Generally speaking, predictors and prognosticators provide good grist for the comedic mill. The future is notoriously difficult to anticipate, for all the best and all the worst reasons. And human beings too easily fall into the twin traps of (1) being sure that things will go more or less as they desire, or (2) being sure that things will go more or less exactly as they fear. History, however, often cuts an unpredictable figure as it dances its way through time. We pull down our barns and build bigger ones, muttering comfortably to ourselves about the wisdom of our long-term plans, but, staring into the darkness of our sleepless nights, we are all too aware of the anxieties that accompany us in our efforts. And when we anticipate badly, we mourn the tragedy of our mis-preparations, while wiser souls look on and chuckle at the comedy of our pretensions. We...

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