tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27290920.post530657865716943266..comments2024-01-06T03:54:46.267-05:00Comments on the sceptical futuryst: McChinatownStuart Candyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847397597090443677noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27290920.post-36721074203699034532007-10-30T20:54:00.000-04:002007-10-30T20:54:00.000-04:00Here's the letter Jake and I sent to the editor of...Here's the letter Jake and I sent to the editor of the <I>Honolulu Advertiser</I> on 16 October in response to the front-page <A HREF="http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2007/Oct/15/ln/hawaii710150349.html" REL="nofollow">article</A> about FoundFutures:Chinatown appearing the day before:<BR/><BR/>Dear Editor,<BR/><BR/>I am an archivist specializing in futures research at Tamkang Virtual College. I recently revisited the Advertiser article "Chinatown pranks, with a purpose" from 15 October 02007. Exactly two decades later, it is arresting to see that the FoundFutures project was then described as a prank. As we all know, this experiential approach to understanding alternative futures has become commonplace in education, and an indispensable aid to decision-making in organizations of all stripes. People eventually realized that it makes more sense to be surprised by a simulation than blindsided by reality. (In the US, this became much clearer after Hurricanes Katrina and Frank in New Orleans, and the tragic Los Angeles water riots.) <BR/><BR/>As a long-time resident of these islands I consider it fortunate that people in Chinatown, and Hawaii more broadly, successfully pressed for more futures-oriented public decision-making. I wonder if your editors have considered contacting FoundFutures creators Dunagan and Candy to review the method they demonstrated in Hawaii 20 years ago. This would be timely in view of Yumi Vong's famous design of the Statue of Harmony currently under construction in Honolulu Harbor. <BR/><BR/>Thanks for your time and continued reporting excellence.<BR/><BR/>Sincerely,<BR/><BR/>Dedalus Jensen<BR/>Futures Researcher, Tamkang Virtual College.<BR/>16 October 02027<BR/><BR/>[Real names and contact details also supplied.]<BR/><BR/>The letter was not published.Stuart Candyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11847397597090443677noreply@blogger.com