Uncharted

We are addicted to prediction, desperate for certainty about the future. But the complexity of modern life won’t provide that; experts in forecasting are reluctant to look more than 400 days out. History doesn’t repeat itself and even genetics won’t tell you everything you want to know. Ineradicable uncertainty is now just a fact of life. So how can we think about the future? What do we need to do – and who do we need to be? In her bold and invigorating new audiobook, Margaret Heffernan explores the individuals and organisations that aren’t daunted by uncertainty. In complex environments, efficiency is a hazard not a help; being robust is the better, safer option. Drawing on a wide array of people and places, Margaret looks at the long-term projects developed over generations that could never have been planned the way they’ve been run. Ranging freely through history, from business to science, government to friendships, this refreshing audiobook challenges us to resist the false promises of technology and efficiency and instead to mine our own creativity and humanity for the capacity to create the futures we want and can believe in.