Are you interested in exploring speculative futures or have even done so before? Tell us what inspires your thought experiments and where your interest originates:
I’m interested in attending the event to learn more.
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Are you interested in exploring speculative futures or have even done so before? Tell us what inspires your thought experiments and where your interest originates:
As a science journalist and fiction writer, I do believe that science fiction impacts the way the public sees certain scientific topics – indirectly affecting the fundings allocated for research.
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Are you interested in exploring speculative futures or have even done so before? Tell us what inspires your thought experiments and where your interest originates:
It is clear that capitalism is a system that does not make sense or function well. I have managed for some years of my life to live better with much less money through wwoofing, where I help farmers and also don’t need as much money for myself – those years have been my greatest happiness so far.
I live in Canada where much of the food we could grow ourselves has been “outsourced” to be shipped in from far away places, which is the height of ridiculousness. We need to bring the economy back to something that makes sense, and if we can help people understand through fiction, then let’s do it!
I am also a fiction writer, who has let capitalism beat me down and hence I haven’t written all that I have written in my head, but within the next year I am to transition to writing much more full-time.
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Are you interested in exploring speculative futures or have even done so before? Tell us what inspires your thought experiments and where your interest originates:
Yes! I have published science fiction short stories since 2010 and for the past years I have written fictional pieces for companies such as CloudWalk and ArmaSuisse, both in Portuguese and in English. This year, alongside Envisioning, I have created an interactive narrative called Legaco in which I explore the future of human-machine interaction by tackling technologies and concepts such as mind uploading, robotics, immersive technologies, and biotechnology. I have also written the first drafts of the interactive narrative on the future of privacy for L’Atelier BNP Paribas and helped with the research of emerging technologies in 2019.
My inspirations are mostly drawn from my research on emerging technologies but I also like to add philosophical and sociological questions to the narrative. In my PhD thesis, I explore how humans have been trying to achieve immortality through images since the beginning of history till the creation of VR avatars, and for that I have read authors such as Freud, Schopenhauer, Flusser, Bystrina, Belting, Ariès, Becker, and many others that address the subject of mortality but then combining with my research and foresight in recent research on consciousness, biotechnology, robotics, immersive technologies, and so on. Finally, I also aim to deliver a story beautifully written and with a rich and complex world building as one can find in the stories of Ursula K Le Guinn, Octavia Butler, Bruce Sterling, or Philip K. Dick, for instance, who are some of my favorite science fiction writers and an inspiration for me.
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Are you interested in exploring speculative futures or have even done so before? Tell us what inspires your thought experiments and where your interest originates:
Yes, most of my design research practice span mediums and range from world-building, speculative design, digital futures and design fiction. By utilising
design fiction as a strategy, I enjoy exploring probable futures that can create meaningful design solutions as a medium to stimulate discussion and solve complex challenges.
In majority of my work, I aim to draw attention to a modern dystopia within a utopian environment and bring forward blurred realities in the form of imagined speculated world-building. For instance, in my MFA thesis, I explored a future dystopian world where privacy of data, becomes a dominant currency that is distributed according to social class and ranking mechanisms.
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Are you interested in exploring speculative futures or have even done so before? Tell us what inspires your thought experiments and where your interest originates:
I’m a science writer by day and a science fictionist by night. I’ve written a small handful of stories that take a speculative look at the Philippines had it developed science on its own terms.
As a science writer, I’m interested in science fiction as a tool for driving public interest in science.
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Nice idea! Phil-sci-fi, as in “philosophy of science” fiction?
Hi, Alberto! Yes, “philosophy of science” is exactly what I had in mind. To a certain extent, we already see this kind of “what if” speculation in steampunk etc. but I think it’s worth exploring from a non-Western perspective.
What might number systems and, by extension, computers and computer interfaces be like had these been developed by other cultures?
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Hell yeah. Okrafor does this a bit, no?
Are you interested in exploring speculative futures or have even done so before? Tell us what inspires your thought experiments and where your interest originates:
I am a published science fiction author so topics like this fill my brain daily.
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I’d like to be included on the details of the info session! Already submitted to the Worldbuilding Academy by email.
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Wow, so much interest, thank you everyone! I hope most of you will stay connected to the Worldbuilding academy, even if you can not all go to Messina for the residency (for now).
First of all, let me welcome you properly, @olliebm, @waeljebri, @ThomasOsdoba (we have met elsewhere, I believe! 
), @nicoalcala, @Hazemasif, @Professorsanjayrout, @goraisundip, @andrewcox, @dani (great perspective on “those left behind”!), @Jon_Nutzati, @yosun, @LeonardoWild (impressive resumé!), @dustii, @anders, @VismayHarani,
@melofrances, with the Worldbuilding Academy we are doing a bit of these two, so you are right on target.
That sounds a bit like William Gibson’s Jackpot. Right on the money, welcome!
Wow, this is an impressive testimony, @LMWhitaker, welcome 
We discussed it a bit on Twitter, I believe, where we called it “philosophy of science fiction”. Should be naturally close to economics, which after all emerged from moral philosophy in the 18th century. Welcome!
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There may be a misunderstanding here, @Visionofficer. As far as I know, this is not a conference with presentations, but simply a Q&A session about a small writers’ residency we are helping organize (infosheet).
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Also welcome to @nahun, @JCCannon, @Lark, @ereese15, @Davide, @Christa, @lidiazuin, @asifh, @poietic!
Makes plenty of sense, Alexander, both from a narrative point of view and from an economic-theoretical one: we want our macro structures to be founded on micro behavior!
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Looking forward to the info session on this Friday! 
Are you interested in exploring speculative futures or have even done so before? Tell us what inspires your thought experiments and where your interest originates:
I think about it all the time as I specialise in business model innovation.
How did it all start? HG Wells or Robert Heinlein
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I would like to join!
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Are you interested in exploring speculative futures or have even done so before? Tell us what inspires your thought experiments and where your interest originates:
“Moon” was my first word (“Ya-Re-Akh” in Hebrew). My mom tells me I was 7 months old, on the Tel-Aviv beach promenade and I was looking excitedly at the night sky, pointing at the Moon. That was my first step in a journey of exploration, inspiration and awe.
The second step was a foray into the world of Star Trek (age 5, to this day) and then all manner of science fiction, soon thereafter came a fascination with space, scientific research, tech innovation, alongside history, philosophy, ethics, politics, speculative creativity and utopian thinking.
Over time fascination transformed into professional occupation.
At Utopia, Israel’s International Festival for Science Fiction and Fantastic Film (which I co-founded and direct), we merge an international film festival (established in 2005) with an events program emphasizing the mutual inspiration between science and science fiction and the social and philosophical impact of speculative thought – academic conferences, public science talks, tech meetups, workshops, art exhibits etc. More about Utopia here, or on the Utopia Festival website.
Utopia introduced me to more and more amazing thinkers and doers in a myriad of disciplines. Over time a community of like-minded “Futures Practitioners” has emerged, and I am proud to be associated with the many smart and savvy friends and colleagues of this “Future/s” emerging community.
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Would like to participate the 16th of October
Kind regards,
Lene Rachel Andersen
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Are you interested in exploring speculative futures or have even done so before? Tell us what inspires your thought experiments and where your interest originates:
The current economic models I barely understand …actually I don’t, but what I understand even less is the end game of the people that are supposedly winning at this global economic game: the biosphere is deteriorating to possibly irrecoverable levels, the science is been long warning us, so what’s the point of the techno-plutocrat for pressing on with business as usual?
To attempt to answer to this question, and possibly a lot more, maybe a year or so ago I started creating an answer for myself. I am no writer, nor a scientist, nor dungeon master (I was always on the other side or role playing, but I see the commonalities of this world-building task…), but I quite liked the idea of laying out some questions and digging up some answers; I mostly ended up opening cans of worms and exposing my ignorance to the complexity of the world we live in. But it’s fun to draw maps and timelines, and even though I am not planning to apply for the residency, I thought it will be very interesting to hear from other world-building people that are actually doing this more seriously than I.
For tonight, I just registered through Eventbrite, maybe I should let you know here too?
PS: @alberto, how the heck is it possible that so many weird things I love or tinker about, are living topics, with expert knowledge, within the Edgeryders community?! 
I love this place!
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