ornish, 1991, p. 93). The future has no reality as an independent object. As neither the future nor the world of the future exists, neither can be studied. Only ideas of what the future may be like may be studied (Cornish, 1991, p. 93). These ideas develop largely from perceptions about the past, and how a futurist thinks the world is changing. The present "is the constantly moving boundary between what has happened and what will happen" (Cornish, 1991, p. 95). For the futurist, the present is "not just the present moment, but the brief period of time on both sides of the present moment in which" the futurist lives (Cornish, 1991, p. 95).
There are three significant postulates of futurism. First, the unity of the universe is fundamental to almost all futurist thinking (Cornish, 1991, p. 97). The futurist perceives the universe as a whole, as opposed to an aggregation of independent and unconnected units. This holistic approach rejects the traditional concept that, while humans exists within the universe, they are not part of the universe (Cornish, 1991, p. 97). Unity of the universe implies time unity as well as space unity. The world of the future is being created from the world of the present.
The second postulate of future is the crucial importance of time (Cornish, 1991, p. 97). The crucial character of time implies that today's problems did not appear suddenly. Rather, they have been developing for a long time. The crisis of today is often the neglected minor problem of yesterday (Cornish, 1991, p. 97. The futurist, thus, must not only not discount the future today, but must also be cognizant of gradual change. Futurists attempt to identify gradual change, as an important step in the avoidance of future crises (Cornish, 1991, p. 98).
Futurists tend to focus on period from five to 50 years ahead of the present (Cornish, 1991, p. 98. One cannot do much to change the world in the near term up to five years ...