Astrology

So i'm doing a speech on how astrology is bullshit and a pseudo science with blatant over generalization and no real hard evidence to back it up. But I want to hear the other side. Do any of you believe in astrology? Do you read your horoscope? Can you explain the logic behind astrology? What is spiritualism exactly (everyone uses that word and I still have no idea what it means.)

Thanks, also if you don't believe in astrology feel free to destroy it or post links

Use this joke:

My ex and I just weren't compatible. He/She was a Gemini and I didn't believe in bullshit.


Good on you for promoting science. Where are you doing this speech and what is it for?

I'm down with the astral arts. If astrology never existed, I wouldn't be able to go up to a random chick I'm groovin' on & say "Whaddup foxy mama, what's your sign..."

  On 5/21/2014 at 8:14 PM, paranerd said:

Use this joke:

My ex and I just weren't compatible. He/She was a Gemini and I didn't believe in bullshit.

 

 

Good on you for promoting science. Where are you doing this speech and what is it for?

It's a final in my speech class at the community college I go to. We're basically free to do what we want for this last speech. I kind of want to see how many people I piss off with this speech

  On 5/21/2014 at 8:19 PM, Danny O Flannagin said:

 

  On 5/21/2014 at 8:14 PM, paranerd said:

Use this joke:

My ex and I just weren't compatible. He/She was a Gemini and I didn't believe in bullshit.

 

 

Good on you for promoting science. Where are you doing this speech and what is it for?

It's a final in my speech class at the community college I go to. We're basically free to do what we want for this last speech. I kind of want to see how many people I piss off with this speech

 

I'm hoping very few. Good luck! Carl Sagan's 'The Demon Haunted World' was the book that started my trek off the bullshit path, so I have a soft spot for your avatar. :)

  On 5/21/2014 at 8:21 PM, paranerd said:

 

  On 5/21/2014 at 8:19 PM, Danny O Flannagin said:

 

  On 5/21/2014 at 8:14 PM, paranerd said:

Use this joke:

My ex and I just weren't compatible. He/She was a Gemini and I didn't believe in bullshit.

 

 

Good on you for promoting science. Where are you doing this speech and what is it for?

It's a final in my speech class at the community college I go to. We're basically free to do what we want for this last speech. I kind of want to see how many people I piss off with this speech

 

I'm hoping very few. Good luck! Carl Sagan's 'The Demon Haunted World' was the book that started my trek off the bullshit path, so I have a soft spot for your avatar. :)

 

For sure, Imma def give a Sagan quote during the speech. probably something from Cosmos when he had a little section calling out Astrology on it's bullshit

It's weird cause I don't for a second believe there is science to back it up but all the personality profiles and love profiles and shit I read are pretty accurate. I even just tested it and read a sign profile that was not my own and it was very obviously not my personality.

This might be a good primer for your speech:

http://skepdic.com/forer.html

'You have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses you are generally able to compensate for them. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be rather unrealistic.'

  On 5/21/2014 at 8:22 PM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

It's weird cause I don't for a second believe there is science to back it up but all the personality profiles and love profiles and shit I read are pretty accurate. I even just tested it and read a sign profile that was not my own and it was very obviously not my personality.

Im reading some of the profiles right now and although they are different personalities, i feel like they are different aspects of the average human. Most of us have the personality they are talking about depending on the situation

I just want to know who the control group is. Like did they get hundreds of people together and notice that when Uranus is retrograde the Aquarii became irritable while the Scorpios got horny instead?

[edit] and yea, the people who want to believe can easily take the super vague and often contradictory words (today 'x' will happen or it might not) and find 'evidence' of it in their lives.

i wonder if a large scale study was ever made asking people to describe their character traits and then ask them about their zodiac sign as a last question, then see if there is any correlation to character traits astrology assigns to those signs (i believe they're relatively consistent). now this doesn't really check if stars and shit affect personality traits of people but rather whether astrology as a human construct does it.

p.s. i'm a capricorn (and was actually surprised how many of the astrological capricorn traits are very close to the way i see myself).

  On 5/21/2014 at 8:33 PM, autopilot said:

I just want to know who the control group is. Like did they get hundreds of people together and notice that when Uranus is retrograde the Aquarii became irritable while the Scorpios got horny instead?

It's an ancient study and I'm not sure if they even applied the scientific method.

  On 5/21/2014 at 8:26 PM, paranerd said:

This might be a good primer for your speech:

 

http://skepdic.com/forer.html

 

'You have a need for other people to like and admire you, and yet you tend to be critical of yourself. While you have some personality weaknesses you are generally able to compensate for them. You have considerable unused capacity that you have not turned to your advantage. Disciplined and self-controlled on the outside, you tend to be worrisome and insecure on the inside. At times you have serious doubts as to whether you have made the right decision or done the right thing. You prefer a certain amount of change and variety and become dissatisfied when hemmed in by restrictions and limitations. You also pride yourself as an independent thinker; and do not accept others' statements without satisfactory proof. But you have found it unwise to be too frank in revealing yourself to others. At times you are extroverted, affable, and sociable, while at other times you are introverted, wary, and reserved. Some of your aspirations tend to be rather unrealistic.'

Thank you sir, will def use this in the speech

I've had this conversation a few dozen times:

Me: "I challenge the veracity of all this."

Them: "That's such an Aquarius thing to say."

Me: "Fuck you."

  On 5/21/2014 at 8:31 PM, Danny O Flannagin said:

 

  On 5/21/2014 at 8:22 PM, AdieuErsatzEnnui said:

It's weird cause I don't for a second believe there is science to back it up but all the personality profiles and love profiles and shit I read are pretty accurate. I even just tested it and read a sign profile that was not my own and it was very obviously not my personality.

Im reading some of the profiles right now and although they are different personalities, i feel like they are different aspects of the average human. Most of us have the personality they are talking about depending on the situation

 

Bingo. You just found the crux of their deception. All of the personality descriptions are just different facets of everyone.

There's often a disconnect between the way you are and the way people see you. The average person isn't that self aware and doesn't see their idealized self against their actual self.

  On 5/21/2014 at 8:33 PM, autopilot said:

I just want to know who the control group is. Like did they get hundreds of people together and notice that when Uranus is retrograde the Aquarii became irritable while the Scorpios got horny instead?

 

[edit] and yea, the people who want to believe can easily take the super vague and often contradictory words (today 'x' will happen or it might not) and find 'evidence' of it in their lives.

Humans try to find patterns in everything. That's what our brain does naturally. If there is no pattern, we might create one.

Acquaintances who know you well enough and think they have a good grasp of astrology shouldn't have to ask you what your sign is. They should be able to simply tell you what it is and be right 95 percent of the time. I always find it amusing when people ask what your sign is, you tell them and they say 'I knew it!' If they knew it, it should be the other way around!

  On 5/21/2014 at 8:35 PM, autopilot said:

I've had this conversation a few dozen times:

 

Me: "I challenge the veracity of all this."

 

Them: "That's such an Aquarius thing to say."

 

Me: "Fuck you."

This just happened to me the other day

"Oh I don't believe in astrology"

"What's your sign"

"Pisces"

"Ok that explain it"

Girl, what?

I've guessed people's signs before, and I've also found an inclination towards being attracted to fire signs.

I have some friends that are very smart people, but believe in this shit and I never feel I can have a discussion about it without insulting them. It's pretty obvious to me how full of shit astrology is, but in order to describe it to them I would need to do extensive reading about something I care nothing about.

I know it's not real, but I like to believe it is so it can make my world and life more interesting. Though it doesn't affect my life at all. I just see it and say "oh, cool", and back to reality.

They are cleverly worded to be able to relate to all. A bit like psychics.

"Is there someone in the room who.... has a mother?"

  On 5/21/2014 at 9:24 PM, Leon Sumbitches said:

I have a younger sister who buys various magazines of a feminine nature which always contain horoscopes. We derive endless amusement from ripping the piss out of them. As someone who is presently single and pretty brutally unemployed, I thoroughly enjoy being told that this month I should talk to my partner about *topic* or raise so-and-so topic with my boss.

Lol, maybe if you did what your horoscope tells you, you'd have a job and girlfriend.

and what about tarot? that shit is so popular !!! da fak?!

I believe in it to some degree, going by a bit more extensive treatises and less "cold reading" newspaper stuff by Melanie Q Starchild, there's some uncanny shit to discover and I have found guidance at times, as well as really weird resemblances with specific personality traits, including private ones that are rare. I can't explain the logic to it, it doesn't go through that centre in my brain. To me, it's not so much whether it's really really true deep down, but the fact that I have found it helpful at all - and it's useful when you're talking people's vibes and energy and similar terms.

tarot cards i will not touch