by using selective thinking--emphasizing the "hits", ignoring the "misses"--in order to lend credence to the prophecy and to give the impression of an accurate "prediction". Inaccurate predictions are omitted.

Supporters of a prediction sometimes contend that the problem lies not with the wording of the prediction, but with the interpretation--an argument sometimes used by supporters of religious texts. This argument may lead to the question: "What is the point of a prediction that cannot be