This year’s Foresight Jeopardy champion is Jason Crabtree. He vaulted to the top with a well-played strategy in Final Jeopardy, correctly asking the question, “What is Singapore?” in response to the answer: “This island’s government arguably has the world’s most advanced foresight capability.” (For those not familiar with jeopardy, answers are given and the contestants must pose the correct question). He finished just ahead of Kurt Callaway and withstood a late charge by Gandhi Bhakthavachalam. Maria Romero controlled the board for much of the game but didn’t translate it into enough points.
We play Foresight Jeopardy as the conclusion of the Foresight “field” module in our capstone Professional Seminar class. The module explores the field that the students are about to enter. We have created lists over the years of practitioners, books, organizations, movies and the like. The categories of the game include futurists (past and present), books (past and present), foresight organizations, and movies about the future.
Why remember such things in the age of Google? Indeed, rote memorization is certainly less needed. But that’s not quite the point. When we study the future of a topic, we review its history (the rule of thumb is looking backward as far as forward). To understand the field you are entering and to think about your own future in that field, it would seem good practice to look back as well. And practically speaking, as students or new grads network, a gap in what is seen as part of the core knowledge base can be quite damaging. So, congrats to Jason, joining the previous winners Adam Cowart and Karl Irish. — Andy Hines
