Some Successes, Many Failures

Would you like to know your future? The notion appeals to many. There are a lot of people who predict upcoming events—with varying results. Consider the following:

• SCIENTISTS utilize sophisticated equipment and vast amounts of money to forecast various matters, such as how pollution will eventually affect the earth and whether it will rain in your neighborhood tomorrow.

• PROFESSIONAL ANALYSTS predict trends in business and politics. Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest people in the world, has been dubbed an oracle for his successful business investments. Nate Silver, another analyst, has interpreted statistics to help him make predictions about everything from U.S. politics to Hollywood film awards.

• ANCIENT SOURCES have been interpreted as prophecies. Some people see modern-day fulfillment in the vague writings of 16th-century Michel de Notredame (Nostradamus). A Mayan calendar cycle that ended on December 21, 2012, was interpreted by some as a portent of cataclysmic events.

• RELIGIOUS LEADERS sometimes predict tragic worldwide events to warn mankind and gather followers. Doomsday prophet Harold Camping and his disciples widely advertised that the earth would be destroyed in 2011. Needless to say, the world is still here.

• PSYCHICS claim to have special abilities to predict the future. Edgar Cayce and Jeane Dixon both made some accurate predictions about 20th-century events. Each also uttered many failed predictions. For instance, Dixon foretold the outbreak of a World War III in 1958, and Cayce predicted that New York would slide into the ocean in the mid-1970’s.

Is there really any reliable way to see the future? The question is worth asking. If you were able to preview upcoming events, life could be very different for you.