Comments on: Getting it wrong every single time

By: Ed

Ed — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:23:51 +0000

BBC online has run this story in a quite moronic style:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12207811

Not one but two astrologers weigh in to reassure the gullible.

(BTW Since this is maybe my first comment after reading for over a year: Thanks for this blog Greg, it regularly makes my day!)

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:22:39 +0000

Just found this blog. Love it! So true, so true, on getting it all wrong.

By: 6EQUJ5

6EQUJ5 — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 14:58:22 +0000

This news of astrological signs being wrong, and that there are thirteen, not twelve, is a repeat from the 1960s. I remember laughing about it then, and I still find it funny.

By: csrster

csrster — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 11:07:05 +0000

I read one report that the change in constellations was due to the year not being a whole number of days. I guess nobody told that particular journalist about the Gregorian Calendar Reform. Sigh.

By: gwen

gwen — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 05:07:06 +0000

@RichardRob; But they do…Ronald Regan used to make decisions based on what his astrologer said was most auspicious. But of course, he also had Alzheimer’s.

By: Doug Alder

Doug Alder — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 03:07:59 +0000

Interesting about the cave/mine thing because where I live there are a lot of old gold mines from the 1890s on when the LeRoi mine was founded on Red Mountain and a massive gold rush to here was on. Today Teck Cominco owns all those old mines and every year in winter at least one cave in takes place and they dutifully go out and pour tons of cement in to seal the shaft up then rope a safe area off (Red Mountain is a major world class downhill ski area) as the mountain is littered with hiking, snowshoeing, xcountry ski trails etc – signs up every where don’t go off the trails.

By: Vic

Vic — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 02:31:02 +0000

And most astrology critics were wrong as well. When they were saying that the position of the sun in the constellations when you were born doesn’t affect you, they should have been saying arbitrary associations of the date range in which you were born don’t affect you.

By: richardrob

richardrob — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 00:03:23 +0000

So astrology is based on the position of the sun relative to arbitrary groupings of stars not as they were when you were born, but in some arbitrary year in ancient history. It’s a good thing people don’t base important life choices on this stuff.

By: anandine

anandine — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 22:28:55 +0000

Astrology “works” because it has nothing to do with the stars. By “works,” I mean you can go to a competent astrologer and learn true things about yourself that you didn’t know.

It’s cold reading, of course, a carnie trick used by psychotherapists, too. The horoscope is a mandala, to get the conversation started. It is effectively random, so it doesn’t matter if precession is taken into account or not. A good cold reader should get you to the same point using any horoscope taken off the top of a pile.

By: joemac53

joemac53 — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 22:28:12 +0000

When I was in seventh grade I complained to anyone who would listen that “The damn Sun isn’t in that constellation at that time anyway, for cryin out loud!”
No one cared then, no one cares now.
One of my physics students who was also on the school paper used to ask me what to put into the horoscopes for the next issue. That was fun. I hope I didn’t ruin any lives with my BS.