Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner used to spend every evening watching movies. Their favourites were cheesy – the type of film where someone says, "Secure the perimeter!" Why do I mention this in the context of Foundation? Because this adaptation of Isaac Asimov's novels started out as a thought-provoking series, but is now a "Secure the perimeter!" It has been two years since Foundation last aired, so if you have forgotten where we left off, that is understandable.

In the age of big data and advanced computational methods, the prediction of large-scale social behaviors, reminiscent of Isaac Asimov's fictional science of Psychohistory, is becoming increasingly feasible. This paper consists of a theoretical exploration of the integration of computational power and mathematical frameworks, particularly through Topological Data Analysis (TDA) (Carlsson, Vejdemo-Johansson, 2022) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), to forecast societal trends through social media data analysis. By examining social media as a reflective surface of collective human behavior through the systematic behaviorist approach (Glenn, et al., 2016), I argue that these tools provide unprecedented clarity into the dynamics of large communities. This study dialogues with Asimov's work, drawing parallels between his visionary concepts and contemporary methodologies, illustrating how modern computational techniques can uncover patterns and predict shifts in social behavior, contributing to the emerging field of digital sociology -- or even, Psychohistory itself.

The Apple TV series Foundation tells the story of a group of scientists trying to shepherd the galaxy through a centuries-long dark age. Science fiction author Anthony Ha says the series strays a bit too far from its highly intellectual source material, a series of classic novels by Isaac Asimov. And in the show it's really all about individual action, and psychohistory becomes this kind of magic that can predict individual action," Ha says in Episode 503 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "I understand why they made that change. If you make a show where the hero doesn't matter, individuals don't matter, that is both a bleak and maybe not particularly interesting show, but it did feel like there was a real loss in that adaptation choice." Geek's Guide to the Galaxy host David Barr Kirtley agrees that Foundation often substitutes Hollywood formula for Asimov's more cerebral approach. "Asimov's whole appeal is that you see smart people being rational," he says. "If I wanted to see hot people expressing strong emotions and doing cool athletic stuff, I could watch anything on TV.

An innocent viewer of the new Apple TV series "Foundation"--a lavish production complete with clone emperors, a haunted starship, and a killer android who tears off her own face--might be surprised to learn that the novels it's based on inspired Paul Krugman to become an economist. Isaac Asimov's classic saga revolves around the dismal science of "psychohistory," a hybrid of math and psychology that can predict the future. Its inventor, Hari Seldon, lives in a twelve-thousand-year-old galactic empire, which, his equations reveal, is about to collapse. "Interstellar wars will be endless," he warns. His followers establish a Foundation on the frontier world of Terminus--a colony tasked with conserving all human knowledge--where they spend the next millennium fulfilling "Seldon's plan" to reunite the galaxy.

The new Apple TV series Foundation, based on the classic novel by Isaac Asimov, isn't slated to be released until next year, but science fiction author Anthony Ha is already anticipating its release--Foundation is one of his all-time favorite books. "Foundation was the series that made me realize I was a science fiction fan," Ha says in Episode 434 of the Geek's Guide to the Galaxy podcast. "It brings me as much pleasure as any book can when I re-read it, so I probably end up re-reading it every few years." Foundation tells the story of Hari Seldon and his followers, who use the futuristic science of psychohistory to plot their course through a galactic dark age and preserve scientific knowledge. Geek's Guide to the Galaxy host David Barr Kirtley has always loved the concept.