Framing the Shape and Time of the Future: from Who Am I to When Am I

Fixing a watch does not mean one understands the future and understanding the nature of time, does not mean one can repair a watch. Fixing a watch requires technical skills and a theory of moving parts; understanding the future requires much more diverse skills; to begin with: an understanding and appreciation of theories of social change, cultural mythology, and the politics of epistemology. But the person who repairs watches and the theoretician of the future both live in a world where time is central. Like the geographer who charts physical space or the sociologist who structures social space, the futurist creates maps of time. These maps can then be used to better understand who we are or more appropriately when we are. They can also be used to make better decisions (the policy oriented organizational mode of futures studies) or create new maps (the activist-innovative mode of futures studies).