Why Foresight Matters

What is the value of foresight? Can we measure our futures consciousness? Let’s explore this area a little.

Foresight matters because it provides a deeper mental frame for understanding the complexity of the present. Complexity means there are no simple answers and it generates uncertainty about options and future implications. I  often read that we humans prefer certainty but in today's post-normal times,  we need to embrace uncertainty and look for new perspectives that are emerging today if we are to find new pathways into our futures.

Riel Miller (Head of Futures Literacy at UNESCO) explains this point well:

Recent  advances in understanding complexity, uncertainty and emergence have opened up new ways of defining and using the future. The question is  therefore not how to cope with a universe that seems to be getting more  complex, but how to improve our ability to take advantage of the novel  emergence that has always surrounded us. We need to bring our capacity  to use the future into alignment with both our perceptions of the  complex, emergent reality around us, and our aspirations. …