Really Sciency

Visit my other blog 'Really Sciency' looking at Climate Science and its portrayal, misrepresentation and denial in the media.

Monday 21 February 2011

More on Astrology


Why would an intelligent person believe something that has been proved not to work when proper studies of it were carried out? I can think of other subjects where this applies but let’s just look at Astrology.

Being open minded, I suppose that the stars and planets could influence our lives because in certain ways they may actually do. All living things respond to seasonal changes which are to a large part driven by astronomical forces.

People obviously believe that astrology type of predictions help them make decisions that they where going to have to make anyway. So all they really are is a crutch, conformation that a decision is supported by something greater than the person actually making it.

But questions should be asked like;
How could anyone else be able to use astronomical influence to predict the environment that another will find themselves in?
What has a persons time of birth got to do with it?
How do the same planets influence people in completely different ways?

Open minded is good. I am open minded about many things. When it comes to subjects like this I am open minded if the research is open to different interpretations or is inconclusive.

In this case being open minded about something that has been the subject of serious scientific study and when the results are not open to interpretation or are inconclusive is an unsound position to take. The research is conclusive that Astrology does not work in any meaning full way.

Open minded is good - but don't be so open minded that your brains fall out!

1 comment:

  1. When I was a young man I had a holiday fling with a beautiful Argentinian woman, her name was Viviana and she was gorgeous. We were on Koh Samui, at Big Buddha beach , that's not relevant actually. She saw this cabin where some clairvoyant was going to use astrology to tell your fortune yadda yadda yadda. Now in Thailand it is customary to haggle a bit over the price of everything. I was quite good at it, haggled, and got a reading for her for a few baht less. You can guess the ending !

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