What If?: Twenty-Two Scenarios in Search of Images

Vilém Flusser's "What If?" is a thought experiment that presents twenty-two "scenarios for the future" to break the imaginative logjam in conceiving the social, political, and economic future of the universe. These scenarios offer new visions that range from the scientific to the fantastic, reflecting our present sense of understanding the world and the dangers of global warming, overpopulation, and blind reliance on scientific knowledge and invention. The book is a warning and a nudge to imagine what we may yet become and be.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 120 pages
Publication date: 03 May 2022
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

Two years after his groundbreaking work Vampyroteuthis Infernalis, the philosopher Vilém Flusser embarked on a thought-provoking endeavor. He envisioned a series of twenty-two "scenarios for the future," which he intended to create as computer-generated media or technical images. These scenarios aimed to break the imaginative logjam in conceiving the social, political, and economic future of the universe.

"What If?" is not merely an "impossible journey" that Flusser invites us to embark on in the first scenario. It serves as a distorting mirror, holding up humanity to scrutiny. Flusser's disarming scenarios of an Anthropocene fraught with nightmares offer fresh visions that span from the scientific to the fantastic to the playful and whimsical. Each essay reflects our current understanding of the world, considering the exploitation of nature and the dangers of global warming, overpopulation, and blind reliance on the promises of scientific knowledge and invention.

"What If?" provides valuable insights into the radical futures of a slipstream Anthropocene, which are closely intertwined with speculative fiction, Flusser's concept of design as "crafty" or slippery, and art, with its immense creative potential of failure versus reasonable, "good" computing or calculability. As such, the book serves as both a warning and a nudge to imagine what we may yet become and be.

Flusser's "scenarios for the future" are a testament to his visionary thinking and his ability to challenge our preconceived notions of the world. They encourage us to think beyond the boundaries of what is possible and to explore the endless possibilities that lie ahead. By doing so, we can better prepare ourselves for the challenges and opportunities that the future may bring and create a more sustainable and prosperous world for ourselves and future generations.

Weight: 180g
Dimension: 140 x 214 x 10 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781517913663