According to the website www.sitra.fi, “a weak signal is an indicator of a potentially emerging issue, that may become significant in the future. Weak signals supplement trend analysis and they can be used to expand on alternate futures.”
We are not really educated to listen or look for weak signals. Our education system is designed to make us replicate the past while often denying our critical thinking. Sure, we learn the knowledge which may help us outpace our previous mental patterns. Unfortunately, we don’t do well in doing so. Indeed, most of us follow a past an old track and we are unable to envisage the future.
Why weak signals are important?
Weak signals help us “predict” the future. If we are sensitive enough, we could guess what could shape our life and our society because some signs are detectable without being striking though. By paying attention, by reading between the lines, we get an edge which allows us to take the right decision. To do so, it is necessary to read various types of books, to study the past but to be able to get detached from it, to travel and understand the world and lie in wait of any signals which could be consequential.