Octavia Butler's Rules for Predicting the Future

Octavia Butler's Rules for Predicting the Future explores how science fiction writer Octavia Butler developed an uncannily accurate methodology for seeing what's coming—her novel "Parable of the Sower" includes a description of Los Angeles ravaged by wildfires, which has been seen as eerily prescient in light of recent events, particularly the Eaton Fire, which narrowly spared her grave in Altadena.

Drawing from Butler's "histofuturism" approach, the talk contrasts her deep historical research methodology with traditional linear futurism that simply extrapolates current trends, revealing how Butler's position at the margins gave her insights that mainstream futurists missed. The presentation concludes with a powerful argument that Black women have been seeing the future first all along, challenging designers and futurists to move beyond token inclusion and ask instead: who has been seeing clearly, and why haven't we been listening?

Featuring Tracee Worley

[We Have Seen The Future] [DEEM Journal]