Applied Data Mining for Forecasting Using SAS

Preface

It is utterly impossible that a mathematical formula should make the future known to us, and those who think it can would once have believed in witchcraft.

Jacob Bernoulli, in Ars Conjectadi, 1713

Curiosity about “what will happen next” is part of human nature, and thus the first attempts at forecasting are found rooted in history. In the ancient and medieval times, prophets like the Oracle of Delphi or Nostradamus had the status of demigods. The situation is significantly different in the 21^st century, though, when predicting the future is not divine magic anymore but a necessity in contemporary business. Thousands of professionals are building forecasts in almost all areas of human activity. Since the global recession of 2008–2009, ...