History Main / PrescienceByAnalysis

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''{{Film/Pi}}'': Max Renn is a reclusive mathematician/numerologist who is trying to find the universal constant that will allow him to predict every pattern in nature. Specifically, a group of Wall Street bankers are funding his research to help them predict the stock market with perfect accuracy.
* In the ''[[Film/SherlockHolmes2009 Sherlock Holmes]]'' films starring Creator/RobertDowneyJr, Holmes has this as his trademark skill in combat situations. Before combat even begins, he can predict how a battle would play out to the exact mark thanks to him calculating the situation before hand. In his confrontation with Moriarty at the end of the second film, it's revealed that Moriarty has the same ability.

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[AC: {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* Shiro from ''LightNovel/NoGameNoLife'' is a ChildProdigy capable of high level calculations. While her skills are useful in alot of the games she and Sora compete together in, one of her greatest uses for it is in the realm of [=FPS=] games. After acquiring enough information, she can predict the movement and actions of her opponents to such an extent that to others she seems like she can see into the future. It's only when her opponents cheat that her calculations fail.

[[AC: Comic Books]]
* ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'': The Mad Thinker ''lives'' for this trope. That's basically his thing: use complex maths to predict the results of his plans. That, and make nigh-unstoppable robots without mind.
* ''ComicBook/CivilWar'': ComicBook/IronMan thinks that superheroes should be forced to work under government oversight; ComicBook/CaptainAmerica thinks that they should still be allowed to do what they think is right. All the other characters in the Marvel Universe have to take sides. Reed Richards, from the ComicBook/FantasticFour, supports Iron Man: his maths prove that lack of oversight would lead to several world-destroying disasters. This is explored even further in the Fantastic Four's own comic, where Richards and the Mad Thinker compare notes. The Mad Thinker grants that Richards' equations are far more advanced than those he could come up with, but, as he had done himself in the past, Richards committed the grave mistake of ignoring the "[[ForWantOfANail human factor]]". By being so focused on his equations, he ignored the Invisible Woman's viewpoint, who then left him to join Cap's resistance.

[[AC: {{Film}}]]
* In the ''[[Film/SherlockHolmes2009 Sherlock Holmes]]'' films starring Creator/RobertDowneyJr Holmes has this as his trademark skill in combat situations. Before combat even begins, he can predict how a battle would play out to the exact mark thanks to him calculating the situation before hand. In his confrontation with Moriarty at the end of the second film, it's revealed that Moriarty has the same ability.
* ''Film/{{Pi}}'': Max Renn is a reclusive mathematician/numerologist who is trying to find the universal constant that will allow him to predict every pattern in nature. Specifically, a group of Wall Street bankers are funding his research to help them predict the stock market with perfect accuracy.

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]

* Subverted in Creator/RobertSilverberg's ''The Stochastic Man'': the title character is a stochastics expert who runs an agency that predicts the future (specifically, business risks and stock exchange rates) based on hard maths--but gives it up after meeting his mentor who can ''actually'' see the future and teaches him the same.
* ''1610: A Sundial in a Grave'' by Creator/MaryGentle revolves around a form of mathematics that can predict future actions, with such precision that a mathematician with no sword-wielding aptitude is capable of winning a fight by predicting it several months in advance and then practicing the sequence of moves that will result in victory. One character turns out to be manipulating events because he's foreseen a catastrophe four hundred years in the future that can only be averted if he starts laying the groundwork now.
* Among the many abilities granted to the Number Man in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' is the ability to predict the future through probability, which he can use in combat to predict the moves of his enemies before they make them.

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E09StatisticalProbabilities Statistical Probabilities]]", a group of genetically-enhanced savants are given access to secret war-related documents. They predict that the Dominion War will cost billions of lives, and to prevent such a loss of life they recommend that the Federation immediately surrender. Naturally, the Federation leaders do not accept the recommendation. They also predict that ultimately the Dominion will then be overthrown by a rebellion starting on Earth... but utterly fail to predict that the Dominion ''also'' predicted this and are planning to wipe out the planet (which the audience found out a few episodes previous in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E06SacrificeOfAngels Sacrifice of Angels]]".
* ''Series/Numb3rs'' has Charlie use math to predict crimes before they can happen for the FBI in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles.
* The premise of ''Series/PersonOfInterest'' is that a computer extrapolates from surveillance data who will be a threat to national security, and as a side effect predicts other violent crimes.

[[AC: TabletopGames]]
* In ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase'' the psi-slight Predictive Boost temporarily amps up the Bayesian probability machine features of the brain.
* The [[ConspiracyTheorist Flake]] playbook in ''TabletopGame/MonsterOfTheWeek'' has a special move called "Connect the Dots", which lets them figure out, among other things, where and when then next crucial plot event will take place from the minor in-game clues (out-of-character, this allows their player to flat-out ask the GameMaster to reveal future plot details).

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', the Railroad has P.A.M., the Predictive Analytics Machine, a pre-war US spy-ops computer loaded into an [[FemBot Assaultron]] frame. She is a secondary QuestGiver for the Railroad faction.
* In ''Videogame/FalloutNewVegas'', Robert House was able to predict almost the exact date that the world would be plunged into a nuclear apocalypse and would have succeeded in fully protecting Las Vegas had he not been off by just ''one day''. His ability to predict the odds and push them towards his favor is the game's way of justifying a high luck stat, with the cybernetic implant that boosts your Luck stat being a "Probability Calculator" that lets you perceive various probabilities and choose the best one.

[[AC: WebComics]]

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]

** ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'': Hari Seldon invents a whole field of science called "psychohistory" to predict the future of galactic civilization. He prophesizes the fall of the Empire, and establishes the Foundation to shorten the impending dark age. The system is later revealed to have a LogicalWeakness in that a powerful foreign leader with sufficiently nonstandard psychology throws the future off track; luckily there was a backup plan. In fact, the backup plan covers, to varying degrees, all the logical weaknesses, including that being a matter of probabilities it only takes a few highly improbable but not impossible events to throw things off course -- and the Seldon Plan covers a ''millennium'', so it is more likely than not that such events would happen eventually. [[spoiler: That's why the backup is a secret organization, equipped with PsychicPowers and psychohistory, continually working behind the scenes to manipulate things to ''keep'' the Plan to track, or push it back on course if that fails.]]

* When Bender overclocks himself in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', he develops the ability to predict every possible outcome. He uses this ability to stop Mom's killbots, to predict when ceiling fans would fall on Zoidberg, and write down a detailed account of the future of Fry and Leela's relationship.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' Iron Man has a software that scans the battles and battle scenarios, and predicts the best strategy to defeat the enemy, along with the probability of success. They get in a big problem when ComicBook/RedSkull, who steals an armour in the first episode, finally finds this software and learns how to use it.

* In ''Videogame/FalloutNewVegas'', Robert House was able to predict almost the exact date that the world would be plunged into a nuclear apocalypse and would have succeeded in fully protecting Las Vegas had he not been off by just ''one day''. His ability to predict the odds and push them towards his favor is the game's way of justifying a high luck stat, with one of the cybernetic implants being a "Probability Calculator" that lets you perceive various probabilities and choose the best one.

[[AC: WebOriginal]]
* Among the many abilities granted to the Number Man in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' is the ability to predict the future through probability, which he can use in combat to predict the moves of his enemies before they make them.

* In Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' series Hari Seldon invents a whole field of science called "psychohistory" to predict the future of galactic civilization. He prophesizes the fall of the Empire, and establishes the Foundation to shorten the impending dark age. The system is later revealed to have a LogicalWeakness in that a powerful foreign leader with sufficiently nonstandard psychology throws the future off track; luckily there was a backup plan. In fact, the backup plan covers, to varying degrees, all the logical weaknesses, including that being a matter of probabilities it only takes a few highly improbable but not impossible events to throw things off course -- and the Seldon Plan covers a ''millennium'', so it is more likely than not that such events would happen eventually. [[spoiler: That's why the backup is a secret organization, equipped with PsychicPowers and psychohistory, continually working behind the scenes to manipulate things to ''keep'' the Plan to track, or push it back on course if that fails.]]
* Another Asimov work, the short story "All the Troubles of the World". The supercomputer Multivac is given full data on the entire Earth, including all of its citizens. It uses this information to predict the future actions of human beings and eliminate political crises, war and poverty. Recently it has been given the responsibility to predict all crimes in advance so they can be prevented from occurring.

* In the ''Film/SherlockHolmes'' films starring Creator/RobertDowneyJr Holmes has this as his trademark skill in combat situations. Before combat even begins, he can predict how a battle would play out to the exact mark thanks to him calculating the situation before hand. In his confrontation with Moriarty at the end of the second film, it's revealed that Moriarty has the same ability.

* In ''VideoGames/Fallout4'', the Railroad has P.A.M., the Predictive Analytics Machine, a pre-war US spy-ops computer loaded into an [[FemBot Assaultron]] frame. She is a secondary QuestGiver for the Railroad faction.

* 2000's ''WesternAnimation/ActionMan'' gave Alex Mann this ability. When his adrenaline reached a peak point, he could calculate what thing to do to defuse a situation (which usually involved an [[ExtremeSportExcusePlot extreme sports stunt of some kind]]). This ability also gave him an uncontrollable type of precognition. Coach Grey, the man responsible for Alex's ability, has a computer that can do the same on a larger scale.

* In Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' series Hari Seldon invents a whole field of science called "psychohistory" to predict the future of galactic civilization. He prophesizes the fall of the Empire, and establishes the Foundation to shorten the impending dark age. The system is later revealed to have a LogicalWeakness in that a powerful foreign leader with sufficiently nonstandard psychology throws the future off track; luckily there was a backup plan.

[[AC:Video Games]]

* In Creator/IsaacAsimov's ''Literature/{{Foundation}}'' series Hari Seldon invents a whole field of science called "psychohistory" to predict the future of galactic civilization. He prophesizes the fall of the Empire, and establishes the Foundation to shorten the impending dark age.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E09StatisticalProbabilities Statistical Probabilities]]", a group of genetically-enhanced savants are given access to secret war-related documents. They predict that the Dominion War will cost billions of lives, and to prevent such a loss of life they recommend that the Federation immediately surrender. Naturally, the Federation leaders do not accept the recommendation.

* When Bender overclocks himself in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', he develops the ability to predict every possible outcome. He uses this ability to stop Mom's killbots, to predict when ceiling fans would fall on Zoidberg, and [[spoiler:write down a detailed account of the future of Fry and Leela's relationship.]]

* 2000's ''WesternAnimation/ActionMan'' gave Alex Mann this ability. When his adrenaline reached a peak point, he could calculate what thing to do to defuse a situation (which usually involved an [[ExtremeSportExcusePlot extreme sports stunt of some kind]]). This ability also gave him an uncontrollable type of precognition.

So, how does one predict what's about to happen when there's no PsychicPowers in the setting? With probability and statistics, that's how. From the results of the next sports game to the fate of the human race, anything can be predicted, as long as we have all the background data and include it in the right equations. You don't think so? Then behold the board! Or even the RoomFullOfCrazy! There are all the equations! Oh, sure [[EEqualsMCHammer they look like gibberish]] for the untrained eye, but the math is there. The future can be predicted with 100% accuracy, [[ForWantOfANail except for that little detail we did not consider, and which ruined the whole equation]].

* 2000's ''Series/ActionMan'' gave Alex Mann this ability. When his adrenaline reached a peak point, he could calculate what thing to do to defuse a situation (which usually involved an [[ExtremeSportExcusePlot extreme sports stunt of some kind]]). This ability also gave him an uncontrollable type of precognition.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' Iron Man has a software that scans the battles and battle scenarios, and predicts the best strategy to defeat the enemy, along with the probability of success. They get in a big problem when ComicBook/RedSkull, who steals an armour in the first episode, finally finds this software and learns how to use it.

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "[[.php/Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E09StatisticalProbabilities Statistical Probabilities]]", a group of genetically-enhanced savants are given access to secret war-related documents. They predict that the Dominion War will cost billions of lives, and to prevent such a loss of life they recommend that the Federation immediately surrender. Naturally, the Federation leaders do not accept the recommendation.

It's a fairly common theme in science fiction, but somewhat more impractical in real life, there have been several attempts like game theory, and of course basic statistics and probability in regards to random events, but there's always randomness that prevents any prediction from being correct 100% of the time.

* ''Comicbook/FantasticFour'': The Mad Thinker ''lives'' for this trope. That's basically his thing: use complex maths to predict the results of his plans. That, and make nigh-unstoppable robots without mind.
* ''ComicBook/CivilWar'': Iron Man thinks that superheroes should be forced to work under government oversight; Captain America thinks that they should still be allowed to do what they think is right. All the other characters in the Marvel Universe have to take sides. Reed Richards, from the Fantastic Four, supports Iron Man: his maths prove that lack of oversight would lead to several world-destroying disasters. This is explored even further in the Fantastic Four's own comic, where Richards and the Mad Thinker compare notes. The Mad Thinker grants that Richards' equations are far more advanced than those he could come up with, but, as he had done himself in the past, Richards committed the grave mistake of ignoring the "[[ForWantOfANail human factor]]". By being so focused on his equations, he ignored the Invisible Woman's viewpoint, who then left him to join Cap's resistance.
* In ''ComicBook/IncredibleHulk'', ''Comicbook/TheIncredibleHercules'', and ''Comicbook/TotallyAwesomeHulk'', this is stated to be the "power/talent" of Amadeus Cho, the smartest kid in the world. He possesses a "hypermind" capable of making a seemingly endless number of calculations in his head within seconds, predicting what's going to happen.. [[PaintingTheMedium Visually, it appears as numbers and formulas floating in mid-air.]] Later, we learn that it runs in the family as his sister Maddie can do the same thing. In ''Comicbook/ChaosWar'', this was PlayedWith, as Cho and other super-intelligent characters (such as Comicbook/{{Galactus}}) accept that the BigBad Mikaboshi is unbeatable, but [[IdiotHero Hercules refuses to accept it.]]

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': In "Statistical Probabilities", a group of genetically-enhanced savants are given access to secret war-related documents. They predict that the Dominion War will cost billions of lives, and to prevent such a loss of life they recommend that the Federation immediately surrender. Naturally, the Federation leaders do not accept the recommendation.
* ''Series/Numb3rs'' has Charlie use math to predict crimes before they can happen for the FBI in Los Angeles.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' Iron Man has a software that scans the battles and battle scenarios, and predicts the best strategy to defeat the enemy, along with the probability of success. They get in a big problem when Red Skull, who steals an armour in the first episode, finally founds this software and learns how to use it.

* Adrian Veidt of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'' is the "World's Smartest Man" and he's able to use his vast intellect to predict and anticipate changes in politics, society, culture, human psychology and by smart timing, such as publicly revealing his secret identity at a time of widespread distrust in superheroism, he is able to cultivate an image of respectability and goodwill that he uses to build an immensely successful corporation, whose resources he then taps into [[spoiler:to unleash his devastating master-plan to save the world. He also anticipates that in a world without the cold war nuclear tensions, there would be an incipient baby boom, and he advices his company to invest in baby-care products to maximize profits]].

[[caption-width-right:350:And he would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those [[YouMeddlingKids meddling]] Comicbook/FantasticFour!]]

[[caption-width-right:350:And he would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for those meddling Comicbook/FantasticFour!]]

* ''ComicBook/CivilWar'': A group of teenage superheroes pick a brawl against super villains to film a reality show, which causes an explosion that destroys the city of Stamford. Iron Man thinks that superheroes should be forced to work under government oversight. Captain America thinks that they should still be allowed to do what they think is right. All the other characters in the Marvel Universe have to take sides. Reed Richards, from the Fantastic Four, supports Iron Man: his maths prove that lack of oversight would lead to several world-destroying disasters. This is explored even further at the Fantastic Four own comic, where Richards and the Mad Thinker compare notes. The Mad Thinker grants that Richards' equations are far more advanced than those he could come up with, but, as he had done himself in the past, he commited the grave mistake of ignoring the "[[ForWantOfANail human factor]]". By being so focused on his equation, he ignored the Invible Woman viewpoints, who then left him to join Cap's resistance.

* The eponymous ''Film/SherlockHolmes'' played by Creator/RobertDowneyJr of the movie of the same name has this as his trademark skill in combat situations. Before combat even begins, he can predict how a battle would play out to the exact mark thanks to him calculating the situation before hand.