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Why Our Biggest Future Assumptions Are Probably Wrong (ft. author Nick Foster)

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Manage episode 502555456 series 2286691
Content provided by Jeremy Goldman. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Jeremy Goldman or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

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Guest: Nick Foster, futures designer, former Head of Design at Google X, and author of Could Should Might Don’t

Episode Summary:
Everyone’s talking about the future, but few are thinking about it well. Nick Foster, one of the world’s most influential futures designers and former Head of Design at Google X, argues that our imagination about what’s next is often shallow, clichéd, and dangerously incomplete.

In his book Could Should Might Don’t, Foster introduces a powerful framework for rethinking how we approach tomorrow. Instead of relying on sci-fi utopias, doomsday scenarios, or neat statistical projections, he challenges us to combine different lenses—what could, should, might, and don’t happen—to build a more rigorous and useful picture of the future.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

  • Why sci-fi optimism and dystopian doom both fail as guides to the future
  • The four dominant ways we imagine tomorrow—and how to balance them
  • Lessons from inside Google X on how bold organizations explore the unknown
  • Why overconfidence in forecasts blinds us to hidden possibilities
  • How leaders, policymakers, and innovators can think more responsibly about what’s coming next

Links & Resources:

  continue reading

147 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 502555456 series 2286691
Content provided by Jeremy Goldman. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Jeremy Goldman or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.

Send us a text

Guest: Nick Foster, futures designer, former Head of Design at Google X, and author of Could Should Might Don’t

Episode Summary:
Everyone’s talking about the future, but few are thinking about it well. Nick Foster, one of the world’s most influential futures designers and former Head of Design at Google X, argues that our imagination about what’s next is often shallow, clichéd, and dangerously incomplete.

In his book Could Should Might Don’t, Foster introduces a powerful framework for rethinking how we approach tomorrow. Instead of relying on sci-fi utopias, doomsday scenarios, or neat statistical projections, he challenges us to combine different lenses—what could, should, might, and don’t happen—to build a more rigorous and useful picture of the future.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

  • Why sci-fi optimism and dystopian doom both fail as guides to the future
  • The four dominant ways we imagine tomorrow—and how to balance them
  • Lessons from inside Google X on how bold organizations explore the unknown
  • Why overconfidence in forecasts blinds us to hidden possibilities
  • How leaders, policymakers, and innovators can think more responsibly about what’s coming next

Links & Resources:

  continue reading

147 episodes

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