Long Now

Ahmed Best, Lisa Kay Solomon: Feel The Future: A Valentine’s Evening

Mar 28, 2025
Join Ahmed Best, an award-winning artist and Afrofuturist scholar, and Lisa Kay Solomon, Futurist in Residence, as they discuss the vital role of feeling in shaping our future. Best shares insights from his career, emphasizing how emotion and storytelling can foster community. They explore vulnerability's importance in building connections, and challenging narratives to ignite change. Together, they envision a hopeful 2050 rooted in trust and collaboration, highlighting the power of shared experiences to create a thriving and inclusive future.
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ANECDOTE

Ahmed Best's Journey

  • Ahmed Best, inspired by Star Wars, transformed his dreams into a career expanding our future visions.
  • At 23, he became cinema's first CGI character, Jar Jar Binks, in Star Wars.
INSIGHT

Feeling the Future

  • Ahmed Best recognizes feeling as a form of communication beyond words.
  • He believes shared feelings about the future empower communities to shape their desired future.
ADVICE

Formula for Feeling the Future

  • To communicate your vision of the future, combine emotional resonance, space-time context, and impactful pressure.
  • Best calls this formula "emotional engine + Albert Einstein + Godzilla".
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