Programme
The Speculative Society
If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery, it is that in the long run – and often in the short one – the most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative. (Arthur C. Clarke)
What is the legacy of our role in this time and place, and what shape will society take in twenty, fifty or a hundred years due to the actions and decisions we make today? What impact do we have on a potential and speculated society? How as individuals do we foresee our role in the everyday lives of a future society in which we may no longer be present?
Speculation has uses beyond sheer fiction, we forecast the short term every day in preparation for the following moment but our predictions can never truly be accurate. Our predictions can however be inaccurate in a very interesting way. How we speculate currently in the present moment characterises who we are and what we believe more than any other archival text could ever represent. Our aspirations and our interpretations of what is possible define who we are here and now, more so than what we believe we know about our present moment, just look at classic science fiction texts and the fact that no matter how imaginative and intricate they were conceptually, they just couldn’t shake certain social bias and perspective of their own time. No matter how advanced the supercomputer or anti-gravity system described in these stories were, certain aspects of the time the tales were written in persist like the archetypal lead male or the Nuclear Family.
What we are interested in is not an interpretation of past forms of speculation, although these are still relevant for an anticipation of future societies’ reflection of our own actions now, we are interested in the uses speculation have for us today and the dialogue it can provoke.
All those who would be interested in a creative project centred around different approaches to speculation please contact thespeculativesociety@yahoo.com or Steve at 0879873145.