The sisyphus factor or a learning approach to the future

If, as is normally assumed, the future has yet to happen and is dependent upon preceding events and choices it remains uncertain and alternative futures possible. This appears to make the future plural and different from the past and present, which are usually considered to be singular. The role of Futures Research, in an uncertain future, is not to predict but to assist in making informed choices about issues of significance to the future in the changing present. Effective management of change requires the adoption of a learning approach to the future, some of the characteristics of which are explored. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)