Psychohistory

The science of historical prediction and macro-social manipulation. The main thesis is that the actions of trillions of individuals take on a fluidity and predictability which can be compared to that of molecules in gas. The very size of the population being dealt with factors out individual peculiarities and allows the prediction of its behavior. With the ability to predict the reaction of a population to a particular stimulus, comes the ability to manipulate that population, psychohistorians reason.

Psychohistory began as a combination of public relations/advertising techniques and behavioral science. Although its techniques have been put on a more rigorous footing, the basic principles are still not well understood. A number of minor experiments have confirmed the general validity of the science, but it was also shown to be too expensive to be of any practical utility. Research continues at a small number of Imperial universities.

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(SUPP-11, 1107; MT-ENCYC, 1120)

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