Astronomy versus Astrology

[rustbeltvoice]

a priori: Zuckerberg sux big time
I realise many here dislike f*c*b**k with a passion. One feature is "memories", i see what i posted in years past. Four years ago Orange Caligula took power, and many days i had multiple posts (9 on 20 Jan 2017). Now, not so many. [memories otherwise reminds me what i fotoed in previous years]. I overlap those postings elsewhere:

Monday, January 30, 2017
Let us consider the stars. There is two ways of understanding their actions: one is astronomy, another is astrology. Some people believe in the one and some in the other. Astronomy enjoys the scientific method, facts are observed, and ideas are tested. People who believe in astrology are not convinced about this. They defend their beliefs (and although it is possible for them to finally follow the light, and see that astrology is superstitious nonsense, and a fraud; it will be a drawn out process). So, when some people say there are two ways to see something, well yeah, but one is true, and one is bullshit. I am a d/Democrat, and i believe in astronomy.

https://rustbeltvoice.blogspot.com/2017/01/astronomy-versus-astrology.html

[Atticus]

1. Buckle up------------- nt

[Iggo]

2. Phasers set to stun.

[Towlie]

3. Usually astrology is relatively harmless, but I remember a radio talk show long ago...

 
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The host had an astrologer on and invited listeners to call in with their questions. A woman caller told the astrologer that she was in love with a guy and wanted to know if their signs were compatible before she accepted his marriage proposal. After getting their birthdays the astrologer apparently did some sort of calculation and replied with something like "Oh no! That won't work out at all!"

It was quite infuriating, which is probably why it has been stuck in my memory for several decades.

[AnyFunctioningAdult]

4. No one "believes" in astronomy

We understand why astronomy is true by observing nature and it changes based on new data and observations. It is not a belief system. Astrology is just a nonsensical first attempt at humanity to explain lights in the sky thousands of years ago. Attempts to equate them as competing belief systems that should both have consideration are disingenuous.

Or maybe we should have the alchemy class after the Chemistry one? We need to leave all this anti-science in the past.

[PJMcK]

5. Astronomy is a science based on facts and observations

Astrology is based on... what, exactly?

It's like religion in that one can "believe" it if they want but they'll never "know" it.

Thanks to Sir Isaac Newton and the many scientists who followed him, we know that celestial bodies move in predictable orbits due to gravity. There's no way that those orbits determine the courses of our lives.

But if someone wants to believe in something, I really couldn't care less as long as their belief doesn't impact my life.

[Sogo]

13. It's based on mathematics and geometry mostly,

with a generous dose of science, such as the law of gravity.

To astrologers, the movement of "celestial bodies" is like a giant, three-dimensional clock, which, at the time of birth of an individual, establishes a pattern that then plays out in predictable ways throughout that individual's life.

[PJMcK]

15. That's what I've heard

But is Astrology testable? Why is my horoscope completely different depending on which newspaper I read or which Astrologer does my "reading?"

As I wrote, I don't care what others "believe" as long as they don't infringe on my life. But as a guide to life, I just cannot understand something that lacks consistency.

[Sogo]

17. As a wise person I once knew said, "Astrology is only as good as the astrologer."

There are hundreds of things (maybe more) to consider in looking at a person's chart (another word for "map" ), and depending upon the breadth and depth of an astrologer's vision, you'll get degrees of accuracy in their reading. That's why that same wise person recommended to always consult three different astrologers to gain insight about whatever subject it is you seek information. Over time, you'll probably recognize the skills of one or more of them to be more reliable, based on the outcomes of their insights and predictions. Also, there are different systems of astrology, most notably between the East and West. (In the East, there are families who have passed along, from generation to generation for many generations, their knowledge and study of astrology from ancient texts. It's safe to say that what you read in a newspaper doesn't even compare to this degree of skill.)

In the end, it's never good to hand over one's own discretion and decisions about one's own life to someone else. It should be viewed as just a possible resource or as reference material that you can draw upon as you see appropriate based on your own self-referral knowledge and intuition.

[Disaffected]

16. Whatever forms of mathematics and science

are employed by astrologers, the outcome i.e. astrological predictions, is nonetheless nonsensical. 2 + 2 = 5??

Astrology suffers from two fatal defects:

1) It has no rational theoretical basis

2) It has no basis in empirical evidence

It's a similar situation to homeopathy and the myriad of other irrational beliefs and practices that plague humanity.

[superpatriotman]

6. Science versus Scientology

to be analagous

[2naSalit]

7. Neither one is a belief system.

I utilize information gleaned from astrology as a specific form of time-keeping, I don't believe in it. Same as scientific information astronomy issues, I have no reason to believe in it. But I understand and accept both as forms of study.

It's more a matter of understanding with either of them. Try another analogy.

[USALiberal]

8. You don't believe in astronomy? Nt

[2naSalit]

9. I don't believe in anything...

I know things, I understand a lot more and am willing to consider anything else whether I accept it as real or not. I don't have a use for beliefs, look what that kind of thinking has brought us over the centuries. It's too bad so many people are hung up on that aspect of thought.

[Victor_c3]

11. I'd like to ask "cosmology or cosmetology?"

My 12 year old daughter wants to grow up and be a scientist at NASA. I jokingly confuse the two. It drives her crazy!

[Towlie]

12. That's from the Steve Martin movie, The Jerk

 
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Quote from The Jerk

[Towlie]

14. The worst astronomy offenders are not astrologers, they're young-earth creationists.

 
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Particularly striking are the Hubble Deep Field images, which show galaxies roughly 8 to 12 billion light-years away which are (were) visibly in the very early stages of formation.