Institute For The Future

The origin story for Kyle’s Historical Futurism essay. In his research notes, the Institute For The Future (IFTF) is the office at Emerson & Hamilton in downtown Palo Alto — across from the Palo Alto Creamery — whose window display of Walkmans, Gameboys, and 90s paraphernalia Kyle walked past, seeding the essay. He notes it as a spin-off from the RAND Corporation, set up in 1968 to help organizations with “future studies,” and credits it as his first exposure to Futurology, futurism, and futurists — a thread that became one of his portfolio ideas. He also flags their long-running 10-year forecast, which the institute has produced for some 50 years.

Context: The Institute for the Future is a Palo Alto-based, independent nonprofit research organization founded in 1968 (with roots in RAND) that specializes in long-term forecasting and futures research for organizations and governments.

Where this appears

• Historical Futurism - Research — IFTF is the literal “walking past the office” seed of the essay and Kyle’s first exposure to futurism as a field and portfolio idea