Institutions should draw on unconventional concepts to challenge entrenched assumptions to help navigate complex issues that leave policymakers stumped. | REUTERS
Aug 5, 2026
Japanese biologist Tomitaro Makino believed that “there is no such thing as a weed.” Instead, he insisted that the label depends on the larger context from which the plant emerges.
Makino is enlisted by the authors of “A Glossary for Other Worlds” to make the point that we should not “mistake what is contingent for what is universally true. Even around one plant, many values and many worlds can be found. Likewise, rituals and beliefs that are dismissed as irrational can be true in their own ways.”
“A Glossary for Other Worlds” was published this summer by the Center for Strategic Futures, a foresight unit in the Strategy Group of Singapore’s Prime Minister’s Office. The CSF’s mandate is “to navigate emerging strategic challenges and harness potential opportunities” by focusing “on issues that may be blind-spot areas, pursue open-ended long-term futures research and experiment with new foresight methodologies.”
In a time of both misinformation and too much information,
quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.
SUBSCRIBE NOW
