India, April 18 -- Risk analysts, it would appear, have always been around. They've just gone by different names: oracles, divination experts, shamans.

An exhibition currently underway at Oxford University's Bodleian Library offers a riveting look at how people of the past sought to predict their future. The questions most commonly asked to oracles and divination experts are startlingly familiar: "Did my partner cheat on me?", "Will my mother's health improve?", "Are there better days coming?"

Oracles, Omens and Answers, which opened in December and concludes on April 27, has been curated by Michelle Pfeffer, a historian of science and religion, and David Zeitlyn, an anthropologist, both at Oxford University. It explores ancient predict...