Tagged: black swans

Friday essay: a rare bird — how Europeans got the black swan so wrong - Guest Work

Guest Author • Jun 11, 2021 •

• Australia,
• black swans,
• New Zealand stories

David Haworth, Monash University   The black swan is an Australian icon. The official emblem of Western Australia, depicted in the state flag and coat-of-arms, it decorates several public buildings. The bird is also the namesake for Perth’s Swan River, where the British established the Swan River Colony in 1829. The swan’s likeness has featured on stamps, sporting team … Read More

The futurist’s metaphorical menagerie - Ariadne

Robert Hickson • Mar 16, 2020 •

• black swans,
• complexity,
• coronavirus,
• COVID-19,
• foresight,
• futures methodology,
• futures thinking,
• Uncertainty

  Futures folk like animal metaphors for uncertainties. “Black swans” is a favourite one, and currently doing the rounds with opinions about COVID-19. The term “black swan”, popularised by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his 2007 book of the similar name, refers to unanticipated events with big impacts. However, COVID-19 and other epi- or pandemics aren’t black swans. They … Read More