Nostradamus : Prophet or Fraud?
By laylomo
@laylomo (165)
United States
November 1, 2007 3:13am CST
I watched the new History Channel on Nostradamus's "newly discovered" watercolor, pictures that suggest the end of the world.
While the series was running, there was a voice in the back of my head saying "how much of this can be true?"
For those of you unfamiliar with Nostradamus:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostradamus
He was a 16th century French mystic who quote many predicts of the future. Most famous is Les Propheties (1555), a series of quatrains that vaguely describe future events. Many Nostradamus followers believe that the quatrains have predicted major world events, such as World War I, World War II, the French Revolution, the rise of Adolf Hitler, and the attack of the World Trade Center on September 11th, among others. Skeptics on the other hand, argue that Nostradamus is too vague - sometimes he is also misinterpreted, misquoted, or mistranslated to fit the quatrains to the events in question.
And so, the question I pose is - What do you think of Nostradamus? Do you think his claims are legitimate, that he actually has the ability to predict the future? Or is he misinterpreted?
1 person likes this
2 responses
@ljcapps (1925)
• United States
6 Nov 07
First I must tip my hat to you on this conversation, not many here on mylot are willing to get into a theoretical conversation as well thought out as yours. But on to Nostradamus. I am not an avid follower of his writings but it is rather eerie as far as the predictions he made about the advances we as humans have made since his time, Would I say he was a soothsayer? I really don't know, as far as his predictions I can't help but wonder how authentic these lost books are. I would say he was more of a savant than psychic. With the advances he made in his lifetime he had to realize that others would take up his quest for flight and refine his ideas. Example look at one of his first designs for a flying machine (the one with the spiraled top) and compare it to the modern helicopter.
So what is your stand on his predictions?
@laylomo (165)
• United States
6 Nov 07
Thank you for your "tip of the hat." It's sad, really, to see the level of discussion on Mylot declining. Glad to see other Mylotters interested in thought-provoking discussions.
I, personally, don't really believe in Nostradamus. When watching the documentary on his "lost books," the narrator said that many skeptics are intrigued by his theories, and I am one of them. Interesting, sure. Believing? Not really.
There are certain things that strike my interest. Nostradamus, according to some scholars, pointed out judgment day will come in 2012. The scary thing is that the Mayan calendar ALSO ends in 2012. Coincidence? Hopefully.
But of course some things are a bit shaky. For one, validity of many of his "documents" are questioned, as many are copied from his "original texts", etc. And this newly discovered "watercolor" archive? A bit shady, I think. And if he really was a seer, able to prevent the actions of the future, why doesn't he just explicitly come out and say it? If I had the power of prediction, the ability to change the way the future may unfold, I'd do my darn best to ensure that the proper course of action be taken.
1 person likes this
@ljcapps (1925)
• United States
6 Nov 07
One problem with Nostradamus trying to change what he "saw". That was what 600 years ago? With the arrogance of modern people most would say the same thing they did back then. The guy is off his nut. Oh and with "judgement day" happening in 2012, it could be coincidence, or it could be accurate, just remember that our calendar is off by about 7 years. That whole gap between B.C and A.D.
@flowerchilde (12529)
• United States
6 Nov 07
hmmm... 2012 + 7 ='s 2019... possible! I've studied and study the Book of Revelation/Apocalypse, and the prophets.. What most miss is how before total apocalypse there needs to occur [1] a world governing! [2] and a "world" peace treaty "accord, league" which will be ratified for seven years.. I don't think all this can come to pass by 2019... by 2029 tho! Maybe.. This life IS apocalypse.. And I think many, including Nostradamus, have been able to perceive this, as it really is quite obvious.. but as for accuracy.. the Book of Revelation/apocalypse is the one riddle that's right on, with many keys which open up the message. I wrote a book about it (it's not a well understood book!)
www.inner-monastery.com
@rockvixen (894)
• United States
14 Nov 07
I too saw this on the History Channel, and you know what? I used to think that his predictions were all true, but I thought about it, and I noticed something, he predicted this in a time where the world was changing, and there were evil people in his time. So some things seem very similar to what events have occured in our lifetime, but granted that he predicted it all, is a little unusual. Perhaps, some predictions were true, but how many times did he predict worlds end? Many times, and look at us, we are still here.
@laylomo (165)
• United States
15 Nov 07
He never predict as to exactly WHEN the world actually would end. The "Lost Book" that I mentioned is not verified as Nostradamus. There is no specific mention of a date or time period when apocalypse will hit. Hindsight bias is all Nostradamus is.
Yes, a lot of skeptics point out that perhaps his writings were commentary on his time.
