emmyrichie:
- No matter how perfectly a wound heals, the scare will still remain...

emmyrichie:
- You can take a person off the street, but you can take the street off em.

emmyrichie:
- A bleached skin will always return to its original state even worse than it were.

emmyrichie:
- An already dried fish can't be straightened out, else it scatters.

emmyrichie:
- A spoilt clock is always correct twice daily.

emmyrichie:
- One can't expect to see a storey building on a foundation that's carved out for a bungalow.

emmyrichie:
Oh! Yes! I believe. Once a soldier, always a soldier.

englishmart:
No. But I believe future behaviours are a great predictor of prior behaviour.

burningspear:


@englishmart, your question incites some stream of thoughts and spurs interesting study. The impact of the past behaviour on the present behaviour has been a subject of discussion among leadership scholars, forensic psychologists, security and risk management experts. For instance, while Franklin (2013) sees “Past as prelude. So neat, so clean. So full of certitude. Like a fortune cookie Confucianism”, others (Luongo, 2008; Weitzenkorn, 2011) observe that history of one’s life, what people have done in the past, and currently doing, is the ideal basis for predicting what they will do in the future. Johnstone (2003) concurs that “when it comes to human beings, the best predictor of future behaviour is the past behaviour”. However, Johnstone somewhat made a little shift from his earlier views when he stated, in his later work, that “For the best predictor human behaviour isn’t always accurate” (Johnstone, 2005). Pellegrini (2014) opines that there is no perfect way to forecast life outcomes for people.

Though many studies on human behaviours agree that past behaviour is a useful marker for future behaviour. However, Franklin (2013) cautions that such is only under certain specific conditions:
1. High-frequency, habitual behaviors are more predictive than infrequent behaviors.
2. Predictions work best over short time intervals.
3. The anticipated situation must be essentially the same as the past situation that activated the behavior.
4. The behavior must not have been extinguished by corrective or negative feedback.
5. The person must remain essentially unchanged.
6. The person must be fairly consistent in his or her behaviors.

We have seen and heard the cases of bad people who later became transformed from inside out for good.
The biblical Zacchaeus, tax fraudster, who became a changed man and made restitution (Luke, 19:1-10);
Mary Magdalene, who turned the mass of her crimes (John 8:1-11; Luke 8:2; Mark 16:19) to virtues and served God till the very end (Matthew 28:1–8; Mark 16:9–10; Luke 24:10; John 20:18);
Former hacker Kevin Mitnick was on the FBI's Most Wanted list before launching his own security firm;
Georgia Durante was a getaway driver for the Mafia before starting a stunt-driving company;
Frank William Abagnale was a world-famous con man by age 21. Now he runs a fraud consulting company (Abagnale & Nethanson, 2002);
Kweisi Mfume had several stints in jail before becoming a Congressman and serving as president of the NAACP;
Junior Johnson went to jail for smuggling alcohol before becoming a NASCAR driver;
Former Nixon aide Charles Colson spent a year in federal prison for his involvement in the Watergate scandal and then started Prison Fellowship;
Larry Jay Levine was sentenced to 10 years in prison and later used his experience to start his company, 'Wall Street Prison Consultants';
Judge Greg Mathis was in a gang and served time before launching his own TV show;
Actor Danny Trejo spent 12 years robbing stores, but now he only plays 'the bad guy' in movies;
Stephen Richards spent nine years in prison for selling marijuana before becoming a professor of criminal justice;
Quarterback Michael Vick went to prison for 18 months for running a dog-fighting ring before getting signed by the Eagles in 2009.
There are many more in this list

Milgram (1963 & 1974) and Zimbardo (2007) studies have also shown how good people turn evil. Grant (2013) study appears to show the very point at which people tend to turn evil or good.

In my views therefore, if the past is the best predictor of future behaviour, then there is no place of the society or environment or education or even conscience in behavioural shaping of the individual. And as such we have no hope of Paradise!

englishmart:
you don't expect me to read all of those

zboyd:
Do you believe that past behavior is a predictor of future behavior?

Abbott:


My opinion: No.

Elaborating a bit, in law, there is what is known as Similar Facts Evidence which essentially means that proof of facts of past misconduct is admissible as evidence to hold a person responsible for a present misconduct. That is the way the world works. That is why we convicted prisoners when out of prison are called ex-cons, it is why people are known by their evil, ugly and dirty past and not what they are presently even if it is a complete opposite of what they used to be.

This is the theme of the classic, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.

Our environment always sees us from the eyes of our past, especially where it is one that is shameful, ugly, dirty or evil. I should also add, eagerly too, when God sees us, he does not see our ugly/shameful past rather, he sees us for what he has truly created us to be.

lawrenceunaa:
ya cos u can't keep drinking one bottle
u would increase with time

Dominiquez:
I can easily predict what you will do tomorrow by your approach to things and your attitude to people around you.


Is like dating a hot tempered lady today and believing that she will be a cool type when we get married.

That's not possible.

Ilekere:
My lil brother, you're a christain. Stop calling hoes hoes. Call them, free givers.



*when I saw maclatunji's post, I got scared thinkingthat I had ventured into the religion section* whewww! I don't want no damn Christian/Muslim bullshiat on my profile

burningspear:


Thank you for the reminder and point made, Abbott. 'Les Miserables' tried to examine the nature of law and grace. Jean Valjean, an ex-convict, and later a repeat offender, was haunted by that stigma, especially by die hard Inspector Javert, whose mission was to ensure Valjean never walked away from his past no matter how hard his try. But Valjean finished strong on the good side - by grace. The turning point was Bishop Myriel’s exceptional character and forgiveness. That was what changed Valjean from bad to the very good and honest man he later became! I keep wondering what man was Bishop Myriel. I can never forget that line and the learning from it!

Drawing from 'Les Miserables', prior behavior cannot be a good marker or predictor of future Behavior.

Abbott:


In explaining his exceptional character, I would say that wasn't a natural/inherent nature in man. Man, 99.9%, and justifiably too, would have attacked a their or at the very least, exposed him and handed him over to "law". Going forward, the fact of his priesthood and the godly nature cultivated over the course of time should explain sufficiently, I think, this gracious gesture.