Uncharted

If you’re hoping for a map-like vision of the future, this isn't it. In Uncharted: How to Navigate the Future, accomplished author, professor, and former businesswoman Margaret Heffernan argues that uncertainty is a feature, not a bug, of human existence. But that’s no cause for despair. 

Uncertainty Is Here to Stay

Heffernan begins the book by discussing society’s inability to cope with unpredictability. Predicting the future is impossible (and increasingly so, in an ever-more multifactorial, digital and globalized world), but that hasn’t kept humans from trying. Knowing what’s coming gives humans an evolutionary advantage and minimizes risk. The irresistible desire for knowledge makes us susceptible to false prophets who use predictions to shape the future according to their selfish ideas. It also leaves us vulnerable to false historical parallels and overconfidence in algorithms. Relying too much on technology undermines people’s ability to solve problems and invisibly influences their behavior.