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‘Prediction is very difficult, especially if it’s about the future’
Niels Bohr
You don’t have to be a Nobel Prize winning physicist to figure out that predicting the future is a near impossible task, but that doesn’t stop us trying to do so – particularly here in Ireland, so we’ve looked at some ways we try to do so and if there’s any point.
If you carry low, it’s a boy
Of all the things people like to predict, the sex of your unborn child is right up the top. The height of your bump, the amount of morning sickness, the heartbeat of your unborn – even the rotation of your suspended wedding ring are all signs apparently except they’re not. You have to bear in mind that all those soothsayers have a 50% chance of being right.
Reading your Horoscope
This is still something that 34% of us do each day. In truth, the belief that the stars influence what happens to us here on earth goes back centuries. And like most beliefs that have existed that long, there is absolutely no scientific proof to it at all. Except, of course, for the fact that believers tend to retrofit their day to their Horoscope rather than the other way around.
Catching the Bouquet
Originating from the ancient practice of tearing pieces of the Bride’s gown for good luck (for the tearer not the Bride!) the bouquet was introduced as a more symbolic practice. It has sometimes evolved into a full contact sport, with the winner supposedly the next person to get married. There are no statistics on whether or not there’s any truth to this particular nuptial forecasting, but it remains incredibly unlikely.
‘Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight…’
We love the weather here in Ireland. No wonder, we’ve got rather a lot of it. So there are plenty of ways in which we try to predict the it. The old ‘Red sky at night, shepherd’s delight, red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning’ saying does, surprisingly have some truth to it. In Ireland we get our weather predominantly from the west and an evening red sky means that departing clouds are illuminated suggesting fairer weather is on the way. It’s not something you’d bet your house on though!
Trying to predict any sporting event
We’re all armchair experts here in Ireland. Few nations are as obsessed with the notion of guessing the outcome of sporting events as the Irish. The thing is, of course, it’s an impossible thing to do consistently well. Which accounts for the large profits enjoyed by Irish Bookmakers. But from local GAA games, to international rugby, point-to-points to the Gold Cup nothing stops us from believing we know what we’re doing.
All of which goes to prove that you can’t really predict the future. You can, however, be prepared for whatever it might throw at you with Irish Life Family Protection.
Find out more here