Cultures of Prediction

“This book provides a historical and philosophical analysis of four modes (or cultures) of prediction present in science and engineering since the 17th century, which have relied on mathematical tools: rational, empirical, iterative-numerical, and exploratory-iterative…. They encourage scholars to pay attention to all four modes and to be mindful of the complexity of predictive practices.”—Choice“Cultures of Prediction offers a history of predictive practices across several centuries of science and engineering, arguing that mathematical prediction is more varied than historians and philosophers have appreciated and that this variety clusters around several distinct cultures. Johnson and Lenhard show persuasively that these differences really are cultural rather than drily technical; they come down to values.”—Technology and Culture

Ann Johnson (1965−2016) was Associate Professor of Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University.

Johannes Lenhard holds the Heisenberg Professorship in Philosophy in Science and Engineering at Rhineland-Palatinate Technical University Kaiserslautern-Landau.

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