Ray Bradbury short story used as the conceptual frame for many futurism conversations — the idea that 'a vision of the future can will it into being'.
From Wikipedia
"The Toynbee Convector" is a science fiction short story by American writer Ray Bradbury. First published in Playboy magazine in 1984, the story was subsequently featured in a 1988 short story collection also titled The Toynbee Convector.