--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're better in the rearview mirror than…" description: "\"We're better in the rearview mirror than we are at predicting - 'cause you're never going to be right every time. You can handicap it. You can point to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/seth-godin-152_causes_we-re-better-in-the-rearview-mirror-than_213316.png" --- # We're better in the rearview mirror than we are at… ![“We're better in the rearview mirror than we are at predicting - 'cause you're never going to be right every time. You can handicap it. You can point to certain elements that make it work, and many of those elements come straight out of epidemiology, right?” quote by Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/seth-godin-152_causes_we-re-better-in-the-rearview-mirror-than_213316.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/seth-godin-152_causes_we-re-better-in-the-rearview-mirror-than_213316.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/seth-godin-152_causes_we-re-better-in-the-rearview-mirror-than_213316.png) > “We're better in the rearview mirror than we are at predicting - 'cause you're never going to be right every time. You can handicap it. You can point to certain elements that make it work, and many of those elements come straight out of epidemiology, right?” [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We tend to judge past performance more accurately than future outcomes, but we can improve predictions by applying epidemiological thinking. **In simple terms:** Past is clearer than future, but data helps forecast. Key Takeaway Use data‑driven patterns to anticipate trends. Themes prediction learning data analysis Mood analytical pragmatic Type advisory insightful When to use this quote - business strategy - health forecasting - personal finance - risk management Key Concepts epidemiology pattern recognition bias mitigation Questions to Reflect On - How can you apply epidemiology to non‑medical forecasts? - What biases affect your future judgments? A Different Perspective Predictions remain uncertain despite models. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Epidemiology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epidemiology/) [Handicaps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/handicaps/) [Mirrors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mirrors/) ## Related quotes > [Or, if I take that same auditorium and I make it much bigger and put more space between seats, it'll be quieter because it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/or-if-i-take-that-same-auditorium-and-i-make-it-much-bigger-and-put/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“For some reason there is a tendency to assume that one wild animal is a suitable model for another related species, whereas similar evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-wobeser/for-some-reason-there-is-a-tendency-to-assume-that-one-wild-animal-is/) Gary Wobeser > [I do think the Roman Catholic religion is a disease of the mind which has a particular epidemiology similar to that of a virus...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-do-think-the-roman-catholic-religion-is-a-disease-of-the-mind-which/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Epidemiologists routinely turn to models to predict the progression of an infectious disease. Fighting public suspicion of these models is as old as modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zeynep-tufekci/epidemiologists-routinely-turn-to-models-to-predict-the-progression/) [Zeynep Tufekci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zeynep-tufekci/) > [How do you react when your own government lies to you systematically about life-and-death questions? As I have noted earlier, the answer is political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harris-l-coulter/how-do-you-react-when-your-own-government-lies-to-you-systematically/) [Harris L Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harris-l-coulter/) > [I earned a Master's degree in Epidemiology from the Stanford University School of Medicine in 2009.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-blasey-ford/i-earned-a-master-s-degree-in-epidemiology-from-the-stanford/) [Christine Blasey Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-blasey-ford/) > [By any reasonable standard of proof, the combination of human epidemiology and track-analysis demonstrates that there is no threshold dose or dose-rate below which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gofman/by-any-reasonable-standard-of-proof-the-combination-of-human/) [John Gofman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gofman/) > [Epidemiology is like a bikini: what is revealed is interesting; what is concealed is crucial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-duesberg/epidemiology-is-like-a-bikini-what-is-revealed-is-interesting-what-is/) [Peter Duesberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-duesberg/) > [The whole idea of what is evidence for causation in epidemiology cannot be separated from tTindustry understood that if they could raise doubt about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devra-davis/the-whole-idea-of-what-is-evidence-for-causation-in-epidemiology/) [Devra Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devra-davis/) > [Germ theory, which secularized infectious disease, had a side effect: it sacralized epidemiology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-lepore/germ-theory-which-secularized-infectious-disease-had-a-side-effect-it/) [Jill Lepore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-lepore/) > [“Most people do not know what epidemiology is or how it contributes to the health of our society. This fact is somewhat paradoxical, given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashengrau-and-seage/most-people-do-not-know-what-epidemiology-is-or-how-it-contributes-to/) Ashengrau and Seage > [But we've all ended up giving body and soul to Africa, one way or another. Even Adah, who's becoming an expert in tropical epidemiology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/but-we-ve-all-ended-up-giving-body-and-soul-to-africa-one-way-or/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I'm not really good with predicting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-johnson/i-m-not-really-good-with-predicting/) [Jimmy Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-johnson/) > [Experts say this global warming is serious, and they are predicting now that by the year 2050, we will be out of party ice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/experts-say-this-global-warming-is-serious-and-they-are-predicting/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [People who are complaining about the Fed are people who've been predicting runaway inflation for five and six years, and it hasn't happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/people-who-are-complaining-about-the-fed-are-people-who-ve-been/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) ## More by Seth Godin > [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Forgive yourself for not being the richest, the thinnest, the tallest, the one with the best hair. Forgive yourself for not being the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/forgive-yourself-for-not-being-the-richest-the-thinnest-the-tallest/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The easier it is to quantify, the less it's worth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-easier-it-is-to-quantify-the-less-it-s-worth/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Developing expertise or assets that are not easily copied is essential; otherwise you're just a middleman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/developing-expertise-or-assets-that-are-not-easily-copied-is/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Leadership is a choice. It's the choice not to do nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/leadership-is-a-choice-it-s-the-choice-not-to-do-nothing/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The next thing you do today will be the most important thing on your agenda, because, after all, you're doing it next. Well, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-next-thing-you-do-today-will-be-the-most-important-thing-on-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I look at Starbucks, Howard Schultz has made many brilliant decisions, and one of the things that they did was they invented the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-look-at-starbucks-howard-schultz-has-made-many-brilliant-decisions/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Be relentlessly generous, without focusing on when it will come back to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/be-relentlessly-generous-without-focusing-on-when-it-will-come-back/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The public square is more public than ever, but minds are rarely changed in 140 character bursts and by selfies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-public-square-is-more-public-than-ever-but-minds-are-rarely/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Making an average pitch to average people, or having an average gala for average people isn't going to scale anymore. You've got to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/making-an-average-pitch-to-average-people-or-having-an-average-gala/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [Our job is to make change. Our job is to connect to people, to interact with them in a way that leaves them better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/our-job-is-to-make-change-our-job-is-to-connect-to-people-to-interact/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [“Life is actually far better than it is in the movies. And it takes longer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/life-is-actually-far-better-than-it-is-in-the-movies-and-it-takes/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [I don't think there's a shortage of remarkable ideas. I think your business has plenty of great opportunities to do great things. Nope, what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-shortage-of-remarkable-ideas-i-think-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [The mirror we hold up to the person next to us is one of the most important pictures she will ever see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-mirror-we-hold-up-to-the-person-next-to-us-is-one-of-the-most/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [If you're a marketer who doesn't know how to invent, design, influence, adapt, and ultimately discard products, then you're no longer a marketer. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/if-you-re-a-marketer-who-doesn-t-know-how-to-invent-design-influence/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) [Explore all 1,110 Seth Godin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) ## More Causes quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [Many patients imagine that they have tried everything. True, they have used many remedies, but they have never had the cause of their infirmity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-palmer/many-patients-imagine-that-they-have-tried-everything-true-they-have/) [Daniel D. Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-d-palmer/) > [Get out from that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans. Well, roll my breakfast cause I'm a hungry man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-joe-turner/get-out-from-that-kitchen-and-rattle-those-pots-and-pans-well-roll-my/) [Big Joe Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-joe-turner/) > [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/) [Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [God hides Himself behind causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-rollin/god-hides-himself-behind-causes/) [Charles Rollin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-rollin/) > [Guns have little or nothing to do with juvenile violence. The causes of youth violence are working parents who put their kids into daycare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/guns-have-little-or-nothing-to-do-with-juvenile-violence-the-causes/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) > [I don't wear rubbers cause you can't catch it twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-norton/i-don-t-wear-rubbers-cause-you-can-t-catch-it-twice/) [Jim Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-norton/) > [I have no hesitation in saying that although the American woman never leaves her domestic sphere and is in some respects very dependent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/i-have-no-hesitation-in-saying-that-although-the-american-woman-never/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [I love a lot of things, a whole lot of things / Like / My cousin comes to visit and you know he's from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eloise-greenfield/i-love-a-lot-of-things-a-whole-lot-of-things-like-my-cousin-comes-to/) Eloise Greenfield > [Many companies have long contended that stress in the home causes productivity loss in the market place.. and it does. But research now reveals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/many-companies-have-long-contended-that-stress-in-the-home-causes/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [The miracle drugs (neuroleptics) cause the worst plague of brain damage in medical history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-breggin/the-miracle-drugs-neuroleptics-cause-the-worst-plague-of-brain-damage/) [Peter Breggin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-breggin/) Browse all 9,070 Causes quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We're better in the rearview mirror than we are at predicting - 'cause you're never going to be right every time. You can handicap it. You can point to certain elements that make it work, and many of those elements come straight out of epidemiology, right?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Seth Godin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/we-re-better-in-the-rearview-mirror-than-we-are-at-predicting-cause/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Causes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/we-re-better-in-the-rearview-mirror-than-we-are-at-predicting-cause/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/seth-godin-152_causes_we-re-better-in-the-rearview-mirror-than_213316.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/seth-godin-152_causes_we-re-better-in-the-rearview-mirror-than_213316.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/595/seth-godin-152_causes_we-re-better-in-the-rearview-mirror-than_213316.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We're better in the rearview mirror than we are at predicting - 'cause you're never going to be right every…” — Seth Godin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Seth Godin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We're better in the rearview mirror...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/we-re-better-in-the-rearview-mirror-than-we-are-at-predicting-cause/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/we-re-better-in-the-rearview-mirror-than-we-are-at-predicting-cause/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```