Introduction

This book brings together mobilities and possibility studies by arguing that the possible emerges in our experience in and through acts of movement : physical, social and symbolic. The basic premise that mobility begets possibility is supported with evidence covering a wide range of geographic and temporal scales. First, in relation to the evolution of our species and the considerable impact of mobility on the emergence and spread of prehistoric innovations; second, considering the circulation of people, things and creative ideas throughout history; third, in view of migrations that define an individual life course and its numerous (im)possibilities; and fourth, in the ‘inner’, psychological movements specific for our wandering – and wondering – minds.

Complexities of Mobility

This is not, however, a romantic account of how more mobility is always better or leads to increased creativity and innovation. After all, movement can fail in opening up new possibilities, and innovations can cause harm or reduce our agency. And yet, at an ontological level, the fact remains that it is only by moving from one position to another that we develop novel perspectives on the world and find alternative ways of acting and being. At this foundational level, mobilities engender possibilities and the latter, in turn, fuel new mobilities. This interplay, examined throughout the book, should be of interest for researchers and practitioners working on mobility, migration, creativity, innovation, cultural diffusion, life course approaches and, more generally, on the possibilities embedded in mobile lives.