Invention and Engineering

Futures studies

Futures studies, futures research or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people may live and work in the future. Futures studies scholars make predictions of the future and aim at systematically exploring alternatives to the predictions. Futures studies are a branch of the social sciences and an extension to the field of history. Futures studies (colloquially called "futures" by many of the field's researchers) seeks to understand what is likely to continue and what could plausibly change. Unlike the physical sciences where a narrower, more specified system is studied, futurology concerns a much bigger and more complex world system. The methodology and knowledge are much less proven than in natural science and social sciences like sociology and economics. There is a debate as to whether this discipline is an art or science, and it is sometimes described as pseudoscience; nevertheless, the Association of Professional Futurists was formed in 2002, developing a Foresight Competency Model in 2017, and it is now possible to study it academically, for example at the FU Berlin in their master's course. To encourage inclusive and cross-disciplinary discussions about futures studies, UNESCO declared December 2 as World Futures Day.

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See also

• ▸Darmstadt
• ▸Berula
• ▸Iron horse

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