Anti-Quackery & Science Blog
So true. I included that test in my list of tests that astrology failed.
Btw, I have had some responses from astrologers to my Astrology Challenge. I’ll be writing about it soon.
I've taken on a few astrology enthusiasts by comparing it to another concept that purports to determine a person's personality and prospects from superficial and seemingly unrelated characteristics: racism. Got the idea from Sagan, but I can't find the reference. It's not nearly a scientific debunking nor is it entirely fair, but it ususally shuts them up.
Hrm. Maybe I should become an astrologer? It certainly pays better than what I currently earn, the creativity involved would be far more satisfying, and the repercussions from being wrong would be the fault of the client, not me. Hrm ..
Skeptico, some people see astrology as a harmless form of entertainment. If you want to be amused, use astrology as a socializing tool and read your horror scope, even pets have horror scope. But astrology is much more than that, it's really big business. Example is firms using astrology, when they employ people. Or what about this one: Anyone can be a Millionaire, but to become a Billionaire, You need an Astrologer. People really want to believe, if they go for that one. I’m anxious to read more of your Astrology Challenge.
Mikez, I guess the word from Sagan is Astrology is like racism. Once you know their sign you can determine that you know everything about them ~Carl Sagan. I couldn’t find anything further on that case. A lot of belief systems are fun to believe in childhood and it made us feel good. We have to start out gullible; how else could find out what we need to know? But we also have to grow up. We have to learn to evaluate things not on the basis of how tempting the claims sound, but on the basis of the evidence. Knowledge must be true, and our certainty must be justified by data obtained via reliable methods (no data = no knowledge). Excluded are systems based on postulates. Astrological claims are extraordinary claims, they require extraordinary evidence.
GrrlScientist, Astrological consultation is more a massage of the client's ego than a message from the stars. Tricks are necessary to keep the client happy. Astrology is about communication, not a source of knowledge. Let me put some advice: Let your computer make the astrological calculation. It provides a focus to distract from more serious deficiencies, and the precision is a valuable trick. Now you have something to talk about. The important thing is not your ability to read charts but your ability to exploit this interest. Start a conversation and keep it going until feedback is occurring. That way you will know in advance what the client wants to know and what the answer should be. Isn't that the way i works?!! 
I think it is. Thanks for the advice on my potential new career reading horrorscopes. Come to think of it .. wouldn't a real horrorscope make a great newspaper column? I wonder how much I can get paid to think up horrors based on the stars?
I love the "cusp" concept. One of my friends used to refer to a bowel movement's preceding sensation as "loaf on cusp." This is a clear concrete scientifically useful use of the word with predictive validity.
sun = star
earth = planet
right?
some people see astrology as a harmless form of entertainment. If you want to be amused, use astrology as a socializing tool and read your horror scope, even pets have horror scope.
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