In relation to Predictive methods but possibly in a different context than you might expect. At its base would it not be reasonable to suggest that that which has often been considered predictive would actually be more acurately referred to as recognitive. By this I mean it seeks to look for similar characteristics to that which it has seen before and simply infer within acceptable bounds to attempt to approach an end solution through that lense.
I think about computer viruses and how although many may differ there are always similarities which if taken as a whole can eventually help to define the actual virus itself and even possibly from whence it came. Same with DOS attacks although they may come in different forms the ability to recognize and react to them allows for an almost predictive quality to ones preparations for such attacks.
Or how about finance how many types of applications exist which can at least in some format provide "good enough" answers to provide international level entities to make decisions on how to press forward and stay away from given actions.
Long and Short
I'm not quite sure there's really so much wrong with reasonable predictions based on known historical factors, rather that those predictions should never be blindly followed with upfront expectations that you don't know what you don't know until you get there
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