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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!harvard!topaz!bentley!kwh
From: kwh@bentley.UUCP (KW Heuer)
Newsgroups: net.sci
Subject: Re: Astrology
Message-ID: <821@bentley.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 14-May-86 20:03:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: bentley.821
Posted: Wed May 14 20:03:07 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 16-May-86 05:29:57 EDT
References: <2403@islenet.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Liberty Corner
Lines: 35

In article <2403@islenet.UUCP> islenet!dhenson (Donald D. Henson) writes:
>>What sort of things do you claim are correlated with planet positions?  Are
>>we talking about earthquakes, election results, or what?  And how significant
>>are which planets?  Can the results be objectively analyzed?
>>
>>Karl W. Z. Heuer (ihnp4!bentley!kwh), The Walking Lint
>>"You're a Taurus, aren't you?"   "No, I'm a Klein Bottle."
>
>Come on, folks.  Surely, you don't believe in that astrology garbage. ...
>Let's throw a little science on some of the bs.

I wish you'd quoted the previous poster instead of me.  Did you notice that,
except for my signature, each sentence ended with a question mark?  I'd said
previously said something about (popular) astrology being bunk, and was told
that "competent" astrology is not.  It's impossible to shoot down a statement
like that until you know what claims are being made, so I was asking those
questions to clarify the discussion.

Consider the following "astrological predictions", in decreasing order of
triviality (and probability).  I think we all agree that the first is valid
and the last is not.

"Based on the position of the sun, I predict it will be dark at midnight."

"When the sun and moon are aligned next week, there will be a spring tide."

"When all the planets line up in [whenever it was], there will be increased
geological activity, which might make California fall into the ocean."

"Because a planet nearly a light-day away is (relative to viewpoint Earth)
is in a constellation that happens to look like an elephant (to the extent
that two stars joined by a straight line can be said to look like anything),
everyone born in April should invest in a small business this afternoon."

Karl W. Z. Heuer (ihnp4!bentley!kwh), The Walking Lint