Formation of the moon documentary + woo

[IMST]

I'm watching a Science Channel documentary on the formation and influence of the moon, and all of the sudden: confirmation bias. They did a long section on how the full moon makes crime and hospital activity go up. They interviewed a couple of cops and didn't have even a hint of a criticism of this. Here's a quote:

"No one knows why, but a full moon spells trouble for hospitals, prisons and the streets of any city"

This is supposed to be the Science Channel, which means to me, use science. If I didn't know better, I'd assume that there was a scientific basis to that. Instead, it's just cops saying that since there was a full moon and a shooting (in San Francisco, population 730,000+) therefore full moon = "bad mojo"<--actual quote.

They go on to have a couple more anecdotes about lunar influence such as winemaker superstitions about when to pick, but it's not presented as credulously, stating these as beliefs instead of facts.

The documentary is called "If There Were No Moon" narrated by Patrick Stewart. I think I'll try to find out a little more about the background of this show and let the science channel know what they're making.

 

[Monza]

I saw this program listed and wanted to watch it, but I missed it. Too bad about the non-critical thinking regarding full moon activities. And this is a fairly easy superstition to verify, simply check hospital and police records and cross reference to lunar cycles. I'm disappointed in the Science Channel.