Could financial theories be considered pseudo-science?
Most of financial analysis is not about predicting the future, it’s the study of the behavior of a complex non-deterministic system, based on a variety of influences. You can make hypotheses, experiment (by replaying historical data, or, in limited markets or in market simulators, by directly influencing it), attempt to build theories that explain the observations, refine them. That financial analysis is science. On the other hand, there are fraudsters who use scientific-sounding language, pretend to follow models, and earn people’s trust while not actually doing anything scienfic. Madoff is the best known recent example — his pseudo-financial language convinced general public but not actual financial analysts. That’s pseudo-science. As for forecasts.. Physics is science, but no physicist (or mathematician or astronomer or what have you) can predict the future of three mutually attracted bodies. If someone claims to do so, it can be tested.
