Notes and Sources

Imagine Next brings together memoir, original methodology, philosophical inquiry, scientific research, and speculative invention. The sources below therefore serve different purposes.

Some document studies, reports, and works referred to directly in the text. Others identify bodies of research that informed the development of Planetary Innovation, the Imagine Next Test, and the wider inquiry into living systems.

The personal experiences, interpretations, concepts, method, Imagine Next Test, and conclusions drawn from the 616-day practice are the author's own unless otherwise indicated.

The Atlas includes ideas at very different stages of maturity. Some extend existing technologies, some connect established mechanisms in new ways, and others remain long-horizon proposals. The inclusion of a scientific source does not mean that a concept has been technically validated.

To keep the printed book readable, detailed references are not reproduced separately for all 365 concepts. An expanded archive of concept-specific research, related technologies, technical notes, corrections, and future updates will be maintained at:

imaginenext.co/sources

The opening discussion of the direction of global innovation was informed by research examining whether science and technology are producing disruptive advances and whether research activity is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

The statement that only a limited share of startups appeared to address SDG-related problems reflects several innovation mappings reviewed during the early stages of the challenge. Estimates differed substantially depending on the definitions of startup, impact, and SDG alignment. For that reason, the book does not rely on a single percentage.

Ciarli, Tommaso, ed. Changing Directions: Steering Science, Technology and Innovation Towards the Sustainable Development Goals. STRINGS, Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, 2022. https://doi.org/10.20919/FSOF1258.

Park, Michael, Erin Leahey, and Russell J. Funk. "Papers and Patents Are Becoming Less Disruptive over Time." Nature 613 (2023): 138–144. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05543-x.

The study by Park, Leahey, and Funk analyzed approximately 45 million papers and 3.9 million patents and reported a long-term decline in the likelihood that new work would break sharply with prior trajectories. Its interpretation and methodology have also generated scholarly debate. The study is presented in this book as one of the provocations that shaped the challenge, not as proof that human creativity itself is declining.

Kozlov, Max. "'Disruptive' Science Has Declined—and No One Knows Why." Nature, January 4, 2023.

The daily structure of the Sustainable Innovation Challenge was inspired in part by the story of Julie Powell's year-long cooking project and its adaptation in the film Julie & Julia.

Ephron, Nora, dir. Julie & Julia. Columbia Pictures, 2009.

Powell, Julie. Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2005.

Most of Part I records the author's experience of the Sustainable Innovation Challenge and does not depend on external theory. The chapters describe attention, endurance, grief, curiosity, observation, and repeated creative practice as they were experienced across 616 days.

The book's understanding of creativity as a process involving association, exploration, constraint, revision, and the combination of knowledge across domains is consistent with a broad body of creativity research. These works are included as intellectual context rather than as sources from which the Imagine Next method was derived.

Boden, Margaret A. The Creative Mind: Myths and Mechanisms. 2nd ed. London: Routledge, 2004.

Finke, Ronald A., Thomas B. Ward, and Steven M. Smith. Creative Cognition: Theory, Research, and Applications. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992.

Mednick, Sarnoff A. "The Associative Basis of the Creative Process." Psychological Review 69, no. 3 (1962): 220–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0048850.

Sawyer, R. Keith. Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

The endurance comparisons in Part I are reflective rather than clinical claims. They arise from the author's experiences of physical recovery, marathon and triathlon training, and freediving.

Chapter V describes the inquiry that emerged as the author began to see human systems and Earth systems as inseparable. Its references to soil communities, fungal relationships, ecosystem intelligence, and planetary interdependence are grounded in established ecological research.

Bardgett, Richard D., and Wim H. van der Putten. "Belowground Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning." Nature 515 (2014): 505–511. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13855.

Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel, Fernando T. Maestre, Peter B. Reich, et al. "Microbial Diversity Drives Multifunctionality in Terrestrial Ecosystems." Nature Communications 7 (2016): 10541. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10541.

Simard, Suzanne W., David A. Perry, Melanie D. Jones, David D. Myrold, Daniel M. Durall, and Randy Molina. "Net Transfer of Carbon Between Ectomycorrhizal Tree Species in the Field." Nature 388 (1997): 579–582. https://doi.org/10.1038/41557.

The proposition that Earth may be approached as alive is presented in this book as a philosophical and civilizational inquiry, not as a claim that one scientific theory has definitively established planetary consciousness or intention. Scientific discussions of Earth as a self-regulating system form part of the intellectual background.

Lovelock, James E., and Lynn Margulis. "Atmospheric Homeostasis by and for the Biosphere: The Gaia Hypothesis." Tellus 26, nos. 1–2 (1974): 2–10. https://doi.org/10.3402/tellusa.v26i1-2.9731.

Margulis, Lynn. Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution. New York: Basic Books, 1998.

The references to ancient and Indigenous understandings acknowledge that many cultures have related to Earth, rivers, animals, landscapes, and elemental forces as living presences or participants in a shared world. These traditions are diverse and should not be reduced to a single worldview. The book does not claim ownership of them or present Symbiotic Civilization as their representative.

The account of working with generative AI is based primarily on the author's experience developing and revising the concepts in this Atlas.

The term Co-Imagination, as used here, describes a process in which human experience and attention provide direction, computational tools expand the field of research and iteration, and responsibility remains with the person or people deciding what an idea is for.

The book does not claim that AI systems are incapable of producing surprising outputs. It distinguishes the generation of variations from the human acts of choosing a direction, recognizing significance, interpreting lived consequences, and accepting responsibility for what is built.

Because generative AI systems and their capabilities are changing rapidly, current research and later commentary related to this chapter will be maintained in the online source archive rather than fixed permanently in the printed edition.

The practice of inventiveness emerged from the author's daily work. It was not adapted from an existing creativity framework.

It nevertheless intersects with established work on creative cognition, analogy, problem framing, systems thinking, iterative design, and the development of ideas through engagement with reality.

Meadows, Donella H. Thinking in Systems: A Primer. Edited by Diana Wright. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2008.

Schön, Donald A. The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books, 1983.

The method should be understood as a practice framework rather than a predictive scientific model. It does not promise that following a fixed sequence will produce an original or technically feasible invention.

The Imagine Next Test developed through the evaluation and revision of the 365 concepts. It is the author's own synthesis.

Its questions overlap with established work in planetary boundaries, systems thinking, life-cycle assessment, regenerative design, resilience, environmental justice, responsible innovation, and governance of shared resources.

International Organization for Standardization. ISO 14040: Environmental Management—Life Cycle Assessment—Principles and Framework. Geneva: ISO, 2006.

Lyle, John Tillman. Regenerative Design for Sustainable Development. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1994.

Ostrom, Elinor. Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Richardson, Katherine, Will Steffen, Wolfgang Lucht, et al. "Earth Beyond Six of Nine Planetary Boundaries." Science Advances 9, no. 37 (2023): eadh2458. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adh2458.

Steffen, Will, Katherine Richardson, Johan Rockström, et al. "Planetary Boundaries: Guiding Human Development on a Changing Planet." Science 347, no. 6223 (2015): 1259855. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1259855.

Stilgoe, Jack, Richard Owen, and Phil Macnaghten. "Developing a Framework for Responsible Innovation." Research Policy 42, no. 9 (2013): 1568–1580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2013.05.008.

The Imagine Next Test is not a certification, engineering assessment, environmental-impact review, or substitute for consultation with affected communities and relevant experts. It is a way of widening the frame through which an invention is examined before its assumptions become difficult to change.

The terms life-serving innovation, planetary coherence, and displaced harm, as used in the Test, reflect the author's synthesis and are defined in the Glossary.

Symbiotic Civilization emerged from the Imagine Next practice and developed after the initial Atlas. It proposes that legitimacy, innovation, and economic value should be evaluated in relation to their contribution to the flourishing of living systems.

The framework is the author's own synthesis. It belongs to an intellectual landscape that includes symbiosis, Earth-system science, ecological economics, regenerative design, systems thinking, commons governance, responsible innovation, and planetary boundaries.

The Symbiotic Investment Matrix is an emerging decision framework rather than a universally validated measurement standard. It should not be represented as a certification or guarantee of ecological or social performance.

The Creative Commons license applies to copyrightable material expressly identified in the publication notice. Copyright protects the original expression of a work but does not ordinarily protect abstract ideas, procedures, systems, scientific principles, or methods of operation.

Creative Commons. Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License.

United States Copyright Office. "Works Not Protected by Copyright." Circular 33. Washington, DC: U.S. Copyright Office.

United States Copyright Office. "What Does Copyright Protect?" Copyright Office Frequently Asked Questions.

Under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International License, licensed material may be shared and adapted for noncommercial purposes when appropriate attribution is provided, the license is identified, and modifications are indicated.

The Imagine Next Regenerative Contribution model described in Appendix A is a proposal developed by the author. It is separate from the Creative Commons license. Participation in the contribution model requires its own written documentation.

Nothing in Appendix A should be interpreted as legal, tax, securities, accounting, or investment advice. Commercial participation, equity contributions, trademark use, and formal partnerships should be documented through agreements appropriate to the parties and reviewed by qualified advisers.

The underlying habits described in the Imagine Next method—including attention, observation, questioning, research, analogy, testing, and revision—are not claimed as the author's exclusive property.

The particular language, structure, diagrams, explanations, and presentation of the Imagine Next method are protected as part of this book unless otherwise licensed.

Use of the Imagine Next name or visual identity in a way that suggests an official program, certification, endorsement, or partnership requires separate written permission.

The online archive at imaginenext.co/sources is intended to provide a more detailed research trail for the 365 concepts without adding substantial length to the printed volume.

The archive may include:

• scientific and technical sources connected to individual concepts;
• existing technologies and adjacent prior work;
• distinctions between established mechanisms and speculative extensions;
• technical limitations identified during revision;
• corrections and changes made after publication;
• new research relevant to a concept;
• projects that test, adapt, or develop ideas from the Atlas.

The archive will evolve as the fields represented in the book change. Its purpose is not to present every concept as validated, but to make the boundary between existing knowledge and new speculation more visible.