I think it's a kind of probablistic forecasting.
I read somewhere that Asimov considered the possibility that he should have called it psychosociology or something.
It doesn't strike me as all that important. It's still a matter of extrapolating trends to predict the future (though in Foundation it does seem ridiculously precise).
Hari Seldon was basically a Space Actuary.
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Enzyme is powered by sunlight, Wed 26 Aug 2020, 22:43,
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Not all that important? It is the foundation of The Foundation!
Isaac Arthur has an episode explaining many reasons why it cannot work (black swans, unpredictable quantum events, lack of computing power, stacking errors/random variables, 'free will,' quantum cheeseburgers, etc.)...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Uh-VQy24l8
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brb man-child cuck corporate supplicant fuck, Thu 27 Aug 2020, 14:51,
Reply)