aftcast en · NOUN
Etymology
From aft + cast, modelled on forecast. See fore and aft.
Meanings
-
(informal) A kind of analysis which takes an event which has already happened, or is assumed to happen, and studies the causes which could have led up to that event.
We should not be too harsh about forecasters, however; we have the benefit of hindsight now, yet it is not much easier to answer the questions about the past than about the present or future. Postdiction is almost as hard as prediction; aftcasts almost as hard as forecasts.
1977, Ithiel de Sola Pool, Craig Decker, Stephen Dizard, Kay Israel, Pamela Rubin, Barry Weinstein, “Foresight and Hindsight: The Case of the Telephone”, in Ithiel de Sola Pool, editor, The Social Impact of the Telephone, Cambridge, M.A.; London: The MIT Press, →ISBN, page 151:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| aftcasts | Number=Plur | lexicographic |