Impact Trust • Working glossary
Wild cards
Unpredictable, low-probability shocks that can suddenly push a system in a new direction.
Details
Our Take
A standard foresight concept; the term is instantly understood. Important complement to trend analysis - reminds planners that the future will contain genuine surprises. Why Preparedness 3.0 matters: you cannot prepare for specific wild cards (by definition), but you can build generic capacity to respond to whatever arrives.
Examples of Use
Foresight community, Horizon 2045, risk analysis
Synonyms/Variants
Black swans (technically different)
Disruptive surprise, X-factor
Typical everyday wording
Things we couldn't have predicted in our wildest dreams. The surprise nobody swa coming that changes verything.
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