In it's simplest form, imagination allows us to construct places and conditions that don't exist. This is an essential survival skill because without it we wouldn't be able to take actions in the present that have consequences in the future. For example, it's because the farmer can imagine a field of corn at harvest time sometime in the future that they take the time to plant the seed, weed the fields and otherwise tend them in the mean time. It allowed our cavemen ancestors to anticipate any problems with tomorrow's hunt and prepare for them so that they would be successful. It's the basis of Delayed Gratification. It's Sir Norman Foster's imagination that allows him to "see" his buildings before they're built. Yes, it also allows JK Rowling to fashion fantastical worlds of wizardry but that's not it's main function. It's main function is to help us to prepare for the future which exists in potential form in the present and is formed from present actions.
And
the truly scary thing is the more we do it, the better our
imagination becomes.
Credit:
The header image is available as wallpaper from Wall.Alphacoders.com
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