Seeing the Future

Seeing the Future

Author: Kourken Michaelian

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 465

ISBN-13: 0190241535

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Episodic memory is a major area of research in psychology. Initially viewed as a distinct store of information derived from experienced episodes, episodic memory is understood today as a form of mental "time travel" into the personal past. Recent research has revealed striking similarities between episodic memory-past-oriented mental time travel-and future-oriented mental time travel (FMTT). Seeing the Future: Theoretical Perspectives on Future-Oriented Mental Time Travel brings together leading contributors in both empirical and theoretical disciplines to present the first interdisciplinary look at the human ability to imagine future scenarios. Chapters focus on the challenging conceptual and theoretical questions raised by FMTT, covering themes such as: varieties of future-oriented cognition; relationships between FMTT and episodic memory; subjective temporality in FMTT; the self in FMTT; and functional, evolutionary and comparative, developmental, and clinical perspectives on FMTT. With its focus on the conceptual issues at the heart of fast-developing research on FMTT, this edited volume will serve graduate students to senior scholars working on or interested in FMTT and related areas as a synthesis of current theoretical thinking and a source of questions for future FMTT research.


Seeing into the Future

Seeing into the Future

Author: Martin van Creveld

Publisher: Reaktion Books

Published: 2020-06-15

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1789142679

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The ability to predict the future is essential to modern life. Planning for population growth or changes in weather patterns or forecasting demand for products and managing inventories would be impossible without it. But how have people through the ages gone about making predictions? What were their underlying assumptions, and what methods did they use? Have increased computer power and the newest algorithms improved our success in anticipating the future, or are we still only as good (or as bad) as our ancestors bent over their auguries? From the ancients watching the flight of birds to the murky activities of Google and Facebook today, Seeing into the Future provides vital insight into the past, present, and—of course—future of prediction.


The Premonition Code

The Premonition Code

Author: Theresa Cheung

Publisher: Watkins Media Limited

Published: 2018-10-16

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1786781743

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An in-depth study into the cutting-edge science of ‘sensing’ the future, or precognition—from a cognitive neuroscientist and the bestselling author of The Dream Dictionary In this groundbreaking book, bestselling author Theresa Cheung joins forces with cognitive neuroscientist Julia Mossbridge, PhD, Director of the Innovation Lab at The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS). Together they reveal revolutionary new research showing that sensing the future is possible; they also provide practical tools and techniques you can use to develop your own powers of precognition. Precognition is the scientific name for the knowledge or perception of the future, obtained through extrasensory means. Often called ‘premonition’, precognition is the most frequently reported of all extrasensory perception (ESP) experiences, occurring most often in dreams. It may also occur spontaneously in waking visions, auditory hallucinations, flashing thoughts entering the mind, the sense of “knowing” and physiological changes. Combining science and practice, Theresa and Dr Julia unravel the mystery of precognition. The book will cover: • What precognition is and the different types, clearly explaining the cutting-edge science, including what is known and what is still a mystery • The most common premonitions that people experience and why, including examples from around the world • Experimental tools to help you cultivate precognition experiences to help get useful information for your life • Case studies included throughout, with supporting scientific evidence offered alongside to provide validation and explanation • Personal experiences of the authors, detailing how premonition has shaped their lives and interviews with leading scientists and experts in the field


On the Future

On the Future

Author: Martin Rees

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2021-10-05

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 0691231060

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A provocative and inspiring look at the future of humanity and science from world-renowned scientist and bestselling author Martin Rees Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential risks over the next century. Various outcomes—good and bad—are possible. Yet our approach to the future is characterized by short-term thinking, polarizing debates, alarmist rhetoric, and pessimism. In this short, exhilarating book, renowned scientist and bestselling author Martin Rees argues that humanity’s prospects depend on our taking a very different approach to planning for tomorrow. The future of humanity is bound to the future of science and hinges on how successfully we harness technological advances to address our challenges. If we are to use science to solve our problems while avoiding its dystopian risks, we must think rationally, globally, collectively, and optimistically about the long term. Advances in biotechnology, cybertechnology, robotics, and artificial intelligence—if pursued and applied wisely—could empower us to boost the developing and developed world and overcome the threats humanity faces on Earth, from climate change to nuclear war. At the same time, further advances in space science will allow humans to explore the solar system and beyond with robots and AI. But there is no “Plan B” for Earth—no viable alternative within reach if we do not care for our home planet. Rich with fascinating insights into cutting-edge science and technology, this accessible book will captivate anyone who wants to understand the critical issues that will define the future of humanity on Earth and beyond.


Heads-Up Dreaming

Heads-Up Dreaming

Author: Carlyle T. Smith

Publisher: Turning Stone Press

Published: 2014-08-13

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1618520792

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A scientist shows us that we all have the biological capability to reduce uncertainty in our lives… Heads-Up Dreaming is a book about Dr. Smith’s personal discovery of the ability to have dreams that seem to portray future waking events. While other writers have noted this before, what makes Smith’s book unique is his thorough overview of the nature and characteristics of these kinds of dreams and how they differ from more ordinary ones. Through his research, he has discovered that people he knows (family, friends, and students) can also access “heads-up” dreams, suggesting this is a normal biological activity. Although it is an activity that appears to defy the rules of classical physics, it does not violate the rules of quantum physics. While some folks may be more accomplished at it than others – for example, he describes the dreams of one very talented individual who uses her dreams to guide her medical practice - it is an exercise available to all of us. Some of our most important decisions including choosing a life partner, buying homes or cars, changing jobs, are often made with partial information under considerable stress, using emotional rather than logical thinking. With Smith’s process as a guide, you have the ability to eliminate some of life’s uncertainty by interpreting your heads-up dreams – some or all of them will most likely have a thing or two to do with major decisions. In his experience, he’s found these unique dreams often arrive in a timely manner and are typically neutral or positive. With this in mind, anyone concerned with only receiving negative predictions, should rest assured. Heads-Up Dreaming can teach anyone the basic ability to recognize heads-up dreams and to use them as a guide for making some of life’s important decisions.


What We Owe the Future

What We Owe the Future

Author: William MacAskill

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 2022-08-16

Total Pages: 423

ISBN-13: 1541618637

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An Instant New York Times Bestseller “This book will change your sense of how grand the sweep of human history could be, where you fit into it, and how much you could do to change it for the better. It's as simple, and as ambitious, as that.” —Ezra Klein An Oxford philosopher makes the case for “longtermism” — that positively influencing the long-term future is a key moral priority of our time. The fate of the world is in our hands. Humanity’s written history spans only five thousand years. Our yet-unwritten future could last for millions more — or it could end tomorrow. Astonishing numbers of people could lead lives of great happiness or unimaginable suffering, or never live at all, depending on what we choose to do today. In What We Owe The Future, philosopher William MacAskill argues for longtermism, that idea that positively influencing the distant future is a key moral priority of our time. From this perspective, it’s not enough to reverse climate change or avert the next pandemic. We must ensure that civilization would rebound if it collapsed; counter the end of moral progress; and prepare for a planet where the smartest beings are digital, not human. If we make wise choices today, our grandchildren’s grandchildren will thrive, knowing we did everything we could to give them a world full of justice, hope and beauty.


Predicting the Future

Predicting the Future

Author: Nicholas Rescher

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 1998-01-01

Total Pages: 334

ISBN-13: 9780791435533

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The future obviously matters to us. It is, after all, where we'll be spending the rest of our lives. We need some degree of foresight if we are to make effective plans for managing our affairs. Much that we would like to know in advance cannot be predicted. But a vast amount of successful prediction is nonetheless possible, especially in the context of applied sciences such as medicine, meteorology, and engineering. This book examines our prospects for finding out about the future in advance. It addresses questions such as why prediction is possible in some areas and not others; what sorts of methods and resources make successful prediction possible; and what obstacles limit the predictive venture. Nicholas Rescher develops a general theory of prediction that encompasses its fundamental principles, methodology, and practice and gives an overview of its promises and problems. Predicting the Future considers the anthropological and historical background of the predictive enterprise. It also examines the conceptual, epistemic, and ontological principles that set the stage for predictive efforts. In short, Rescher explores the basic features of the predictive situation and considers their broader implications in science, in philosophy, and in the management of our daily affairs.


Homo Prospectus

Homo Prospectus

Author: Martin E. P. Seligman

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016-06-14

Total Pages: 401

ISBN-13: 019937449X

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Our species is misnamed. Though sapiens defines human beings as "wise" what humans do especially well is to prospect the future. We are homo prospectus. In this book, Martin E. P. Seligman, Peter Railton, Roy F. Baumeister, and Chandra Sripada argue it is anticipating and evaluating future possibilities for the guidance of thought and action that is the cornerstone of human success. Much of the history of psychology has been dominated by a framework in which people's behavior is driven by past history (memory) and present circumstances (perception and motivation). Homo Prospectus reassesses this idea, pushing focus to the future front and center and opening discussion of a new field of Psychology and Neuroscience. The authors delve into four modes in which prospection operates: the implicit mind, deliberate thought, mind-wandering, and collective (social) imagination. They then explore prospection's role in some of life's most enduring questions: Why do people think about the future? Do we have free will? What is the nature of intuition, and how might it function in ethics? How does emotion function in human psychology? Is there a common causal process in different psychopathologies? Does our creativity change with age? In this remarkable convergence of research in philosophy, statistics, decision theory, psychology, and neuroscience, Homo Prospectus shows how human prospection fundamentally reshapes our understanding of key cognitive processes, thereby improving individual and social functioning. It aims to galvanize interest in this new science from scholars in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, as well as an educated public curious about what makes humanity what it is.


Future Memory

Future Memory

Author: P. M. H. Atwater

Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing

Published: 2013-01-01

Total Pages: 346

ISBN-13: 1571746889

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There are many different paths to the future. According to P.M.H. Atwater, one of the foremost investigators into near-death experiences, future memory allows people to "live" life in advance and remember the experience in detail when something triggers that memory. Atwater explains the unifying, and permanent, effect of that experience is a brain a "brain shift" which she believes "may be at the very core of existence itself." In Future Memory, Atwater shows that structural and chemical changes are occurring in our brains, changes indicative of higher evolutionary development. This mind-blowing exploration of a mind-blowing topic traces her findings about this phenomenon and explores its implications for the individual and for society. Future Memory: Provides a series of steps to assist in developing future memory Explores new models of time, existence, and consciousness Presents an in-depth study of the brain shift and how it can be experienced Offers an extensive appendix and resource manual Future Memory is an important step in understanding the relationship between human perception and reality.