---
title: "Prediction"
chunk: 3/4
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prediction"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:44:50.620904+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

== Sports ==
Predicting the outcome of sporting events is a business which has grown in popularity in recent years.  Handicappers predict the outcome of games using a variety of mathematical formulas, simulation models or qualitative analysis.  Early, well known sports bettors, such as Jimmy the Greek, were believed to have access to information that gave them an edge.  Information ranged from personal issues, such as gambling or drinking to undisclosed injuries; anything that may affect the performance of a player on the field.
Recent times have changed the way sports are predicted.  Predictions now typically consist of two distinct approaches: Situational plays and statistical based models.  Situational plays are much more difficult to measure because they usually involve the motivation of a team.  Dan Gordon, noted handicapper, wrote "Without an emotional edge in a game in addition to value in a line, I won't put my money on it".  These types of plays consist of: Betting on the home underdog, betting against Monday Night winners if they are a favorite next week, betting the underdog in "look ahead" games etc.  As situational plays become more widely known they become less useful because they will impact the way the line is set.
The widespread use of technology has brought with it more modern sports betting systems.  These systems are typically algorithms and simulation models based on regression analysis. Jeff Sagarin, a sports statistician, has brought attention to sports by having the results of his models published in USA Today.  He is currently paid as a consultant by the Dallas Mavericks for his advice on lineups and the use of his Winval system, which evaluates free agents. Brian Burke, a former Navy fighter pilot turned sports statistician, has published his results of using regression analysis to predict the outcome of NFL games. Ken Pomeroy is widely accepted as a leading authority on college basketball statistics.  His website includes his College Basketball Ratings, a tempo based statistics system.  Some statisticians have become very famous for having successful prediction systems.  Dare wrote "the effective odds for sports betting and horse racing are a direct result of human decisions and can therefore potentially exhibit consistent error".  Unlike other games offered in a casino, prediction in sporting events can be both logical and consistent.
In modern times, especially in widely followed sports such as football and basketball, game and player statistics, as well as team and league data, have evolved into a true scientific discipline. By leveraging numerous parameters such as historical match results and individual player performance, it has become possible to generate highly accurate predictions. There are now well-known systems that conduct scientific studies on football predictions, supported by advanced mathematics and artificial intelligence. One such system, Soccerseer, is capable of producing predictions with a remarkably high level of accuracy.
Other more advance models include those based on Bayesian networks, which are causal probabilistic models commonly used for risk analysis and decision support. Based on this kind of mathematical modelling, Constantinou et al., have developed models for predicting the outcome of association football matches. What makes these models interesting is that, apart from taking into consideration relevant historical data, they also incorporate all these vague subjective factors, like availability of key players, team fatigue, team motivation and so on. They provide the user with the ability to include their best guesses about things that there are no hard facts available. This additional information is then combined with historical facts to provide a revised prediction for future match outcomes. The initial results based on these modelling practices are encouraging since they have demonstrated consistent profitability against published market odds.
Nowadays sport betting is a huge business; there are many websites (systems) alongside betting sites, which give tips or predictions for future games. Some of these prediction websites (tipsters) are based on human predictions, but others on computer software sometimes called prediction robots or bots. Prediction bots can use different amount of data and algorithms and because of that their accuracy may vary.

== Social science ==
Prediction in the non-economic social sciences differs from the natural sciences and includes multiple alternative methods such as trend projection, forecasting, scenario-building and Delphi surveys. The oil company Shell is particularly well known for its scenario-building activities.
One reason for the peculiarity of societal prediction is that in the social sciences, "predictors are part of the social context about which they are trying to make a prediction and may influence that context in the process". As a consequence, societal predictions can become self-destructing. For example, a forecast that a large percentage of a population will become HIV infected based on existing trends may cause more people to avoid risky behavior and thus reduce the HIV infection rate, invalidating the forecast (which might have remained correct if it had not been publicly known). Or, a prediction that cybersecurity will become a major issue may cause organizations to implement more security cybersecurity measures, thus limiting the issue.

In politics it is common to attempt to predict the outcome of elections via political forecasting techniques (or assess the popularity of politicians) through the use of opinion polls. Prediction games have been used by many corporations and governments to learn about the most likely outcome of future events.

== Prophecy ==