This book is designed to make “deciphering the future” an accessible discipline that anyone can learn. It’s developed as a comprehensive guide to cultivate your ability to “decipher the future” using fundamental logic.
The structure of the book and how best to read it will be laid out for you.
The first part of the book provides the foundational knowledge that serves as an introduction to “deciphering the future”. The second part offers practical steps and examples to aid you in the task of “deciphering the future.”
Deciphering the “Possible Future”
We stand in a perspective where it is impossible to predict the “future” by accumulating current data and logic since there are multiple “possible futures” spreading in the spacetime where we live as multiple choices.
The future contains “multiple possibilities,” which can be changed not only probabilistically but also by human actions. The “possible future” materializes as humans continue to “imagine” and “create” every day, leaving it as “Culture and Tools”
Deciphering the “possible future” and the concepts and narratives of “Culture and Tools” derived from it also become one of the options for the “possible future”. Some of these become the “compass” indicating the future, and the future becomes more realistic and shapes the future more concretely by many people who have shared and empathized with them determining the direction and acting.
Part 1: History of Communication Connected to the Future
In this book, the “future” is envisioned as an extension of a specific pattern that recurs from the “past”. The “interactions” within the physical world and the “communication” of the biological world connect “individuals” to form network patterns. Understanding these patterns and imprinting them “in the brain” to serve as models are essential steps towards deciphering the “possible future”.
As you partake in the ongoing cycle of learning from the “past” and predicting the “future”, the curiosity triggered by the memories etched in your mind will progressively drive your exploration into various disciplines. To equip you with the foundational knowledge necessary for this endeavor, we explore diverse topics like the universe, life, culture & tools, societal structures, and economics, all from a network and interaction-based perspective. Particularly, the era following the dawn of humanity merits significant focus, as it forms the bedrock for our predictions of the “future”.
Figure 0.1 Pattern repeated from past to future
Here are three key perspectives to better comprehend Part 1:
- The “future” exists downstream of the “past”:
When trying to predict the future, we focus on current events and changes, whose origins lie in the past and are linked to the future. To decipher the “possible future,” a useful approach is to trace the path from these past events to the current changes we’re observing. - Understanding the fundamental patterns of networks:
Networks built by physics form the foundation for chemistry, which in turn serves as the base for life, which then lays the groundwork for society. This progression tends to create new networks atop these foundational ones. - Utilizing models and metaphors:
Given that similar patterns often repeat from past to future, leveraging past events as “models” or “metaphors” can inspire innovative ideas.
Part 2: Methodology for Unraveling the Future
The second part of this book introduces practical methods and examples for “deciphering the future.”
○ Chapter 8: Applying Logic to Predict the Future
When trying to “forecast the future,” we frequently come across situations where conventional mathematical or statistical logic may not be easily applicable. In these instances, this chapter will present a strategy for harnessing what we term “fundamental minimal logic”.
○ Chapter 9: Models for Deciphering the Future
In our endeavor to ‘decipher the future,’ this chapter introduces three key models. These models stem from patterns that consistently reoccur as we trace our path from the ‘past’ into the ‘future.’
- Co-evolution of Human-Culture/Artifacts Model:
This model zeroes in on the dynamic interplay between crucial aspects of human nature – ‘group formation,’ ‘communication,’ and the creation and use of ‘culture/artifacts.’ - The ‘Micro-Macro Network’ Model:
This model underscores the innate network-like characteristics demonstrated by both ‘humans’ and ‘culture/artifacts.’ - Revolutionary Evolution Model:
This model focuses on periods of profound transformation, equivalent in magnitude to epoch-making events like the Industrial Revolution.
○ Chapter 10: Planned Near Future
To guide our journey in ‘deciphering the future,’ this chapter provides an overview of the technologies and services that are currently being planned.
○ Chapter 11: Plotting a 100-Year Roadmap
In this chapter, we delve into the process of drafting a ‘100-Year Roadmap,’ which acts as a guide when ‘deciphering the future.’ A framework is provided that employs a fundamental level of logic to craft such a roadmap. Practical examples are included, showcasing ‘100-Year Roadmaps’ in the realms of ‘agriculture,’ the ‘metaverse,’ and ‘corporations.
○ 12: Sketching Concepts for the Future
In this chapter, we synthesize the knowledge and methods learned up to Chapter 11 to provide a template for concretizing concepts related to technologies and services that will lead to the future in 20-30 years. As examples, we demonstrate the concepts of the ‘Associative Search Engine’, ‘Pen and Canvas for Drawing Non-linear Thought’, and the ‘Multiverse Economic Cycle’.
Guide to Navigating the ‘First Part’:
Please continue to read while keeping in mind the points 1)to 3). It may seem difficult at first, but as you proceed, you should start to see the recurring rhythms in the history of the past.
Always bear in mind points 1) to 3) as you read through. Initially, it may seem challenging, but as you persist, you’ll start to discern the recurring patterns in the historical narratives.
1) Start by viewing history with curiosity
2) Treat the narrative as a cycle consisting of the following steps (i) to (iii):
(i) Gathering when the ‘environment (cause)’ has been set up
⇒ Contemplate what kind of environment was set up and why the gathering took place
(ii) Repeated ‘interactions’ occurring within the ‘experimental field’ of (i)
⇒ Consider what was repeated
(iii) The construction of a ‘new structure’ as a result of (ii)
⇒ Ponder over how the new structure was formed
3)Consider it as a network model:
(i) ‘Parts (individuals)’ create a network through interaction.
(ii) The network of ‘parts (individuals)’ forms a larger structure, or the ‘whole’
(iii) This larger structure embodies the traits of a higher-level ‘part (individual)’ and forms a new network (meta-network)
⇒ For example, a human (larger structure) comprising a network of human cells (parts) forms a society (larger structure) through a network of humans (parts). Reflect on how this new structure was developed.
Once you’ve completed Chapter 9, it would be beneficial to return to the ‘first part’ and re-read it, drawing connections as you go. This should make your progress through the subsequent material both more comprehensible and enjoyable.
So, let’s embark on this journey, decoding our past and navigating towards our future!
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