). Scientific Thought. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co.
- ^ Vol.1 of Buddhist Logic, 1962, Dover: New York. 70–71.
- ^ "agnositic". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
- ^ "Verb tenses". English Oxford Living Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ "Verb tenses". English Oxford Living Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ "Verb tenses". English Oxford Living Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ Merriam-Webster (n.d.). "Present Perfect" (Web). Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ^ "Verb tenses". English Oxford Living Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-19-517157-0.
- ^
Ridderbos, Katinka (2002). Time. Darwin College Lectures. Cambridge University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-0521782937. Retrieved 2015-09-03.
In a cyclic universe, each event that lies in the past of the present moment, also lies in its future.
- ^ "The Founding and Manifesto of Futurism". italianfuturism.org (Originally published on Le Figaro, Paris, February 20, 1909). 22 August 2008.
- ^ Martin, Marianne W., p .186
- ISBN 0-8264-1615-2.
- ^ Heinlein, Robert A.; Kornbluth, Cyril; Bester, Alfred; Bloch, Robert (1959). "Science Fiction: Its Nature, Faults and Virtues". The Science Fiction Novel: Imagination and Social Criticism. University of Chicago: Advent Publishers.
- ^ Marg Gilks, Paula Fleming and Moira Allen (2003). "Science Fiction: The Literature of Ideas". WritingWorld.com.