From the Editor

One of the greatest things about editing a digital magazine about the future is watching the future happen. Hypothetical concepts move from prototype to early reality, before going from the domain of the early adopters to a part of the fabric of everyday life. In the process, futuristic ideas become somehow mundane, losing their fantastical sheen as they become a practical part of reality.

It would be easy to see this as a bit depressing; the future is never as shiny as we imagine it to be, and things often don’t turn out to be the wonderful utopia we’d hoped for. However, dystopias rarely look as dark as we predict them to be either; all in all, we mostly just plod along.

At this point you’re probably wondering what my point is. Well, it’s this: this magazine contains three sections: today, tomorrow and beyond. Today is concerned with the future that has arrived, and is already becoming pretty normal. Tomorrow and beyond, however, are concerned with more far away future. Tomorrow is still a few years ahead, and so the ideas still seem pretty shiny. Beyond is concerned with developments that for the most part will be beyond our lifetimes, and so they’re so fantastical they shimmer in our minds.

But, assuming all these technologies come to be in one form or another, there will come a time when they are just another mundane part of our lives. You will reach a point where driverless cars are completely unremarkable. Clothes made of artificial spider silk will one day seem really standard. And one day you – or perhaps your children – will actually find having an augmented brain run of the mill.

As you read through this, the Spring issue of Factor, think about that, and remember to marvel at how futuristic our world really is, and will continue to be.

Enjoy!

Lucy Ingham, Editor

Editorial

Editor

Deputy Editor


Writers





Designer


Digital Publishing Director

Lucy Ingham

Daniel Davies


Eloise McLennan

Callum Tyndall

Susanne Hauner

Katie Woodward


Lucy Ingham


Duncan West

Marketing

Publishing Assistant

Callum Tyndall

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