MRC_Hans
Penultimate Amazing
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2002
- Messages
- 24,961
Whenever somebody says "this does not disprove...", they are right, but fail to prove their point. You can only disprove something if there is an exclusive situation. That is, by proving Earth is round, I can disprove it being flat.
Nobody can disprove astrology. What various tests, like the one mentioned, do is to provide an alternative explanation to an observation used to argue for astrology. Thus, when a proponent argues that so and so many people have had their horoscope taken and find that ti fits perfectly, you can show that this may be due to something different, and thereby making it impossible to use that evidence as proof for astrology.
Hans
Nobody can disprove astrology. What various tests, like the one mentioned, do is to provide an alternative explanation to an observation used to argue for astrology. Thus, when a proponent argues that so and so many people have had their horoscope taken and find that ti fits perfectly, you can show that this may be due to something different, and thereby making it impossible to use that evidence as proof for astrology.
Hans
Mojo
Mostly harmless
Hokay. *sigh* SNAFU
my friend
i couldnt care less what you think. you cant see me and youll never seeme,thats the advantage of nternet
Fair enough.
What do you think?
Its true
*Sorry it's spreading*
thanks for your comments. However Rudolf Smit said randis forum are die hard skeptics. No evidence will ever be enough for you.
ChristineR
Illuminator
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2006
- Messages
- 3,180
Not so. Pass a simple test such as the one I outlined, and Randi will give you a million dollars and we will all take you seriously. Sure, we'll look for mundane explainations, but you'll have plenty of chances to repeat your test and eventually everyone here will congratulate you.
like most astrologers he becomes agressive when cornered.
I wont take the challenge,im just looking for different opinions. Thers always new data available. You havent disproved astrology yet. Time will tell.
I keep doing charts,but i use critical skills now.
drfrank
Critical Thinker
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2005
- Messages
- 445
And no evidence is obviously more than enough for you
after 30 years with astrology i dont know what to do. I got used to think about people in terms of their signs. Now im lost.
Science alone is not enough. And it is a bit slow.
i dont know what to read instead of astrology.
any suggestions?
after 30 years with astrology i dont know what to do. I got used to think about people in terms of their signs. Now im lost.
Science alone is not enough. And it is a bit slow.
i dont know what to read instead of astrology.
any suggestions?
I find peer-reviewed studies to be the most accurate, though they can be a bit dull and steeped in field-specific jargon.
Strider1974
Thinker
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2006
- Messages
- 155
after 30 years with astrology i dont know what to do. I got used to think about people in terms of their signs. Now im lost.
Science alone is not enough. And it is a bit slow.
i dont know what to read instead of astrology.
any suggestions?
Try the Science of Discworld books by Pratchett, Cohen and Stewart. These are excellent books aimed at educating the layman about modern scientific belief along with some very funny humour by Terry Pratchett.
Just remember, that just because a belief makes you feel better doesn't make it right.
Ladewig
I lost an avatar bet.
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2001
- Messages
- 28,828
And astrology is somehow quicker? They've been playing the same song for over 2000 years.
I dont know what to read instead of astrology.
any suggestions?
I found this book quite entertaining: Peter Huston's "Scams from the Great Beyond : How to make easy money off of ESP, astrology, UFOs, and crop circles." If you are still tied to astrology, you could skip that chapter - the rest of the book is amusing and enlightening.
Mojo
Mostly harmless
Remember your first post on this forum?
Chickening out, huh?
The usual attempt to shift the burden of proof. If proponents of astrology claim that it works, it's up to them to prove it, not others to disprove it.
Several thousand years, and astrology has yet to provide any decent evidence that it works.
ChristineR
Illuminator
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2006
- Messages
- 3,180
Woodwater, the problem isn't that you aren't a good enough astrologer. The problem is that astrology doesn't work. No one has ever been able to show it works. The people you think are better astrologers than you are actually using other techniques, like cold reading and plain old cheating. Your "master astrologer" friends won't take the tests--not because they're shy and eccentric, but because they know they won't be allowed to cheat.
You don't have anything to be ashamed of. You aren't the first person to fooled by this. Plenty of people started out believing and were sure that their subject would pass the tests. It's human nature to see more in astrology than is there.
And Mojo, hush! He's not chickening out. He's getting educated.
You don't have anything to be ashamed of. You aren't the first person to fooled by this. Plenty of people started out believing and were sure that their subject would pass the tests. It's human nature to see more in astrology than is there.
And Mojo, hush! He's not chickening out. He's getting educated.
Belz...
Fiend God
Live with it. The universe need not conform to your wishes, and believing in woo won't solve your problems.
J. Arthur Hastur
Critical Thinker
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2006
- Messages
- 495
This Bob Marks fellow is the archetypical charlatan. Instead of answering his critics and proving that his 'magic' works, he in turn personally attacks them as 'unsound' and 'unreasonable'.
It is much easier to attack others than it is to prove a false theory.
It is much easier to attack others than it is to prove a false theory.