“Wild cards” (“wild cart”, “joker”) are unlikely, but extremely significant events. Such events go beyond the predictive capabilities of humanity, but as soon as they happen, the destinies and way of thinking of people immediately change dramatically. This can be either a global catastrophe (an asteroid fall), or an unexpected and important innovation (positional notation of numbers, double-entry bookkeeping), a fundamental idea (majorate), or a literary text (Alice in Wonderland). In his new book "Wild Cards" of the future. Force majeure for humanity" Sergei Pereslegin - guru of modern futurology, head of the "Designing the Future" group - is looking for unknown options for the development of society, trying to simulate the reactions of humanity faced with completely new problems.