Trends take many forms. Some trends can be predicted, while others are fundamentally uncertain. It is not always easy to identify levels of predictability, and sometimes when one looks more widely, or looks at a trend from another angle, it no longer seems as predictable as it once did. Read more to learn how to start seeing trends where you didn’t before.

Photo by Krissana Porto

Human beings are by nature future thinkers. As the American philosopher Dennett described, the human brain is “an anticipation machine” and “making future” is the most important thing it does. Planning for the future gives us a sense of agency and control in an uncertain world, but not all future planning is created equally.