Forecasting, n. The attempt to predict the unknowable by measuring the irrelevant; a task that, in one way or another, employs most people on Wall Street.
Because the human mind hates admitting the truth that the world is largely random and unpredictable, forecasters will always be in demand, regardless of their futility. (…) When both forecaster and client exaggerate the quality of forecasts, the client will often win the race to the poorhouse.
(Zitiert aus „The Devil’s Financial Dictionary“ mit der freundlichen Erlaubnis des Autors.)