Is Astrology Scientific?
25 Aug
U.S. Respondents Who Do Not Have A High School Degree
U.S. Respondents With A Bachelor’s Degree
Data Source: NSF
11 Responses to “Is Astrology Scientific?”
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August 25, 2011
[...] on the interwebs I ran across this link. It shows how key getting an education is. It’s hard to believe that 54% of people without a high [...]
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August 26, 2011
[...] at Culture of Science Sheril Kirshenbaum posts a figure from the NSF displaying what proportion of those without high [...]
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August 26, 2011
[...] at Culture of Science Sheril Kirshenbaum posts a figure from the NSF displaying what proportion of those without high [...]
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August 26, 2011
[...] Charts: Culture of Science [...]
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September 20, 2011
[...] Is Astrology Scientific? | Culture of Science My understanding is that Astrology is concerned with consulting very outdated star charts, not with observing the actual heavens. Reply. Georges Lafontant August 27, 2011 at 8:37 pm #. Interestingly, the star signs – derived …http://www.cultureofscience.co .. [...]
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Not surprising since those who have gone through a college-level education have a much better understanding of what it means to be scientific.
Was anyone surprised by this?
I’d give it a “sort of scientific” only in that it involves detailed tracking of the stars & planets … it’s the prediction part that isn’t at all scientific. :^)
The question is flawed, hence the answer is both yes and no. Yes, some of the methods to cast horoscope is scientific. The method of interpretation is not.
My understanding is that Astrology is concerned with consulting very outdated star charts, not with observing the actual heavens.
Interestingly, the star signs – derived from the constellation that occupy the part of the sky that the sun rises in at that time of year should have shifted the signs over one. The star MUST be outdated to support the fixed placement on the calendar of the signs.
However, while there is debate about how ‘scientific’ that a soft science such as psychology is, the archetypal profiles of the various signs lend interesting insights into human psychology and personality types. That said, pinning these traits to the incorrect or even correct positions of extremely distant stars is patently ridiculous.
However, some argument *might* be made for pinning certain observable traits to the season and latitude a person was born in given that environmental influences are well known to have psychological effects – such as Seasonal Affective Disorder. Nevertheless, these observations are more akin to an oral tradition and highly anecdotal. It would be interesting to attempt a study on the effects of season and latitude of birth on personality profiles – especially among those who stayed put through the first five years of life – as studied through adulthood.
I’ve debated astrology many times with people who believe in it. They protect their beliefs with “it works for me” (as though personal experience was the ultimate arbiter as to what’s real) or attacking detractors for “closed-mindedness”.
Whilst the implications of the above results are obvious, astrology believers will continue to protect their beliefs regardless. I predict many will reply “Aha! But that’s what education is: it’s a way of closing your mind to new possibilities. It’s brainwashing.”
Others, like some I’ve debated, will assert that although the mechanism behind astrology is unknown at the moment, astrology clearly works and the moment the scientific community comes round to this “fact” there will be a “paradigm shift” in all of science. (They love to quote Kuhn – whom they never read – on “paradigm shifts”).
So the above results won’t touch astrology believers’ faith. It will serve only to harden their impression that they are a minority of oppressed truth seekers in a world of closed-minded ignoramuses. Which is to have the thing exactly upside down.