On the contrary, almanacs were one of the most successful genres of the period. At their highest point in the 1660s, sales averaged between 350,000 and 400,000 annually in England, out-selling all other types of books. . . . The suggestions astrologers offered in their printed almanacs for dealing with impending health threats were not ultimately directed at government authorities. To take a modern analogy, almanac prognostications functioned more like WHO press releases containing guidance for the public than reports with advice for state administrators. . . .
M. Pfeffer (2024). “Astrology, plague, and prognostication in early modern England: A forgotten chapter in the history of public health.” Past & Present 263 (1): 81–124 (accessed online at https://academic.oup.com/past/article/263/1/81/7044244)
Appealing to prediction in the midst of collectively-evident turbulence should be read symptomatically in just the above way.
WHEN COMPLEX IS AS SIMPLE AS IT GETS 