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HarvardX: PredictionX: Omens, Oracles & Prophecies

4.8 stars
30 ratings

This course is an overview of divination systems, ranging from ancient Chinese bone burning to modern astrology.

PredictionX: Omens, Oracles & Prophecies
1 weeks
3–5 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

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Starts Mar 28

About this course

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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.

At a glance

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated programs:
  • Associated skills:Forecasting, Computer Simulation, Futures Exchange

What you'll learn

Skip What you'll learn
  • A variety of methods from across cultures and history for divining the future.
  • A common framework that describes human attempts to predict the future.

This course is part of PredictionX XSeries Program

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Expert instruction
3 high-quality courses
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
1 month
2 - 3 hours per week

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