Why do horoscopes still exist?

[clu]

I keep noticing horoscope links on the bottom of many news sites I visit, including the CBC.

I don't know about anyone else, but it strikes me as absurd and ironic that people are reading this superstitious nonsense on their iPhones and computers. Like, "you're using science but are still believing in this babble."

Literal Babel, actually. Even the systems of horoscope are out of calibration. There's a thing called the precession of the equinox (astronomical phenomenon involving the wobble of the Earth's axis) that, after 4000 years, has thrown the clockwork of "horoscopes" out of whack by two houses. But rather than admit even that error the astrologers will claim they're now working off some abstract thing rather than the actual position of the actual sun and the stars.

Do you get it?

When they say "Jupiter is entering Aries" or whatever, it probably isn't. Their charts have been drifting out of alignment like a neglected Seiko. So not only can they not predict your life correctly, they're not even correct about where the planets and stars are that they claim are influencing your life.

And that's even if you were inclined to give it any credence in the first place.

Anyway, I get that there'll be the superstitious who still believe in this stuff, and the healing power of magnets and silver and all that, but so much that it's still a staple of so many major news outlets? (Even as society supposedly becomes more secular no less?)

 

[P3t3rp4n]

Because people like to hear good news, even if it isn’t “realistic”

 

[rlock]

I have no problem with the superstition part, the part where if the stars and planets are aligned just right X will happen to you (good fortune in finance & gambling, women get extra flirty, Cthulu will rise from the ocean depths to destroy us all, etc.). Not my thing to believe in, but whatever if others do.

But the damn things had better be accurate (about stars and planets), and personalized to whoever does the asking. What does bother me is that the newspaper horoscopes always seem to be describing someone whose life couldn't possibly be like mine.

And as P... said, they never have bad news, do they? At most it's "challenges today..." - never "If you're Taurus born under a retrograde Mercury in the year of the Dragon, just go hide in a deep bunker. From tomorrow onwards, you may increasingly be able to go buy groceries without a kevlar vest (think Vito Corleone in the Godfather, but today, September 4 2018, death is lurking so if you risk it, you're so fucked."

No thanks, Georgia Nichols, I'll stick to casting runes - Hail Odin.

 

[80watts]

Clu you are going to have to explain the situation better.

https://www.space.com/5417-ecliptic-zodiac-work.html

http://https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Aquarius

I find the wiki explaination better as for when astrologers locate an age.... depends who you'll believe

And horoscopes are fun to read..... just take it with a grain of salt....

 

[Billiam]

For the same reason religion still exists.

 

[Fullhouse]

Do you get it?

When they say "Jupiter is entering Aries" ......,

Is that in the Anus area.??

No wonder we feel the Earth's axis wobble at times.

That Jupiter must be quite a stud....

 

[take8easy]

In the past, I never believed horoscope, but .............

Once my horoscope said, "You are going to get into new things today." Sure enough, I saw Tia Luxx for the first time that day, totally unplanned and out of the blue.

On another occasion it said, "Watch for Uranus" and sure enough, I had the worst case of hemorrhoids for one full week.

 

[Addison Cortez]

Doesn’t it all have to do with energy? If I read it and I feel it I will consider some things going on around me and sometimes it’s not too far off but it’s all individual and matters what time and location you’re born and no, there is no way to properly calculate it so you do the math yourself. It’s like they say, it’s all in your head, you can be whatever you want to be, if you focus on it you will become it... etc glass half full always works. When it boils down everything is connected in some way, including energy from the many suns in all the universes.

Our sun effects us, why not the others

 

[clu]

Doesn’t it all have to do with energy? If I read it and I feel it I will consider some things going on around me and sometimes it’s not too far off but it’s all individual and matters what time and location you’re born and no, there is no way to properly calculate it so you do the math yourself. It’s like they say, it’s all in your head, you can be whatever you want to be, if you focus on it you will become it... etc glass half full always works. When it boils down everything is connected in some way, including energy from the many suns in all the universes.

Our sun effects us, why not the others

Horoscopes generally are the classic "cold read."

The position of the stars and planets are some of the most objectively precisely understood mechanics in astronomy, but astrology can't agree on it before you even get to the point of factoring in nuance like individual time and place of birth.

As to how other suns would affect us, how? Simplistically speaking there are 4 action-at-a-distance forces in our universe: electromagnetism, strong and weak nuclear forces, and gravity. (Ok, a little dated. 3 of them are now lumped under a single unified theory.) Gravity is the dominant force at interstellar distances and still the doctor (or whatever) that brought you into this world exerted a greater gravitational force on you than the nearest star.

Plus astrology is based on the sky being two dimensional. In reality, stars in a constellation are typically at vastly different depths and are no more objectively neighbours than stars from two different constellations. It's the cosmic equivalent of believing the earth is flat.

Anyway, I know people believe all sorts of random things. My main point was that I found it odd that it's a staple of so many news sources. It's an odd place for it. Even major religions don't get a regular section in most newspapers, etc. but astrology does.

 

[clu]

p.s.

 

[Addison Cortez]

Horoscopes generally are the classic "cold read."

The position of the stars and planets are some of the most objectively precisely understood mechanics in astronomy, but astrology can't agree on it before you even get to the point of factoring in nuance like individual time and place of birth.

As to how other suns would affect us, how? Simplistically speaking there are 4 action-at-a-distance forces in our universe: electromagnetism, strong and weak nuclear forces, and gravity. (Ok, a little dated. 3 of them are now lumped under a single unified theory.) Gravity is the dominant force at interstellar distances and still the doctor (or whatever) that brought you into this world exerted a greater gravitational force on you than the nearest star.

Plus astrology is based on the sky being two dimensional. In reality, stars in a constellation are typically at vastly different depths and are no more objectively neighbours than stars from two different constellations. It's the cosmic equivalent of believing the earth is flat.

Anyway, I know people believe all sorts of random things. My main point was that I found it odd that it's a staple of so many news sources. It's an odd place for it. Even major religions don't get a regular section in most newspapers, etc. but astrology does.

Is it not possible that some stars in the same constellation are in different universes entirely? Changing the energy of each constellation as rapidly as the earth turns?! How can we calculate that with the small percentage of brain matter we actually use?!?

 

[Addison Cortez]

Typical of the human ego

 

[MB Mod]

Doesn’t it all have to do with energy? If I read it and I feel it I will consider some things going on around me and sometimes it’s not too far off but it’s all individual and matters what time and location you’re born and no, there is no way to properly calculate it so you do the math yourself. It’s like they say, it’s all in your head, you can be whatever you want to be, if you focus on it you will become it... etc glass half full always works. When it boils down everything is connected in some way, including energy from the many suns in all the universes.

Our sun effects us, why not the others

You do realize stars are merciless killers do you? Our own friendly star will one day will expand into a red giant and wipe out the inner solar system, a passing star could disrupt the comets in the Ort cloud with it's gravity and send them towards Earth. Not to mention X-ray and Gamma bursts from other stars wiping out organic life on our planet.

My horoscope says today will be a good so probably not today. :hopelessness::fear::saturn::laugh:

 

[Addison Cortez]

You do realize stars are merciless killers do you? Our own friendly star will one day will expand into a red giant and wipe out the inner solar system, a passing star could disrupt the comets in the Ort cloud with it's gravity and send them towards Earth. Not to mention X-ray and Gamma bursts from other stars wiping out organic life on our planet.

My horoscope says today will be a good so probably not today. :hopelessness::fear::saturn::laugh:

Asteroids, NASA waste etc blahblah we can slip in the shower ffs

 

[clu]

Is it not possible that some stars in the same constellation are in different universes entirely? Changing the energy of each constellation as rapidly as the earth turns?! How can we calculate that with the small percentage of brain matter we actually use?!?

Is it not possible that we live in a computer simulation and it's all just a projection? Is it not possible there's an invisible elephant in the room with us that's really adept at avoiding bumping into anything? We can play that "what if" game forever.

You have to be practical: if you put forward a random unsubstantiated theory, what are the consequences of that theory? What does it allow you to predict successfully that nothing else can? There's nothing compelling about this proposition because these are vaguities with no objectively measurable consequence.

"Typical of the human ego" is an odd statement: the point of the scientific method is to take ego out of the equation. Believing things contrary to measurable evidence is a better example of the fallacy of human ego.

BTW the notion that we only use 10% of our brains is a myth. See for example https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-ten-percent-myth/

 

[Addison Cortez]

Is it not possible that we live in a computer simulation and it's all just a projection? Is it not possible there's an invisible elephant in the room with us that's really adept at avoiding bumping into anything? We can play that "what if" game forever.

You have to be practical: if you put forward a random unsubstantiated theory, what are the consequences of that theory? What does it allow you to predict successfully that nothing else can? There's nothing compelling about this proposition because these are vaguities with no objectively measurable consequence.

"Typical of the human ego" is an odd statement: the point of the scientific method is to take ego out of the equation. Believing things contrary to measurable evidence is a better example of the fallacy of human ego.

BTW the notion that we only use 10% of our brains is a myth. See for example https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/the-ten-percent-myth/

My point is only that it’s not possible for us to “know” everything

 

[clu]

My point is only that it’s not possible for us to “know” everything

Agreed. Which is why we need to be diligent about things that are added to "accepted knowledge" both as a society and individually, lest misinformation and snake oil salesman compromise us.

Anyone who claims to have the answers but evades being able to objectively justify them deserves to be questioned. I picked on horoscopes, because it's one of those pseudosciences that unabashedly sidesteps their exposed flaws in their "reasoning".

That and it appears in newspapers etc. where the integrity of reported content is being increasingly questioned and scrutinised.

Put another way, with all these accusations of "fake news" these days and questioning the integrity of the media, it's a wonder it gets a pass.

 

[Addison Cortez]

You're right though, I shouldn't restrict "ego" to being limited to the human race, I'm sure lion and tigers and bears deal with it too (oh my :hopelessness: )

just because something is proven in one theory doesn't mean it proves to be true for all theories..



*theoretically speaking*

 

[clu]

just because something is proven in one theory doesn't mean it proves to be true for all theories..

And that's how science evolves. Point of order: I'm using the word "theory" in its scientific definition, not the colloquial meaning (which people equate with "guess").

A theory is proposed to explain the data. If new data is collected that fails to be predicted by the theory, then a better one has to be made that explains both the old and new data together. This is how Einstein's theory supplanted Newton's. A theory without supporting data is meaningless, as is one that cannot make predictions about data you haven't yet collected.

 

[Addison Cortez]

And that's how science evolves. Point of order: I'm using the word "theory" in its scientific definition, not the colloquial meaning (which people equate with "guess").

A theory is proposed to explain the data. If new data is collected that fails to be predicted by the theory, then a better one has to be made that explains both the old and new data together. This is how Einstein's theory supplanted Newton's. A theory without supporting data is meaningless, as is one that cannot make predictions about data you haven't yet collected.

I like science. I don't like debate.

I was raised catholic :laugh:

I can debate with my own self, which is why I often trust instinct