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Harvard University

PredictionX: Omens, Oracles & Prophecies

Harvard University via edX

Overview

Humans have always sought to know their own future, be it the destiny of an empire or an individual's fate. Across cultures and history, we find people trying to find their place in the Universe by attempting to gaze into the future.

Join us for this one-week, immersive learning experience as we explore “pre-scientific” prediction systems ranging from ancient Chinese bone burning to the Oracle of Delphi to modern astrology and tarot, with practitioners and Harvard faculty leading the journey. We will examine the details of over a dozen prediction systems as well as theoretical frameworks connecting them.

This module is a part of PredictionX, which examines our efforts to predict the future over all of recorded history. PredictionX courses will cover topics from omens and oracles in ancient civilizations, which this course discusses, to the evolution of the general approach to science most take today (which includes the course John Snow and the Cholera Outbreak of 1854) as well as modern computer simulations and the role they play in predicting our futures today.

Taught by

Alyssa Goodman

Reviews

3.0 rating, based on 2 Class Central reviews

4.8 rating at edX based on 30 ratings

Start your review of PredictionX: Omens, Oracles & Prophecies

  • Overall, I enjoyed the course, but it wasn't really what I expected. It went into specifics of various divination practices and not so much the overarching framework. I was able to finish the course material in a few hours over a weekend.
  • GINEVRA PRESSENDA
    I found it shallow, and it missed some famous other ways of prediction. I think that this course should go deeper.

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