Nostradamus

From SkepticWiki

1 Definition
- 1.1 Origins
- 1.2 Quotations
2 Discussion
3 Nostradamus and the September 11 Attacks
4 Related Topics
5 References
6 Comments

[edit] Definition

Michel de Nostredame (1503–1566), more popularly known by his Latinized appelation Nostradamus, was a French-born physician and "seer" who wrote a set of allegedly prophetic Quatrains titled The Centuries.

[edit] Origins

[edit] Quotations

[edit] Discussion

James Randi has written an extensively researched book titled The Mask of Nostradamus [1], in which he dissects both the man's life and the predictions made by his Quatrains.

Most of the prophecies made by Nostradamus were of a sufficiently vague nature that they could apply to anything at any time in the future. Some were not prophecies at all, but retellings of events that were recent history in Nostradamus's own time couched in the mystical language of his Quatrains. And a few were prophecies specific enough that it is possible to tell whether they were correct or not (most of them were wrong).

Compounding the problems with evaluating the prophecies that Nostradamus actually made is the nigh-mythical status of the man within the prophecy community. Passages he wrote which were never intended to be prophetic have been re-interpreted as prophecy. Some passages, including the notorious "Hister" reference used as Allied propaganda during World War II, are the result of unscrupulous rewriting by later authors.

[edit] Nostradamus and the September 11 Attacks

Following the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington DC on 11 September 2001, emails were circulated claiming that Nostradamus had predicted the attacks with amazing accuracy. The following is an example of the alleged prediction:

In the City of God there will be a great thunder,

Two brothers torn apart by Chaos,

while the fortress endures,

the great leader will succumb.

Many variants of this meme evolved with references to “metal birds” and a “new city”. Even without these additions, it is not hard to equate “two brothers” with the World Trade Center and “the fortress” with the Pentagon.

This was not written by Nostradamus at all, but who among email chain-letter forwarders has any reason to fact-check such an amazing story? Certainly no one would lie about such an easily verifiable thing. The truth, it turns out, is even stranger.

This verse was actually written by college student Neil Marshall, where he used it as an example of how a vague prophecy could appear specific, but could mean anything at all. He criticizes his own “prophecy” heavily:

[W]hat does City of God mean? It could be Mecca, Medina, Rome, Jerusalem, Salt Lake City, or any holy city depending on your religion. What do I mean by thunder--a storm? War? EarthQuake? lots of stuff can be described by thunder. Marshall’s page archived here

Incredibly, Marshall wrote this quatrain in 1997, prior to the attacks! It is ironic that what began as an intentionally contrived vague example became what was seen as a remarkably accurate and specific prophecy.