Wild cards are low probability, high impact events that catch most people by surprise. Weve always dealt with surprises, but Petersen explains why, now, the magnitude of the surprises is greater than ever, and illustrates how certain trends in computer science; social behavior; life expectancy; national and global security; space expeditions; and consciousness research--just to name a few--might converge....or collide.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"John Petersen is unique among futurists because he understands that getting to the future is never a linear event. He has a wonderful ability to encourage our insight, intution and experience (and not just trend data) to take us forward into both probable and desired futures." Margaret J. Wheatley, Author of Leadership and the New Science and A Simpler Way (co-author)
"You will be exhilarated by the opportunites he describes, sobered by his claim that we have it within our power to 'redefine life'." Willis Harmon, former President of The Institute of Noetic Sciences, author of Global Mind Change
"Petersen will enlighten you about the future as probably no one has since John Naisbitt came out with Megatrends in the '80s." Milwaukee Business Journal -- About the Author
About the Author
John L. Petersen is a futurist and strategic planner who specializes in the area of national and global security. He is the president and founder of The Arlington Institute (TAI), a Washington, DC-area research and policy institute. TAI concentrates on studies of the future with emphasis on the emerging global role of the U.S., the changing nature of the concept of national security and the development of the discipline of foresight. The Arlington Institute works with the leadership of the U.S. military and other organizations to help them develop new concepts of what might evolve in the future and how those trends may translate into global and national security issues.
Mr. Petersen is a graduate electrical engineer and has had a varied background in both business and the national security sector of government. He has worked in sales, manufacturing, long-range strategic and product planning, the nonprofit social sector, real estate development and advertising and marketing, mostly with companies that he started himself. He was a naval flight officer in the U. S. Navy and Navy Reserve and is a decorated veteran of both the Viet Nam and Persian Gulf wars.
Mr. Petersen is an authority in the area of foresight and long-range strategic planning and has written extensively on those and a variety of other subjects. John has been involved in a number of presidential political campaigns, serving in positions of senior responsibility in the areas of politics, issues and fundraising.
A provocative public speaker, Mr. Petersen addresses many audiences on a variety of future subjects and has been a regular commentator on the Voice of America.
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More About the Author
John L. Petersen, a leading futurist, founded and presently heads The Arlington Institute, a Washington, DC-area think tank that studies global futures. He is the editor of FUTUREdition and the author of Out of the Blue: Anticipating Wild Cards and Other Future Surprises, and The Road to 2015: Profiles of the Future. His often unconventional perspectives on what lies ahead are the product of having worked in the military, for the National Security Council at the White House, in business, real estate development, advertising, marketing, and the nonprofit world.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Blue about Out of the Blue,
By A Customer
This review is from: Out of the blue: Wild cards and other big future surprises : how to anticipate and respond to profound change (Paperback)
This book is difficult reading, but this is NOT due to challenging material or scholarly finessing. There is no liquid ingredient in this dry mix. The author's style has a barreness, lacking any fluidity, profundity or depth. . . a bit like sitting through a company meeting on inventory and distribution (or some other banal task), complete with charts and graphs. Perhaps the author finds legitimacy and comfort in the data charade, but don't be fooled. There are no intuitive leaps or original creative thoughts in these pages that might weave the complex interrelationships of current events and trends into a potently abstract future. The author's attempts to instruct his readers in the fine points of interpreting and preparing for "wild card" events is far from wild and is, rather, highly predictable. Instead, his extrapolations are exercises in linear thinking that any avid reader of popular science and technology magazines could surmise. The book's style and layout seems choppy and disjointed with the annoying visual interruption of multiple "boxes" on the pages which serve neither to emphasize important material in the main text or elaborate on same. They appear to be more like attention grabbing "sound bites" that contrive to superficially keep the reader engaged. While this style may be appropriate for slideshow presentations, it is gimmicky in the context of a book. The author seems to lack the confidence in the text's ability to engage and stimulate, which is not unfounded. The author provides a number of uninspired wild card scenarios but lacks any comprehensive and cohesive vision of their impact. This faceless and disembodied grouping of scenarios leaves the chore of putting this jigsaw puzzle together to the reader without a picture guide. How does it all fit together? Life is wild, and we'll never tame it. This is what makes life interesting. Our own creativity is born in our responsiveness and connection to this natural, unpredic! table and multidimensional realm. And THAT's all she wrote.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling, Sensible, Easily Understandable,
By Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)
This review is from: Out of the blue: Wild cards and other big future surprises : how to anticipate and respond to profound change (Paperback)
I read and started to use this book well before I started doing Amazon reviews, and was reminded of this today when I started updating my brainstorming briefing.
I know John personally and consider one of the most balanced observers of the future, and especially gifted at casting a wide net to find weak signals, and then using analysis to make sense of disparate noises. I strongly recommend this book and his more recent updated edition, Out of the Blue: How to Anticipate Big Future Surprises
5.0 out of 5 stars
An extraordinary view into a number of worlds.,
By A Customer
This review is from: Out of the blue: Wild cards and other big future surprises : how to anticipate and respond to profound change (Paperback)
An extraordinary view into a number of worlds. Clearly, Petersen is one of the best-informed Futurists in the world. He is a true "out of the box thinker." He reports on the most important break throughs in technology, business, science and space---and the critical breakdowns in human and environmental health; and in social, political and economic conditions. Most importantly, Petersen offers one of the most well-informed reports on the emerging realities that will redefine every aspect of our careers and personal lives---sooner than we might think.
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