with many different events.
Suppose an old text mentions animals, wealth, disease, war, or a mysterious change in society.
Centuries later, someone may notice an event that appears to match one of those themes.
The connection can then spread online.
Once thousands of people see the interpretation, it can begin to sound like established historical fact—even if the original text never made such a specific prediction.
Nostradamus and the Problem of Retrospective Predictions
One of the biggest challenges with Nostradamus is that many supposed predictions are identified after something happens.
This is called retrospective interpretation.
Imagine that a verse contains references that could be interpreted in several different ways.
Before an event happens, nobody knows which interpretation will supposedly fit.
After the event, however, people can select the details that seem to match and ignore the ones that don’t.
That can make an old passage appear remarkably accurate.
