Science fiction has long been known for the many authors who predicted the future in one sense or another, often related to technological advancements or industrial achievements. What many don’t know, though, is that predicting the future isn’t just for the realm of fiction, but is a core principle of a scientific discipline called Futures Studies.
According to the Institute for Futures Studies and Technology Assessment, Futures Studies are “the scientific study of possible, desirable, and probable future developments” as well as the ability to design the possible future toward a more desirable one.
Futures studies uses several important methods for studying the possible futures which are key to writing science fiction, and as such it is important to understand what the field is and how futurists use it.
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