Cassandra’s curse (syndrome, dilemma, complex) is cultural term for anyone whose motto is “I told you so”. It is the result of superior analytical skills coupled with relatively poor salesmanship. It can also be seen as a conflict between needed change and the order of the status quo. Since the prediction as the result of analysis, it can also be seen as the conflict the future rationality and present day emotionalism.

For those who didn’t pay attention in high school, Cassandra was the daughter of the king of Troy who repeatedly warned about the Trojan horse filled with Greek soldiers while being ignored all along. After the war Cassandra sought refugee in a nearby temple where she was found and raped by the invading heroes. She was then taken as a concubine by the invading king and was eventually murdered by the king’s wife and her boyfriend along with the king himself after the king’s wife had an affair.

I am sure there is a lesson to be learned here but it keeps escaping me.

For anyone thus cursed, the world, its people, everything, is like train wreck in slow motion. (It is interesting to note that the Cassandra complex is always associated the prediction of bad things happening, never positive things.) It is a curse because the train wreck can not be prevented solely for the reason that nobody listens.

The fact that the psychology was described 2000+ years ago obviously suggests that this is a human trait AND that humans are no wiser today than they were 2000 years ago.

One strategy for coping with the curse is to note that if you see a problem, you may either be right or wrong (usually right). However, if you open your mouth and turn out to be right, you will likely receive little appreciation. conversely, if you open your mouth and turn out to be wrong, you will receive much lamentation. The game theoretic solution is to keep your mouth shut and bear the curse silently. After all, it is only silly concern for your fellow human beings that makes you speak up in the first place.

Live and let die.