The deputy editor of the Economist, Robert Cottrell, thinks he knows what I’m up to. Well, me and the myriad other folks working to analyze what the future could hold, in order to make better choices. In “The future of futurology,” Cottrell argues that the only way to have any credibility as a futurist to think small, think short-term, and shut up.

So there you are on the moon, reading The World in 2008 on disposable digital paper and waiting for the videophone to ring. But no rush,…