302 replies to this topic

[Kasey]

Definition of "Faith":

Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.

http://www.badastron.../astrology.html

Very good section from that page.

My friend and master skeptic James Randi performs a wonderful demo of how easily people are fooled by astrology. He went into a classroom, posing as an astrologer, and cast horoscopes for all the students. He had them read and rate the accuracy, and they almost overwhelmingly rated the horoscopes as accurate. The kicker? He had them pass around the horoscopes, and the students saw that every horoscope was exactly the same. It was worded vaguely enough that nearly everyone in the room thought they were being well-described. The horoscopes were so vague they matched nearly everyone, and so their predictive power was meaningless. It was all in the students' heads.

Astrologers rely on our inability to remember when they are wrong, and our almost unfailing ability to see patterns in random noise (in other words, to pull out something that may just possibly kind of vaguely resemble something that describes us).

A "scientist" may have thought the idea up, but again, Astrology is not ACTUALLY scientific.

Also, another really good pull from another great paper:

Many tests of astrologers have been made since the 1950s but only recently has a coherent review been possible. A large-scale test of persons born less than five minutes apart found no hint of the similarities predicted by astrology. Meta-analysis of more than forty controlled studies suggests that astrologers are unable to perform significantly better than chance even on the more basic tasks such as predicting extraversion [sociability]. More specifically, astrologers who claim to use psychic ability perform no better than those who do not.

Sorry to be the wrench in the gears *cough* :')

Please don't kill me

[Santa-san]

We won't. I know horoscopes aren't for real, I just read them for fun. And if they fits in what happens to you during the day, the better! My starsign is Gemini, and according to sites like THIS Gemini is supposed to be:

*Adaptable and versatile
*Communicative and witty
*Intellectual and eloquent
*Youthful and lively

On the dark side....

*Nervous and tense
*Superficial and inconsistent
*Cunning and inquisitive

Does the above portray me accurately? I don't know, it�s just fun to read.
My bloodtype is 0, btw.

[qx123]

It can be very interesting but i usually take it with a pinch of salt

[Kasey]

@Kasey: you're right the Zodiac never did have any scientific basis.
But neither does religion. Lot's of people have faith in things they can't prove.

Yea, and it's pretty sad. Throwing out logic in order to believe in something for which there is no proof is almost.. pathetic. :/


And you are right in your definition of faith.
I have faith in alot of things and I don't need proof.

Kind of sad to hear this as well.


The thing that the western Zodiac is bases on though is Greek Mythology.
(correct me if i'm wrong on this)
Whether it's accurate or not I have alot of fun with it.
And it's pretty widespread too. Have you ever heard the expression "what's your sign?"

Fun and wide spread is right, and THAT sucks, because this "harmless fun" has become a multi-million dollar THING. Too many people have wasted huge sums of money and made way too many OTHER people rich, following in such a blind way.

Furthermore, the whole "What's your sign" thing is almost as bad in a logical pattern as racism is. You pre-judge people before you even get to know them if you actually FOLLOW something so outlandish and unfounded. Almost as bad as phone-psychics (which many people have given up HUGE sums of money to as well)

Widespread =/= good
Widespread =/= harmless
Widespread =/= right


Humans need a little mystery too. We don't run on pure logic.

I disagree, but that's another discussion...

Anyway, I'll leave you to your "Fun"

[Kasey]

I'm going to be taking this to PM so as not to clog up the topic any further.

Sorry for taking up as much space as I have, folks

[Ameme]

Are you intrigued with how inaccurate it can be also? You do know that there is no scientific basis behind it, right? O______o;

n.n Don't hurt me.

Of course I know there isn't scientific basis behind it. Frankly, I couldn't care less. I agree with people who feel that the WHOLE world doesn't have to be logical all the time. Sometimes it's fun NOT to be logical- too much logic can be just as bad as too little.

*shrug* I dunno why people think it's completely insane to believe in stuff that can't be proven. Doesn't necessarily mean I'm gullible, it just means I'm not completely ruled by my own head, I think.

You do put up an excellent argument, nonetheless. I just think it's a little much to parallel astrology to rascism, and do say that things like religion are pathetic. I agree it can be taken too far, as can anything, but... I dunno, I think you're getting a little too wound on this. Just my opinion.

[綺麗な氷]

^ I completely agree with you Ameme!

[Kodama]

i m a chinese therefore i m
more into the zodiac ....
yet the bloodtypes thing ~ first time seeing it ...

[popcorn]

it's just fun stuff to pretty much kill time. at least that's what i think.
oh, i was born in the year of the rat, of the 1984 variety- whatever that means. If someone could say wheather it's a good or bad thing or anything at all?

[Hebitsuikaza]

Those who are really into Zodiacs and strange information may or may not realize that my nickname here is the japanese word for the "missing" or "13th" (well, really 12th if you go yearly though) Zodiac. It is also known as Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer/Master. (Its the same legend the medical symbol with the staff and snake comes from)

I am born in the year of the Monkey. So I am a Monkey Serpent Master. I think my Kung Fu styles must be mixed up.

My blood type is B... last time it was checked... Which means outgoing and cheerful... weird, kind of the opposite of my (I am a bit shy).

[ahaw]

aquarius

'a'

is that ok?

[Mari-san]

Hi I´m Libra and in chinese Zodiac I´m a dragon. And in japanese odiac I´m a wolf. I don´t really blieve in this things too but sometimes they tell truth about me.And my blood type is B+.

[MOGXIII]

Hm, my Zodiac's Aries, Chinese Zodiac is Rooster / Cockarel (Phoenix ? Lol.. maybe not ).. blood type ? well all this while I've never had it checked actually.. ::

Believe or not ? Well, firstly I read it for amusement purposes only. About 60% it does describe my characteristics. But reading about my future is not something I read into. I'm only interested in what type of character is this type of Zodiac is, then I try to mix & match which one of them is true.

But it would be really interesting to know just how closely related Zodiac signs & Science is related. :wink:

edit:
about the "reading future".. in other words, the "horoscope".. heheh, I keep forgetting these small things.. ::

Edited by mogxiii, 27 December 2005 - 04:54 AM.

[xmorfis]

Zodiac and Bloodtype?...I read it in newspaper or magazine..but don't rely on that too much. Its very interesting to see the prediction is quite related to your future actions.

[jinalbert]

Rooster in Chinese and Aquarius in Western.

I read it sometimes, usually the future prediction. Even if it's scientific-less, it stills teach me some good common sense. It gives vague enough hints to make me re-think and re-evaluate about certain actions. Some people might not like these types of things, but I see it as a tool to learn more about myself. It's one of the means to the goal, you know? ::

As for the personality prediction, I don't really care about it.

[hirokun]

I know I’m a Pisces but, the Chinese zodiac and my blood type is unknown… I have to get back to you on that one.

[Sakura_Y]

Western - Scorpio
Chinese- Dog
Bloodtype - O- (yes, that's O negative)

I really don't go off the Chinese or Bloodtype thing, but I do rely heavily on the Western one (seeing that I am pagan and all >_>)

[Msi]

Western - Pisces
Chinese - Tiger
Bloodtype A+ (I just found out the other day).

[Meetzorp]

I'm not sure what my bloodtype or my zodiac is. I think my bloodtype is either AB or O. I know it wasn't strictly A or strictly B, but I can't remember which of the other two types it is. I'm pretty sure it is RH negative. I know I can never remember what my zodiac sign is, Chinese or otherwise.

So I guess by dint of simply not caring, I must admit to not believing in these types of personality tests or fortune predictions.

[sLaVe4MM]

Hmmm... I thought i posted in here..

anyway, im a pisces. And my blood type... the doctors who get blood from me (check ups... no, Im not sick ) never seem to tell me what it is... even though I ask =_=

America seems to be the only country that doesnt give blood types, or use it as a way to compare people.

Chinese zodiac... IM A MONKEY!!! ^0^ <(u ah ah ah)


-sLaVe4MM