tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14895585.post113291593192183642..comments2024-01-10T21:09:40.742+00:00Comments on davep's astronomy: It's astronomy, not astrology!Dave Pearsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07460881163553899351noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14895585.post-1134499162753331742005-12-13T18:39:00.000+00:002005-12-13T18:39:00.000+00:00Ian, I don't know if you ever saw Dave Gorman's Im...Ian, I don't know if you ever saw Dave Gorman's <A HREF="http://www.davegorman.com/history_dgiae.htm" REL="nofollow">Important Astrology Experiment</A>. He lived his life as the astrologers told him to for 40 days while his twin brother didn't. It was very funny.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14895585.post-1132968819112682512005-11-26T01:33:00.000+00:002005-11-26T01:33:00.000+00:00Like Stuart said, good letter Dave.I have ceased t...Like Stuart said, good letter Dave.<BR/>I have ceased to be surprised by the people who think I do astrology. Yes, there is widespread misunderstanding, this mirrors a wide misunderstanding of science in general. It has not yet driven me to dispair. Statistics for the US show that acceptance of astrology hasn't got bigger in the past 20 years (OTOH, that means for 20 years, public science education has failed)<BR/><BR/>Stuart, it may confort you to know that while 3/4 of people in the UK read horoscopes daily, only around 10% of those actually act on the advice give.Ian Musgravehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05010720416554077787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14895585.post-1132923185602405082005-11-25T12:53:00.000+00:002005-11-25T12:53:00.000+00:00Thanks Stuart. I really wanted to try and write th...Thanks Stuart. I really wanted to try and write the letter such that it corrected the errors but, at the same time, didn't come over as "stuffy". The Xena link would seem to make this a little easier.<BR/><BR/>As for the astrology business — yes, I tend to find it very worrying. It's the way that "we" seem to accept it without any question and never flinch when presented with it. You've only got to look at the broadsheet papers that carry astrology columns to see how acceptable it is.<BR/><BR/>Sure, there's the "<I>but it's just a bit of fun</I>" argument but, if that's the case, and given the point you make about it being no better than "guessing", why not have a column based around the first letter of people's surnames or something equally as silly? I guess something like that wouldn't have that veneer of mystery about it...Dave Pearsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07460881163553899351noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14895585.post-1132922597234838892005-11-25T12:43:00.000+00:002005-11-25T12:43:00.000+00:00Good letter Dave. This is another example showing ...Good letter Dave. This is another example showing that most of the nation don't really know the difference between the two. Possibly worse is the fact that a large percentage of the UK population also <EM>believe</EM> in astrology even though it has been shown to be no better than guessing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com