--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People ask me to predict the future, when…" description: "\"People ask me to predict the future, when all I want to do is prevent it. Better yet, build it. Predicting the future is much too easy, anyway. You loo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/ray-bradbury-75_air_people-ask-me-to-predict-the-future-when_2805073.jpg" --- # People ask me to predict the future, when all I want to do… ![“People ask me to predict the future, when all I want to do is prevent it. Better yet, build it. Predicting the future is much too easy, anyway. You look at the people around you, the street you stand on, the visible air you breathe, and predict more of the same. To hell with more. I want better.” quote by Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/ray-bradbury-75_air_people-ask-me-to-predict-the-future-when_2805073.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/ray-bradbury-75_air_people-ask-me-to-predict-the-future-when_2805073.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/239/ray-bradbury-75_air_people-ask-me-to-predict-the-future-when_2805073.jpg) > “People ask me to predict the future, when all I want to do is prevent it. Better yet, build it. Predicting the future is much too easy, anyway. You look at the people around you, the street you stand on, the visible air you breathe, and predict more of the same. To hell with more. I want better.” [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Predicting the future is easy; building a better one requires action and imagination. **In simple terms:** Predicting is easy; building is harder. Key Takeaway Focus on creating the future you desire. Themes future creation agency Mood inspirational visionary Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - entrepreneurship - urban planning - environmental activism Key Concepts innovation social change Questions to Reflect On - What future do you want to build? - How can you start today? A Different Perspective Action without vision can be misguided. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Air](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air/) [Ask me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-me/) [Breathe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/breathe/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Predict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predict/) [Predict Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predict-future/) [Predicting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predicting/) [Predicting Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predicting-future-812617/) [Predicting the future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predicting-the-future/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Too easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-easy/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [People ask me to predict the future, when all I want to do is prevent it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/people-ask-me-to-predict-the-future-when-all-i-want-to-do-is-prevent/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I was not predicting the future, I was trying to prevent it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-was-not-predicting-the-future-i-was-trying-to-prevent-it/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Sometimes you have intuitive insight about how you think things are going to be, and you write that. Other times you fantasize completely, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/sometimes-you-have-intuitive-insight-about-how-you-think-things-are/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I've become increasingly fascinated with social media to improve on traditional ways of preparing for and predicting the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noreena-hertz/i-ve-become-increasingly-fascinated-with-social-media-to-improve-on/) [Noreena Hertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noreena-hertz/) > [I am incredibly bad at predicting the future; I am only smart enough to observe the present and listen to my intuition about tendencies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/i-am-incredibly-bad-at-predicting-the-future-i-am-only-smart-enough/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [I stopped predicting the future a long time ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-durst/i-stopped-predicting-the-future-a-long-time-ago/) [Fred Durst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-durst/) > [“those who are very good at predicting the past will think of themselves as good at predicting the future,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/those-who-are-very-good-at-predicting-the-past-will-think-of/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Knowledge is telling the past. Wisdom is predicting the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-timothy-garvey/knowledge-is-telling-the-past-wisdom-is-predicting-the-future/) [W. Timothy Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-timothy-garvey/) > [“we are constantly predicting the future and hypothesizing what we will experience. This expectation influences what we actually perceive. Predicting the future is actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-constantly-predicting-the-future-and-hypothesizing-what-we/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [“In other words, the “rigorously scientific” method of predicting the future can be applied only in special cases-where prompt action is not urgent, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/in-other-words-the-rigorously-scientific-method-of-predicting-the/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [Foresight is not about predicting the future, it's about minimizing surprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-schroeder/foresight-is-not-about-predicting-the-future-it-s-about-minimizing/) [Karl Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-schroeder/) > [I'm a historian. The act of predicting the future discomfits me, in any event - and the bigger the prediction, the more distrusting I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/i-m-a-historian-the-act-of-predicting-the-future-discomfits-me-in-any/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [I won't say 'See you tomorrow' because that would be like predicting the future, and I'm pretty sure I can't do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-wittgenstein/i-won-t-say-see-you-tomorrow-because-that-would-be-like-predicting/) [Ludwig Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-wittgenstein/) > [That's kind of like how jazz is sometimes. You're out there predicting the future, and no one believes you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branford-marsalis/that-s-kind-of-like-how-jazz-is-sometimes-you-re-out-there-predicting/) [Branford Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branford-marsalis/) > [Methods for predicting the future: 1) read horoscopes, tea leaves, tarot cards, or crystal balls . . . collectively known as "nutty methods;" 2)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/methods-for-predicting-the-future-1-read-horoscopes-tea-leaves-tarot/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) ## More by Ray Bradbury > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [You feed yourself. 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It’s a very bad place for writers because the teachers always think they know more than you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-can-t-learn-to-write-in-college-it-s-a-very-bad-place-for-writers/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [We're going to become the martians when we land there. When we explore and build communities, we become the martians. That's a wonderful destiny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/we-re-going-to-become-the-martians-when-we-land-there-when-we-explore/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. ... I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-wish-you-a-wrestling-match-with-your-creative-muse-that-will-last-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [The library is the biggest cracker box factory in the world. 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