Stars Remain In Their Usual Places; People Panic 468
asheller writes "The Star Tribune tells us the zodiac signs have shifted. Earth's wobble has shifted the signs, a new one's been added and many of us have changed signs. Formerly a Cancer, I've apparently been upgraded to Gemini and am now married to an Ophiuchus, a new sign. What's yor sign? The new Zodiac Chart is pretty interesting." Here are some priceless reactions to this celestial development. As long as the Chinese Zodiac is unaffected, I'll still be able to accurately judge people based on when they were born, so please indicate in comments your (new) sign and birth year animal, so we'll be able to know where you're coming from.
Re:This a re-org for the foreign offices only (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Hilarious, but isn't /. meant to be serious? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's a bit of a stretch, but science is part of news for nerds. The fact that there's a disturbingly large portion of the public who's gullible enough to buy into the most appallingly stupid idea in millennia is kind of on track.
The articles cited aren't spoofs. The AP is perhaps the world's most important news service. Depressingly, the fact that people bought into it is real news.
(Now, I could turn around and question whether the number of people who actually bought into this was significant enough to merit it being real news. So there's a separate story on whether the wire services manufactured something from a relatively small number of stupid people. But sadly, I think it's pretty clear that the dimwits have a pretty substantial caucus.)
Re:really... (Score:4, Insightful)
Erm. I don't think you really need to take even a single glance at a science book to know astrology is absurd. It's just common sense. Kind of how I don't need to read a math text book to stop and say "hey, I suspect that numerology may be bullshit!".
What's horrifying is when you realize how many people out there waste their time with it as an amusement -- or worse, how many people actually believe in this shit and live their life around it. Google something like "which zodiac sign is more likely to be OCD" and you'll see long Yahoo! Answers (the biggest waste of internet use in existence) discussions that will make you want to slit your wrists.
Re:Ignoring Science? (Score:4, Insightful)
This isn't news to any astrologer. As the article says, this is a 2000-year-old story. This was a conscious decision made by the forebearers of Western astrology to use a tropical (seasonal) astrology instead of sidereal (astronomical) astrology. They knew what they were doing. The only question is why to keep calling it astrology if it has nothing to do with the stars. Meanwhile, Hindu and other Eastern astrology is sidereal, and has always been based on where the sun actually is in the constellations.
The Huffington Post (Score:4, Insightful)
Headline: "What You Need to Know About The New Zodiac Sign"
The Huffington Post is staffed by and written for idiots. No further proof is needed.
Re:The zodiac has changed, just like the seasons (Score:3, Insightful)
Who gives a shit? It's all bullshit.
Re:Astrology not affected (Score:5, Insightful)
Please explain this part. Especially what kind of understanding it brings, and how the synchronization thing works.
Also what predictions are made? Give a few examples
Re:Zodiac hasn't changed (Score:5, Insightful)
If I vetted technical hires, stuff like this would instantly disqualify applicants. If they believed in claptrap like this, $DEITY knows what other gibberish they'd use to explain their incompetence in the future.
And if I vetted hiring decision-makers, you would be instantly disqualified for this, because you fail to understand that a person can be a complete moron in one area, while still know what they're doing in a separate area. You still have to test them on their actual merits, you can't just throw them out because of your preconceived notions.
Re:Ignoring Science? (Score:2, Insightful)
I think Astrology is an interesting thing. The idea is pretty simple. The states and positions of the stars when you were born, and where they are today, affect you. That's fine.
I'm prepared to accept that a lot of Taurus people (or whatever we are now after this "revelation") might be a lot like me. Nothing whatsoever to do with the stars, but more things like, Were you born into long winter nights? Were your parents the kind of people who like sex on the rug in front of a nice coal fire, or the kind that like it in the middle of a corn field? In all that complex mixture of nature and nurture, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see certain personality types clustered in certain parts of the year, and I'd love to see some real data on it. Smart astrologers would cotton on to this.
Naturally, I think the prediction part is complete and utter bollocks, which only persists because it just happens to be profitable bollocks.
Re:But the ecliptic hasn't moved. (Score:4, Insightful)
Astrology is a superstitious hobby of zero scientific merit
I agree with all of that except the "zero." Astrology makes people interested in astronomy, which is of enormous scientific merit.
Honestly... citation please?
As a former astronomer that took his personal time to head up monthly
star parties at our observatory in Moorpark, I can fully attest that the
only thing Astrology does for the 'common person' is fuck up the last
bit of astronomical sanity they could possibly have.
And the saddest thing to see from TFA is how people "don't believe it", lol
like they have the option to disbelieve a fact. Whooo. Wow.
Yes, folks, when you pull your head out of the sand... there's fresh air
to breathe.
-AI
*edit, yeah, I know people have the option to disbelieve a fact.
Re:But the ecliptic hasn't moved. (Score:5, Insightful)
Astrology is a superstitious hobby of zero scientific merit
I agree with all of that except the "zero." Astrology makes people interested in astronomy, which is of enormous scientific merit.
On the other hand, Its predictions and arguments have zero scientific merit, and adherence to its principles is evidence of ignorance, stpudity, or fraudulent intent.
That's like saying mass murder is good because it makes people interested in police work. Talk about zero merit.