> known for using advanced mathematical models and deep understanding of human behavior to predict future behavior of individuals and large populations.
Isn’t psychohistory not able to predict individual behaviors and only effective on large numbers?
Yes, this is key to the entire premise of the book series in all its iterations. Seldon's psychohistory is able to predict the movements of people in aggregate, with the obvious allegory being the uncertainty principle. In the later novels - many the interesting problems the foundation run into arise from the failure of Seldon's model to account for changes in underlying humanity (e.g.: the psychic abilities of the Mule). Of course we also learn Seldon's predictions are being 'helped along' from behind the scenes by the Second Foundation. Which brings to mind some of Jaron Lanier's critiques of A.I., as dependent on human curated, reinforced and updated datasets.
Yes, that's right but you can see this as a fiction inside the fiction. This agent "thinks" he is capable of predicting the future of individuals and acts as if he can.
Isn’t psychohistory not able to predict individual behaviors and only effective on large numbers?