Almost all of us still ignore its disturbing weapons proliferation potential. Everyone who thinks nuclear power is safe to use at increased scale today needs to upgrade their world models. It isn’t. In fact, the technology of nuclear power itself, even with safe reactor designs, presents a growing weapons proliferation…

My latest talk, for the Bay Area Future Salon. 45 mins + 35 of Q&A. This talk is a brief summary of my new book, Introduction to Foresight, Executive Edition, 2021. The talk focuses on personal and team foresight, and the benefits of living schedule-first. In the Q&A, with Mark…

In 2010, physicists Martin Dominik and John Zarnecki ran a Royal Society conference, Towards a Scientific and Societal Agenda on Extra-Terrestrial Life addressing scientific, legal, ethical, and political issues around the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI). Philosopher Clement Vidal and I both spoke at that conference. It was the first…

Just Three Formulations Are Worth Your Money. One Is Clearly the Best. If you care about brain health, you may know already that taking a daily curcumin supplement is one great strategy to protect your brain. Since 2005 I’ve been taking curcumin myself, to prevent memory loss, Alzheimer’s, and other…

On Nov 19, California Congressman Tom McClintock (R) delivered a speech on the House floor. “In Defense of Governor Newsom” (transcript here) is a sharp, ironic 5 min piece, calling out the moral lapse of CA governor Gavin Newsom in having dinner with friends at a restaurant, violating his own…

Thoughts on Demographics, Naming, Branding, and STEM Compression. What will we call the kids after Gen Z (late 1990s to late 2010’s)? Turns out its Generation Alpha. Several futurists and demographers have been using this phrase to describe the next crop of kids (born from 2010–2025) for over a decade…

Note: This is one of my more speculative posts, about events I expect to occur in in last few decades of this amazing century. Nevertheless, it has implications today, so perhaps you’ll find it worth a skim. As always, let me know what you think, here or privately at john@foresightu.com…

A Wiser Worldview, for a More Foresighted and Effective Life — This is a great book. It’s one of the most enjoyable and informative I’ve read in the last twenty years, and I read a lot. To get it, here’s an Amazon link. The Fourth Age, by the accomplished tech entrepreneur and futurist Byron Reese, offers a deep understanding of human…

Here is a great question to ask any futurist or foresighter: What have you changed your mind about in recent years? In 2014, I didn’t think drones for commuting and cargo deliveries were going to arrive anywhere in the world within ten years, or by 2025. The challenges seemed too…