science

Predicasts

Predicasts is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Predicasts rather than just read about it. In short: Predicasts, Inc. was among the first firms in the nascent information science industry and provided computerized data on businesses and industries. Predicasts was founded by Samuel Wolpert in 1960. ‘After a decade of work as a statistician in government and an economist in industry, Samuel Wolpert founded a small company in Cleveland, Ohio, to publish a collection of product forecasts based on the SIC Code.The journ…

Key takeaways

Predicasts belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Predicasts to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Predicasts from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Predicasts, Inc. was among the first firms in the nascent information science industry and provided computerized data on businesses and industries. Predicasts was founded by Samuel Wolpert in 1960. ‘After a decade of work as a statistician in government and an economist in industry, Samuel Wolpert founded a small company in Cleveland, Ohio, to publish a collection of product forecasts based on the SIC Code.The journal was intentioned as quarterly and to appeal to market researchers. In the first three years, annual revenue was under $50,000, but by 1970, sales had reached the $1 million mark. By the end of the 1970s, Predicasts had 25 publications, 120 employees, $4.5 million in revenue, and $0.7 million in pretax profits’. In 1982 Indian Head (the U.S. subsidiary of Thyssen-Bornemisza N.V. of the Netherlands.) purchased Predicasts, later reselling it to Information Access. In the early 1970’s businesses could access this information from their own computer terminals through Predicasts own PTS system which, at the time, was one of the largest online business information systems in the world.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Predicasts

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Predicasts claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Predicasts before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Predicasts ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Predicasts

In research: Predicasts appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Predicasts in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Predicasts is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1960 establishments in Ohio, American companies established in 1960, Information science, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Predicasts outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Predicasts in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Predicasts means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Predicasts out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Predicasts in simple terms?

Why does Predicasts matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Predicasts?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Predicasts.