Ward writes, “fiction as a testing ground for reality.” Testing ideas first through fiction is clever, it would really be reckless to put an idea into practice before speculating about it first. Fiction not only can imagine a world where the idea exists, but really, the expenses associated are minimal. Perhaps time spent speculating is the only thing at stake. For example, if one wanted to invent a new gadget. Rather than paying people to make it a reality and seeing what happens, one can spend time speculating on possible outcomes of the new invention and the implications of it.
It is like the loop learning theories. Putting an idea into practice outright and seeing what happens afterwards sounds like single loop learning, while speculating and then making the decision sounds much more like double loop learning. Then again, I am still trying to get my head around the loop theories, so this is just a guess… I think it relates in a way though.
Speculating and creating fiction from an idea tests it because it creates a space where there has been a change due to the idea, what is that change? How is the reaction? What are the possible outcomes of this change? These are questions that can be answered by yourself though speculation, so it is worthwhile to take the time to think about these things.
This may even include split second decisions. For example, I can choose to take either the train or tram home after uni. As I’m heading toward Melbourne central, I can create a fictional scenario in my head. I enjoy the train ride more as it is shorter, but if it is raining that day, I know I won’t enjoy the longer walk home from the station, so I may take the tram home, even though it is a longer trip, because the walk home is shorter from the tram stop. Thinking about the future counts as creating fictional scenarios and speculating about them in your head, so fiction as a testing ground for reality is really something we do everyday, it is not just about design fiction in big science fiction scenarios.