 futurists (not in the sense of the art movement futurism) or futurologists are scientists and social scientists whose specialty is futurology, or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities about the future and how they can emerge from the present, whether that of human society in particular or of life on earth in general. == definition == the term "futurist" most commonly refers to authors, consultants, organizational leaders and others who engage in interdisciplinary and systems thinking to advise private and public organizations on such matters as diverse global trends, possible scenarios, emerging market opportunities and risk management. the oxford english dictionary identifies the earliest use of the term futurism in english as 1842, to refer, in a theological context, to the christian eschatological tendency of that time. the next recorded use is the label adopted by the italian and russian futurists, the artistic, literary and political movements of the 1920s and 1930s which sought to reject the past and fervently embrace speed, technology and, often violent, change. visionary writers such as jules verne, edward bellamy and h.&nbsp;g.&nbsp;wells were not in their day characterized as futurists. the term futurology in its contemporary sense was first coined in the mid&#8209;1940s by the german professor ossip k. flechtheim, who proposed a new science of probability. flechtheim argued that even if systematic forecasting did no more than unveil the subset of statistically highly probable processes of change and charted their advance, it would still be of crucial social value.flechtheim, o (1972). futurology-the new science of probability? in toffler, a (1972). the futurists p. 264-276 in the mid&#8209;1940s the first professional "futurist" consulting institutions like rand and sri began to engage in long-range planning, systematic trend watching, scenario development, and visioning, at first under world war&nbsp;ii military and government contract and, beginning in the 1950s, for private institutions and corporations. the period from the late 1940s to the mid&#8209;1960s laid the conceptual and methodological foundations of the modern futures studies field. bertrand de jouvenel's the art of conjecture in 1963 and dennis gabor's inventing the future in 1964 are considered key early works, and the first u.s.&nbsp;university course devoted entirely to the future was taught by futurist alvin toffler at the new school in 1966.bell, w. (1997). foundations of futures studies: volume 1 new brunswick: transaction publishers., p. 60. isbn 1-56000-271-9.
Futurologists Futurology Prediction Systems_thinking