The October Thing


Beginning in late August 2011, Ed began publishing “The October Thing,” a series of email messages about aspects of the future designed to provoke discussion among participants of the upcoming Sustainable Futures Seminar.  We have reproduced each email here, together with its public responses.  Our hope is that this format will be more conducive to discussion than simply emailing each other.

October Thing #1 – Love and Marriage and a Baby Carriage – August 25, 2011

October Thing #2 – Singularities and Discontinuities – August 27, 2011

October Thing #3 – Agriculture – August 28, 2011

October Thing #4 – Diasporas- August 28, 2011

October Thing #5 – Computer Brains – August 29, 2011

October Thing #6 – Pathogens and Warfare – September 10, 2011

October Thing #7 – Rich World, Poor World – September 10, 2011

October Thing #8 – Terror and Transition – October 14, 2011

October Thing #9 – Give Me the Simple Life – September 11, 2011

October Thing #10 – Peaks – September 25, 2011

October Thing #11 – Potatoes and Israel – October 2, 2011

October Thing #12 – More Comments and  a Request – October 2, 2011

October Thing #13 – Transportation – October 2, 2011

October Thing #14 – Medieval Characteristics – October 2, 2011

October Thing #15 – Another Change of Plan – October 14, 2011

October Thing #18 – The Virtual World – November 16, 2011

October Thing #19 – November 17, 2011

October Thing #20 – December 6, 2011