Imaginable: How to See the Future Coming and Feel Ready for Anything―Even Things that Seem Impossible Today
- Downloads：7233
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-03-01 15:21:40
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Jane McGonigal
- ISBN：1954118090
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Jim Razinha
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I finished this book more than two weeks ago and have been sifting through my notes and mulling how to review it。 Disclosure: I received this advance review copy from the publisher Spiegel & Grau through Edelweiss。 One of the first things I try to determine after reading is who the target audience is。。。and with this， I had a hard time。 I know it is not me。 I concluded， rightly or wrongly but this is my impression， early in this book that this particular type of futurism - specifically episodic f I finished this book more than two weeks ago and have been sifting through my notes and mulling how to review it。 Disclosure: I received this advance review copy from the publisher Spiegel & Grau through Edelweiss。 One of the first things I try to determine after reading is who the target audience is。。。and with this， I had a hard time。 I know it is not me。 I concluded， rightly or wrongly but this is my impression， early in this book that this particular type of futurism - specifically episodic future thinking （EFT） - most closely resembled hypnosis。 I cannot be hypnotized （this is true。。。some people cannot be， and I cannot。） Nor can I immerse myself in a movie， book or similar。 My wife can。 And she has vivid dreams （mindbogglingly vivid dreams！） My only remembered dreams can sometimes be vivid， but they are usually not dreams I want to remember。 So my wife might be able to do the EFT。 That sad， there is definitely a target audience， and I am not it。 For "playing with a future scenario"， Dr。 McGonigal proposes two rules （Rule #2 is "See the future scenario from your unique point of view"， and Rule #1 is。。。）: "Suspend your disbelief。 No matter how strange the scenario seems to you， accept that this future is possible and works as described。 Don’t get into a mental argument with yourself about why it would never happen or how it could never work。 Just go with it。" Well， that is next to impossible for me 。。。 in a movie， a television show， a book， 。。。 and this。 I like to say I need to see a movie a second time before the first， because incongruities just jump out at me and it goes against reason to ignore them （my wife always tells me "just watch it"， so she's with Dr。 McGonigal。） I am probably more of the exception than the rule in that。 She does say about half through the book in a chapter on Hard Empathy that "Seeing the future from someone else’s point of view — someone whose circumstances， values， lived experiences， hopes， and worries are very different from your own - is not easy。" I don't think any of this is easy， for me at least， but that comes a little easier than the other practices she outlines （again， for me）。 And despite physical exercise and stretching， after 60 years， I am still not physically flexible。 Why mention that？ It seems by Dr。 McGonigal's definition I might not be mentally flexible。 I admit rigidity in some areas。 And quite the opposite in others。 I don't agree with her definition， but as it ties with what she's putting out here， I get the perspective。Dr。 McGonigal references Jim Dator's short essay "What Futures Studies Is， and Is Not" （the link may trigger a warning for an unsecure source， but it works）， which helped make more sense of the theme of this book。It is important to understand that the futurists like Dr。 McGonigal are not quite like those of Kurzweil， Kaku， Medvedev， etc。 （Nor should any of them be confused with the "psychic" Jeanne Dixons who “predict” futures - with the extremely infrequent hits。） These futurists imagine possibilities。 Probably with a higher percentage of hits than “psychics”。 This is an extended exercise in imagination。 Deliberate word choice there。。。 extended 。。。 because I this this book is too long。 Too overly explained。 And that target audience might very well lose interest because of the repetition。Takeaways: I do think I'll be reading the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Risks Report in the future （too easy？） - that was a good recommendation。 And this was goodAs the historian and activist David Swanson has said， “Almost everything important that’s ever happened was unimaginable shortly before it happened。” We have to actively try to overcome normalcy bias， so we can think more effectively， and creatively， about the future。 We have to train the brain to recognize when this cognitive bias is no longer helpful。As was thisThe world is jam-packed with trustworthy experts whose full-time job is to study， analyze， and warn others of future risks and disruptions: climate scientists， epidemiologists， technology ethicists， investigative reporters， human rights activists， national security researchers， economic forecasters。 We just have to listen to them。 Thoughts: Dr。 McGonigal looks ten years out， but I think there is higher value to most people in semi-futurist thinking now 。。。 because most of what we stress about won’t matter in a few years， even just next year。 The lesson here is to recognize that like business， or {cringe} self-help， books that all tout the secret to … [fill in the blank]…， read this and everything with an open mind， and a cautious scepticism。 。。。more
Glo
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‘Imaginable’ is firstly motivating， and secondly quite practical。 Additionally， Jane McGonigal provides scientific information to support her proposals。 Therefore， we can understand a bit more about the process of making decisions and several techniques that can train the brain to be more prepared for future situations and changes。。 There are many examples， clues and guidelines to strength the imagination and to take advantage of imagining vividly for a possible healing， a boost of confidence an ‘Imaginable’ is firstly motivating， and secondly quite practical。 Additionally， Jane McGonigal provides scientific information to support her proposals。 Therefore， we can understand a bit more about the process of making decisions and several techniques that can train the brain to be more prepared for future situations and changes。。 There are many examples， clues and guidelines to strength the imagination and to take advantage of imagining vividly for a possible healing， a boost of confidence and broaden our outlook and opportunities。 Paraphrasing the title， train your imagination to see the future coming and feel ready for anything―even things that seem impossible today’。The audiobook is well structured。 Jane McGonigal is also the narrator。 So even though the speech might sound in a few parts at the beginning a bit robotic， she gets more fluent and adds an extra amount of passion， encouragement and energy that compensates。Thanks to Netgalley， OrangeSky Audio and the author Jane McGonigal for an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review。 #Imaginable #NetGalley 。。。more
Bharath
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I had seen Jane McGonigal’s TED talk on SuperBetter and in general the positive impact well designed games can have on our happiness & even longevity。 It is only when I picked up this audiobook that I realized that she is a futurist involved with the Institute for the Future。I have found many of the articles written by futurists to be interesting， and that is what prompted me to take to this （audio）book。 I did not know what to expect from this book specifically though。 We are in a period when ce I had seen Jane McGonigal’s TED talk on SuperBetter and in general the positive impact well designed games can have on our happiness & even longevity。 It is only when I picked up this audiobook that I realized that she is a futurist involved with the Institute for the Future。I have found many of the articles written by futurists to be interesting， and that is what prompted me to take to this （audio）book。 I did not know what to expect from this book specifically though。 We are in a period when certain major challenges such as climate change， population explosion， job uncertainty and rising polarisation are looming。 At the same time there is unprecedented pace of change driven by technology – genetics， artificial foods， connectivity， etc。 As expected， all of this and more finds good a high degree of coverage in the book。I found a lot of the advice in the book to be practical。 For instance - thinking in terms of 10-year timeframes （even in short bursts of 20 seconds）， You can project based on past experiences as well; in a 10-year timeframe – FB users crossed a billion， same sex marriages & marijuana were legalized in many US states & nations in Europe etc。 While thinking （and as a result worrying） about the future may seem a depressing thing to do， apparently when our minds travel to the future for a period， we are better prepared when that future arrives。 There are experts for various fields but we need to bring it all together for taking stock of our own lives and potentially others， since many problems today need community involvement。 There are sprinklings of neuroscience research as many topics are discussed。 A number of future thinking techniques and examples are provided， most of which were very good。Overall， a fascinating and energizing book which I recommend for everyone。 The level of detail in terms of current context is excessive at times though。 My rating: 4。5 / 5。Thanks to Netgalley， OrangeSky Audio and the author for a free review audiobook。 。。。more
Liz Psaltis
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This is a truly inspiring read。 Its many scenarios， tools， and ideas have me thinking daily about what the future might hold and what I personally can bring to these potential futures。
Karen
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