We’ve all heard of self-fulfilling prophecies, but there is also such a thing as a self-precluding prophecy. Sometimes, when someone makes a prediction, the very fact that this prediction is made is a guarantee that it will be wrong. In other words, a prediction that something will take place often ensures that it won’t. It’s a kind of catch-22.
Let’s say, for example, that some security “experts” are predicting that terrorists are going to strike Washington, DC on Labor Day. What you think would happen as a result? There would be such a security buildup around Washington that day that the potential terrorists would be forced to either pick another target and/or another day to strike.
To use another example, let’s suppose that the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) came out with a prediction that annual U.S. cases of HIV/AIDS were going to double by 2015. Such a prediction could very well strike enough fear into people to cause them to wake up and make lifestyle changes and that would prevent such a thing from even coming close to becoming a reality.
Or what if a business associate who thought he had me figured out made some predictions (that I ultimately found out about) to his friends about how I was going to react to a certain upcoming situation? With my ego being what it is and not wanting to appear predictable, I would make sure that I reacted in a way that might be a little out of character for me, just to keep to him from being right.
Finally, imagine that the National Weather Service was predicting a great loss of life due to a category five hurricane that was bearing down on the east coast. This prediction might cause those who live in the coastal areas along the eastern seaboard to evacuate their homes immediately, resulting in a minimum amount of casualties.
Copyright 2008 CommenTerry
