Saturday, February 11th, 2012
Carl Sagan on the pseudoscience of Astrology
Published on December 22, 2010 by Paranominal · 19 CommentsTags: Astrology, Carl, pseudoscience, Sagan
Readers Comments (19)
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@the0fart0machine The reason we say they claim it to be scientific is because astrologers claim that their predictions based on the positions of the planets and stars are GOING TO HAPPEN. It is a claim they’re making about how reality works, and that makes it scientific. Does it make it true? Absolutely not.
@COLONELKiNGUMERCURiO The fact that astrology has no backing evidence does not mean he doesn’t know anything about it. Where did you get the idea of him being close minded? He said “provide me the mechanism or? logic by which they did this. Manage and I will convert on the spot.” That is pretty open minded. Your reply is absurd.
@nashertheatheist –
somethingawful(dot)com/d/awful-movie-database/magical-retard-child.php
hundreds of pens
@nashertheatheist – I hope you haven’t made the classical error of thinking that the maths is anything other than a way of describing the processes involved.
I would say though that your summation of it is tres cool, I never saw it put that way before – that the flow of the sea of subatomics is like the individual sparks not having a history. If you slowed it down of course you could trace their decays and changes, as cyclotron pictures do also detail.
@nashertheatheist – that’s nice, I read The Tao of Physics in 1994. I don’t see what that has to do with anything though. What other reading lists can we swap? Oh I liked Nick Herbert, he’s a physics PhD too at the least, who else – let’s see, what about Bob Wilson’s piece on it in The Illuminati Papers. He’s not a physics guy per se but you’ll find it a concise summation that packs the relevant details into an easily readable package.
@nashertheatheist – well then in that case you’re pretty much saying that you don’t know anything about astrology. Why do people who know nothing about it always think it’s just about being psychic? You must see things in a way where you’re like, ‘hmm I could bet on some outcome if that predicts shit’ – which is a terrible way to be.
@nashertheatheist – is this the bit where I insist that you’re Russel Crowe then.
@DracOverLordHaton
I know enough about astrology to know that it has never produced tangible, empirically proven, accurate predictions. Ever. Produce one example where, under reasonable experimental conditions and taking into account probability, an astrologer was able to make an accurate prediction of the future. Then, provide me the mechanism or logic by which they did this. Manage and I will convert on the spot.
Also, I will say this again:
Calm down. Relax. I mean no ill will against you.
@DracOverLordHaton
I have studied physics to A2 level (I’m not sure what the US equivalent level of education is). I am currently reading “Quantum” by Manjit Kumar, which goes into a fair amount of detail. The general gist of quantum theory is that on very small scales, objects do not necessarily have a definite history as was assumed in classical physics.
Here is an excellent lecture from Stanford University going over the basics of quantum mechanics:
/watch?v=2h1E3YJMKfA
@COLONELKiNGUMERCURiO
No, it’s because “Nasher” is a nickname I have in real life. I tend to use it online as well, I’m not too fussed about maintaining anonymity.
@nashertheatheist – why did you leave the G off the beginning of Gnasher? Did someone else have that username already?
@nashertheatheist – also, you don’t understand quantum fuck-all either, if you have issues in comprehending what was written to you concerning it. Even TV science shows with Actual Scientists on them know about all that, so why don’t you? Surely if you know it even more in-depth that the fucking telly shows, then you’d know MORE than them instead of LESS than them.
@nashertheatheist = fake. Look moron, you HAVE NOT STUDIED ASTROLOGY IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM. Not at all. So why the fuck do you think you are somehow in any position to deabte whether it works or not?
@DracOverLordHaton
Furthermore, resorting to baseless insults is not the right way to make a point. Calling me “scum” does not make me want to listen to you. I will continue to do so but I will warn you that in my experience, your resorting to such measures implies you are losing.
The reason it isn’t true is because there is no positive evidence that can hold up to proper scrutiny so we can dismiss it as unreasonable.
If you like, I can give you a totally fact-based education on quantum theory.
@DracOverLordHaton
I can’t provide proof of course, but I can assure you that I don’t believe it. I am not claiming that you really know this stuff to be nonsense, so I would appreciate the common courtesy of leaving that to another debate. I have no issue with my consciousness “leaking that I know” to “the overall collective mind” (to which I admit I don’t have a clue what you are talking about).
@COLONELKiNGUMERCURiO
This is getting rather too much for debate in youtube comments. I am very willing to continue in some other format. There is so much you have said that I want to respond adequately to, but 500 characters per post is not sufficient and is confusing.
I invite you to continue this either through videos and video responses; through private messages on this site or a public debate between me and you on the League of Reason forums, on which I am a moderator. Thanks in advance.
@nashertheatheist – How are you going to stop your consciousness’, that know about those things being real, from being part of the overall collective mind and therefore leak that you know what you know into all other minds anyway, to some degree? Live in a Faraday Cage all your life, that is somehow also unconnected to non-local aspects to this universe?
@nashertheatheist – you say you don’t believe it, but you know it to be true. For the same reasons you say you don’t believe all the other stuff you are in denial of here – it is because you know they are true. At the end of the day, what you are engaged in really thinks that merely keeping things from being seeable consciously by people is somehow going to stop those things being real, because you believe you can misuse that Observer Effect to that end. Problem for you is – you know about it.
@nashertheatheist – absolute pedo-cult lies from your sickness as usual. Your kind can’t actually ever explain what you scum all try to claim I’m wrong about, all you ever do is say it isn’t true. You don’t say WHY it isn’t true and you can’t even bring yourself to directly mention at all the processes described.
No it is not a lack of understanding of quantum theory – that deficit is all on your ‘side’.