New book out now: “The Invention of Tomorrow”!

My new book with Thomas Suddendorf and Jonathan Redshaw, “The Invention of Tomorrow: A Natural History of Foresight” is out now!

The book covers the science of human foresight: where this ability comes from, how it works, and why it is so essential. Foresight, our ability to anticipate events and act accordingly, is arguably one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. We may need it now more than ever to secure a future worth looking forward to.

“The authors of this exciting book argue vividly and convincingly that our ability to immerse ourselves mentally in past and future worlds is what makes us such a philosophizing, technologizing, and cogitating species. It’s a hot topic in cognitive neuroscience and a stroke of insight about what makes humans human.” —Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of Rationality

“A fascinating perspective on what it means to be human, told with a clear voice and an expansive canvas… Sprinkled throughout the book are well-placed moments of deadpan humor to leaven the authoritative research.” —Kirkus

“A fascinating exploration of the power and potential of the human mind – and the importance of future thinking for the success of our species.”—Tali Sharot, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London and MIT, and author of The Influential Mind

You can read more about the book on my website here, on the Basic Books website here, or on the book website at UQ here. And here’s a twitter thread summary: