You know that astrology is equal to the solid waste matter that is extruded from a male bovine mammal, right? Want proof?
Yes, you got it. An astrologer is startled — nay, shocked — by an earthquake while filming a YouTube video with her daily horoscope predictions.
Yet somehow, while doing that voodoo hooey she do so badly — she missed the fact that she was about to experience an earthquake!
I love irony.
Even better, she was just saying how your horoscope predicts that "you can keep your cool", and "the stars have your back". At that moment, the earthquake hits. Wow.
And yes, you believers in nonsensical astrological garbage, I know there are different kinds of astrology, and that even you think that this woman is practicing a ridiculous form of astrology, while yours is of course the totally real kind of astrology, even though the actual truth of the matter is that you are both buying into what is essentially the exact same flavor of nonsense.
Astrology doesn’t work. It really really doesn’t, OK? But if you really really feel the need, please go ahead and leave a comment telling me how close-minded I am, and how your particular brand of astrology works, even though it has no predictive capabilities, is contradicted by iron-clad experiments, and also goes against everything we know about reality.
But other than that, it totally works.
Tip o’ the wizard’s hat to the legion of BABloggees who sent me this news! Thanks!
July 30th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Thanks for the laugh Phil. I often reference your debunking of astrology to point out irrational beliefs people have. However sometimes you just can’t get through the layers of self deception and delusion.
Last time I called Miss Cleo, she never was able to guess my credit card number!
July 30th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Phil, I respectfully disagree with you. My horoscope this morning said that a video recording of a liar caught in an earthquake would leave me strangely aroused. I can confirm that the subjective portion of this prediction is accurate.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:32 pm
I’m sorry, what was she saying, I was too busy paying attention to that plunging neckline… @_@
July 30th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
If all astrologers have cleavage like hers, I’ll start believing anything she tells me.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Astrology may not work, but her brassiere does.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
At least she had good babingas.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Were you in a bad mood while typing this post, Phil? Seems a little harsher than usual .
July 30th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I watched this video last night, it was great.
Oh boy, other commenters beat me to talking about her rack. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Who cares what she was saying?
July 30th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
She said something?
July 30th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Well, such a nice girl can tell me whatever she wants…
July 30th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
My astrology tells me that Phil Plait must have a strongly-placed Mercury in his natal chart, for he is into communications / media and, you want prediction? I predict that he might some day get published. So there. Oh, and I won’t even mention her blouse.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Can someone help me with this. If astronomers, scientists can believe that ‘black hole’ exist by way of the indirect evidences that they have managed to study then why can’t astrologers believe that planets and stars influence human life by the observations that they have made on how human life gets affected by changes in the position of the stars and planet. Whats the difference between the two?
When scientist say black hole exists, one should believe because they have studied the skies say for around 400 years now and have collected tons of indirect evidenc? But when Astrologers say astrology exist which may have been researched say for 2000 years, it is crap, gibberish, rubbish etc. May I know why? Are we saying half the humanity is buying into this crap?
Why are we so dismissive of Astrology?
July 30th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
“You shouldn’t dismiss as incredible the possibility that a long enough search might reveal a golden grain of truth in astrological superstition.” — Johannes Kepler
Read the Skeptic’s Dictionary entry for astrology for a good treatise on why it is no science.
http://www.skepdic.com/astrolgy.html
July 30th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
“If astronomers, scientists can believe that ‘black hole’ exist by way of the indirect evidences that they have managed to study then why can’t astrologers believe that planets and stars influence human life by the observations that they have made on how human life gets affected by changes in the position of the stars and planet.”
Deepak,
There is nothing wrong with astrologers arguing via indirect evidence, except for the fact that astrologers don’t HAVE any indirect evidence.
But would you care to present some? I’m sure there are a lot of people who would love to be proven wrong on the topic.
July 30th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Was this our little tremor we had here in The Unearthly Paradise Of Southern California yesterday?
Just to be contrarian, does astrology ever claim to predict earthquakes? I thought it was general life and love piffle.
IOW, I don’t think fault lines have astrological signs.
Oh boy, other commenters beat me to talking about her rack. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
I *totally* stared at her cleavage the whole time. She may be a woo but anyone know is she’s single? In my experience woo woo girls are… interesting behind closed doors.
At least she had good babingas.
Not to mention her bazoombas, her jugglebags, her golden bozos, her big berthas, and her Winnebagos.
Welcome to Discover Magazine folks! You all have a great evening!
July 30th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Deepak, read this link: http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/astrology.html
There are VAST differences between ACTUAL OBSERVATIONS and Bullcaca.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I was rather hoping for a little more maturity in the comments, folks. Please?
July 30th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
If astronomers, scientists can believe that ‘black hole’ exist by way of the indirect evidences that they have managed to study
Black hole jet: http://blog.wired.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/12/17/blackhole_galaxy.jpg
Nothing indirect about that.
then why can’t astrologers believe that planets and stars influence human life by the observations that they have made on how human life gets affected by changes in the position of the stars and planet. Whats the difference between the two?
What’s the indirect evidence? As far as I have ever read, astrology doesn’t even hold up to basic statistical analysis (e.g. do all Geminis have similar traits).
July 30th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
I was rather hoping for a little more maturity in the comments, folks. Please?
Oh, lighten up. We’re mocking her and her little pseudoscience. It’s parody. Yeah, that’s it. We’re parodying sex starved teenage commentors.
You gotta let your hair down now and then.
Well, those of us who can.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Indirect evidence of black-holes is in the form of their effect on light passing within their region of space. Light, a force in the Universe which behaves completely independently of we fleshy blobs down here.
Indirect evidence of astrology is in the form of people who belive that their life is being affected because they are told so and believe they are seeing these effect. People, the fleshy blobs mentioned above who have problems dicerning the truth behind events which occur and behave in a way which is easily influenced by their perceptions.
The other important fact, is evidence of blackholes is testable, and predictable. Evidence for astrology, while testable, is not tested and is not predictable (other than the obviously prediction of bunk).
July 30th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I’ll be in my bunk.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
evidence of blackholes is testable
Yeah, they’ll be creating at the Large Hadron Collider any day now. We can study themup close and personal as they destroy the Earth.
(QD runs and hides)
July 30th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
@QD
You beat me to it. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of astrologers claiming to predict stuff like earthquakes, at least not directly. However, perhaps they might make a “disaster will strike you at X point in time” kind of statement. If that’s the case, then I guess she didn’t read her own chart, she read it wrong, she read it but it didn’t tell her about the quake, or the charts are a bunch of hooey. My money’s on the hooey.
@Phil
Thanks for asking people to grow up a bit. Felt like the blog suddenly turned into a middle school boy’s locker room.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
If you wanted a little more maturity Phil, you needed to have an uglier person in the video you put up here.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Honestly, I think she handled herself very well in such circumstances. She went straight for the doorway, and told the camera man to do the same.
As to astrology, I see performances like this as entertainment, and I’m sure she does too. Television shows like Ghost Hunters and the supposedly “reality” shows, while complete hogwash in my opinion, are apparently watched by millions of people every day.
Astrology is a woolly subject, and its sad that some people truly believe in that malarky, but it definitely is sometimes entertaining!
p.s. I wasn’t going to comment on her looks, since I thought all women in California looked like that. What’s the big deal?
July 30th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Oh lord, that’s one of those great moments that makes you wish more people in this country DID get irony. This is almost as good as that big fat load Dr. Phil selling a dieting book!
July 30th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
“I was rather hoping for a little more maturity in the comments, folks. Please?”
Now THAT’s an irrational statement if ever I heard one.
I’m pretty sure he counts on most of her viewers (90% of the males and 10% of the females, at least) to not be listening to a word she’s saying.
And Astrology DOES work, Phil. It is incredibly successful for its intended purpose — to separate suckers from their money.
JIM
July 30th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
@Phil I was rather hoping for a little more maturity in the comments, folks. Please?
Sorry for my comment, it was a bit childish. To be scientific about it though, I’ll blame my attitude and comments on evolutionary biology.
As for Max Fagans comments, there’s a large difference between astronomy and astrology. Black holes were predicted quite a long time ago, and there’s plenty of evidence to see that they exist. Astrology never has, or never will show itself to anything but a fantasy.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
I wasn’t being childish; I was making an empirical observation. Yeah, that’s it.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
Wow. Uh…maturity…uh…ok…reset…
Back online.
First of all, I don’t believe in astrology. But..
While this is funny, I don’t know why an astrologist being surprised is proof of anything. Were all of the geologists in CA unsurprised? I doubt it.
Despite being surprised, she did react correctly and quickly. Give her some points for that at least. Maybe she could create an Earthquake Safety video.
Ok, time to stop before I type something immature.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
My astrology predicts doom for you, Phil. DOOM! The stars tell me that a galaxy is going to crash into ours in a billion years! The stars tell me that the sun will consume the earth in 5 billion years! The stars tell me that the universe will degrade into heat and misery in a trillion years! Would you like to know more? Send $19.95 for a personalized set of predictions.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I predict this video will be the next Green Screen Challenge on the Colbert Report.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Must….keep….maturity…active!!!!!
July 30th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
@ RL
Were all of the geologists in CA unsurprised? I doubt it.
Ummm… I don’t believe any of the geologists in CA make any claims about being able to accurately predict earthquakes, and steal your money while they’re doing it…
July 30th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
It isn’t entertainment if people make life-changing decisions, when to quit or get a job, who to date or even marry, what to do with their life savings, based on this garbage. We had a president of the United States of America setting his schedule (and who knows what else) based on the advice of an astrologer. This is not entertainment. This is serious.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Celtic_Evolution and TheBlackCat nailed it!
Oh, go ahead and Digg this.
Anything that promotes rational thought needs to get popularized! Phil’s stuff is great stuff!
July 30th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
..im sorry…what?
July 30th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
I guess those planets are indeed nicely aligned.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
Phill, you are way off on this one. This astrologer is totally ligit and I can prove it:
I went to her youtube channel and she seems to have accurately predicted that I have no interest in watching the prediction for my ’sign’(virgo) today, and so she didn’t bother posting it.
July 30th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Deepak, the difference lies within the predictive, repeatable power that science has.
When astrology is put under even the most modest of blinded testing conditions, it fails, fails, fails. It would be nice if astrologers could at LEAST feign science by explaining the mechanism by which planets, stars, and constellations affect humans.
When astronomers observe, they’re able to not only record gravitational effects of those ellusive bastards like dark matter and black holes, but they’re able to, on the basis of what came before, ACCURATELY PREDICT where such materials ought to be, and science proves right, right, right.
The difference is in the testability.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
One more thing, as to the comment that an astrologer being shocked of an earthquake isn’t proof of anything….
Well, yes it is. Because the earthquake happened in California. So her magical powers ought to have combined with the common sense of living so close to a friggin fault-line so that she should truly have ‘kept her cool’…more so than most Caliornians, I expect.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
CE, My point is this. And limited to this. Since when is being surprised proof of anything?
And to anyone else, is there documented proof of large numbers of people ruining their lives over astrology advice? More than anecdotes? This is actually a serious question. I’m not defending astrology at all. Its bunk although it can be fun to sit around and swap horoscopes. But, is there really proof that people ruin their lives over this stuff? Or is this an unsubstantiated supposition? And, please, don’t tell me about money wasted. This is obvious enough.
Now I’ll go back and watch the video again for more clues and information.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
A study could be done to determine how long certain things jiggled…shook before she became aware of it. Say you’re testing how quickly people respond consciously to physical stimuli.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
My bad. She appears to be from LA. That study obviously wouldn’t work.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Well, shoot, she could have stayed in the frame so we could watch the earthquake jiggle that exposed bosom of hers….
July 30th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
RL, in THAT you do have a very valid point. HOWEVER, since these charlatans make a living out of being able to PREDICT the future for millions of people, her surprise shows she did in fact NOT know that this earthquake was going to happen, erg her claims of any future knowledge is further cast into doubt. Further supporting the statement that astrology is bovine excrement. Keep in mind, these same people who practice this type of deception seem to jump all over any perceived gap in knowledge of their critics, while not applying that same level of rigor to their own trade.
Thus I would say that this is a much more justifiable ribbing of the practice than anything else.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
more so than most Caliornians, I expect.
Oh, please. Other than useless politicians looking for “we’re doing something!” air time, and the news folks (Quake Watch 2008!!!!!) who are too afraid/lazy to report on anything substantial, the rest of us considered yesterday’s tremor a little baby girly quake, to borrow some of our governor’s vernacular.
living so close to a friggin fault-line
Yeah, but we build for it. Seismic codes and all that. Yesterday’s quake would have damaged buildings and maybe killed a few people in some parts of the world. I think a guy out in Chino Hills got a bruise or something.
It’s a risk reward scenario. I’ll take a quake threat of indeterminate probability over a near definite ten feet of snow every winter, for example.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Brett McCoy: “Well, shoot, she could have stayed in the frame so we could watch the earthquake jiggle that exposed bosom of hers….”
Like I said, she’s from LA. She was altered to prevent that.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Hey QD,
There is little risk of snow here, as we only get about 2 weeks of winter a year. And its been hundreds or thousands of years since Texas has had a really big quake. (I’m guessing.) Cal-lee-for-nee-ya is really nice, but it always seems to be experiencing some sort of natural disaster. You’d think the Astrologers would simply say, “Today, there might be an earthquake/flood/fire/drought/other disaster” and they’d be right most of the time!
Now I’m going outside to enjoy the 102° heat.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
I just did some quick, uh, research on YouTube. Heather, the Cosmos Girl who is featured in this blog post, had a number of predictions for my sign. All were very general, non-specific and mostly harmless. Some were actually good suggestions, like don’t forget my valuables at the tanning salon and be careful lending things (she recounts a story of lending a blouse to a friend who stretched it out and made it unwearable. She laughs and makes reference to something many posters have already made reference to). Or, think about it carefully before beginning a home improvement project. The one dubious piece of advice was get a colonic or buy a book about getting impurities out of my body. That was kind of disappointing.
One thing that was hard to figure out was what her angle was. No website was promoted or money was asked for. Maybe this is just to hook me in for more.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
@Greg
Yeah, you might not have quakes, but you definitely have tornadoes. And excessive heat. And droughts. And the Bush ranch. And crazy penguin robots shooting people instead of ducks.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
@Todd
You’re absolutely right. Those penguin… wait… What?
July 30th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
10 feet of snow is much better than an earthquake! I don’t remember anyone coming outside laughing after an earthquake and building a fort… of course I suppose you *could* with all that rubble left behind. Nevermind. Oh yeah… black holes are cool. Astrology… not so much.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Quiet desperation, that’s pretty much my point.
Californians are tough to earthquakes in the way that us Canadians are tough to snow-storms. Its no big deal.
But this is a woman who claims (and gets paid) to be able to magically see into the future…if that were true, she should have been able to see something like a ‘quake. That, IN ADDITION to the ubiquitousness of earthquakes, she should have been totally indifferent, even stoic, about it.
I would be similarly derisive if a Canadian astrologer were surprised after a 50cm snowstorm.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
As the mythbusters would say, astrology myth busted.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
I know of a study that examined whether there is a relationship between personality traits and astrological signs. It was very simple. A survey listed the conventional personality traits of each sign. The subjects were asked to pick the one that best describes them, and to state their birthdays. There was no relationship found.
How do I know about this study? My daughter did it for her 5th grade Science Fair project this past year. She won First Place in her class.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Phil Plait says:
Sorry man, but first off she is an astrologer, and that alone I cannot take seriously. With that you get the icing of her “look at my cleavage!” top, her screaming for an earthquake that barely qualifies as such, and then her spending the rest of the video going “Oh my gawd!” and “Holy Sh*t”, how much maturity and seriousness can you expect? :}
Robbie says
I should be, but I’m not, I am only disappointed she didn’t jump around!
July 30th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
There is little risk of snow here, as we only get about 2 weeks of winter a year. And its been hundreds or thousands of years since Texas has had a really big quake.
Yeah, but it’s still Texas. You all are doomed. Ask Phil.
Cal-lee-for-nee-ya is really nice, but it always seems to be experiencing some sort of natural disaster.
It makes us stronger and puts hair on our chests! Our men are all bronzed heros and our women could drop kick any of you through goal posts from 30 yards out. Take everything Australians claim and square it!
July 30th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Law Mom,
Can you post the results of the survey? Maybe we can do a little peer review here
Would letting the subjects pick the personality they think they fall under an accurate method? How many picked smart&witty when they might not be? What were the personality traits that the subjects picked from?
Maybe we can repeat these in other school science fairs.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
While astrologers do not claim to predict earthquakes, they DO predict events and outcomes in the personal lives of people.
So, a simple test would be to check the horoscopes in the L.A. Times to see if disasters were predicted for EVERYONE of EVERY sign in the area.
So I went to the L.A. Times website and checked the 29 July horoscopes.
http://www.latimes.com/features/horoscopes/la-et-astro29-2008jul29,1,7451685.story
Results? Nada. Bupkus. Not a single prediction of personal doom or gloom in the lot.
Astrology is bunk. Pure hokum. Fit only for the weak-minded.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
ND,
Some choices were definitely more popular than others. You might think that that would potentially result in a false positive for that one sign, but interestingly, the kids who actually matched the most popular signs didn’t pick them.
The hardest part was finding a definitive list of traits. She did a lot of research there. Seems astrologers can’t agree on anything.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I have an idea about the origins of astrology:
When ancient civilizations planted their fields based on the seasonal movement of the sun they concluded that the sun “caused” their crops to sprout and grow. This worked great but the interpretation was all wrong. The “theory” expanded to watching the Moon and planets. Next thing you know: voila, astrology is born. Maybe this is why the Farmers Almanac advises to plant and harvest based on the phase of the Moon.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Maturity? Damn, now I can’t make my Castor and Pollux joke!
July 30th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
@Greg
Dick Cheney. Everyone knows he’s really a robot and, as Jon Stewart has shown on The Daily Show, Cheney talks like a penguin. The shooting part should be obvious.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Corey: “I’ll be in my bunk.”
Hahahahahaha!!!!! OMG, I can’t stop laughing! What a great show!
July 30th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Law Mom,
Oooh, the differences in the definitive lists of traits would be very interesting in itself. If she did a lot of research on this, would she be interested in posting here findings on web? I’m sure that would be extra work for her.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
Law Mom — Thumbs up to your daughter!
July 30th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Using the scientific method, I repeated from 10 seconds thru 12 seconds exactly 100 times and logged the results…
At least I think that’s what the kids are calling it these days.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
What a deep fault line, my dear! Is that a constructive plate margin, or have you just put some weight on recently? The true determinant is your Planet X sign? Sun, Moon, Jupiter only minor players? Not really relevant at all except when they are, yes I see. Well, I suppose that since I am on a cusp, that explains why the earth didn’t move for me as well. JFK was a suicide? Lemon curry?
July 30th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Seriously, this was my horoscope (taurus) last week:
“On July 30th, 2008 you will watch a video of a potty mouthed, fake breasted, fairly decent looking astrologer experience an earthquake while filming nonsense.”
WTF are the odds of that?
July 30th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Phil, you picked the video, we should get to choose to comment on the most important parts. Astrology isn’t exactly a threat to rational thought as we know it.
July 30th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Them breasts were only things not fake about her!
July 30th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
[...] Astrology of the Day In badastronomy, Phil posted this. It is funny, since the astrologer didn’t predict the earthquake. Don’t tell me [...]
July 30th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Oh come on, Phil, can’t you loosen up.
Oh, and expecting us to be mature is too much of an expectation. ^_^
July 30th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
leeobee: “Them breasts were only things not fake about her!”
Funniest post yet.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
The worst thing about astrology is that they do not recognize Precession of the Equinoxes and therefore their dates for the zodiac is wildly inaccurate today. They claim that I was born in Aries (April 17). I don’t recall the site which has an astronomical calculator that tells the precise zodiac position when I was born or what sign I actually was born in, but it was much earlier. Aquarius or maybe late Capricorn. However, as of today i just might focus more closely on the subject. Just for fun.
July 30th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
If this is her first earthquake how can she be from L.A.
Heck I lived there for four years, 1971-1975 and went through( holy crap!!!!!!!!!)nearly 5000 earthquake(that stat courtesy of the USGS). Albeit only one was in the range of the quake shown here, and i think i slept through it. I was about 7 or 8 at the time and i remember my folks talking about it.
on the other hand…. AAAAaaaaoooooooooGA!!
Sorry couldn’t resist
July 30th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
Who gives a f!*k whether shes talking scheisse, shes absolutely gorgeous!
July 30th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Yeah, and lighten up as well mate. We all know horoscopes are bs. Whats wrong with a little fun?
July 30th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Please, please, one more…if the stars have her back, can I have her front?
July 30th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Wow, you could use that video to advance science instead of bashing woo. Just imagine using it to teach a unit in physics on inertia and mass. Talk about inertial dampeners!
July 30th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
Her neckline, or lack thereoff, and erm… “assets” are probably the reason she even has a facebook app. She’s making entertainment, and I’d be surprised if she actually believed this crud. Well, maybe she might, but then again, I read horoscopes for fun. Particularly The Onion’s.
July 30th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
I was rather hoping for a little more maturity in the comments, folks. Please?
I figured it out. Mrs. BA must have been looking over his shoulder when Mr. BA posted this comment.
Shakin’ up – bovine mammal – totally real: All boob references.
Doing that voodoo hooey she do so badly – Feel the need: All nookie references.
Shame on you BA. I hope my wife isn’t watching me type.
July 30th, 2008 at 10:02 pm
I thought there was supposed to be a lot more shaking and bouncing during an earthquake. Damnit.
(Sorry Phil)
July 30th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
@Todd – Cheney talks like Burgess Meredith? Does that make Barak Obama Batman?
July 30th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Astrology is a belief, a faith. Just as we believe and have a faith in our respective religions. When it comes to faith there is nothing right or wrong, its just there. We need to view Astrology as just another religion and leave it at that.
July 30th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
@Deepak
Astrology is a belief, a faith. Just as we believe and have a faith in our respective religions. When it comes to faith there is nothing right or wrong, its just there. We need to view Astrology as just another religion and leave it at that.
For once, I am in total agreement with you. Although, I suspect you may not understand why.
July 30th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Well, Phil, you said:
“Even better, she was just saying how your horoscope predicts that “you can keep your cool”, and “the stars have your back”. At that moment, the earthquake hits. Wow. ”
…as if this happened in the past.
But if you watch the full video, it’s clear she’s talking about a future event:
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-53346
Transcript begins:
“Good morning, Libra. I’m heather your CosmosGAL; here’s your horoscope for Tuesday, August 5, 2008. If you woke up with an extra spring in your step or at least got out of bed without stubbing your toe, it’s because the moon’s in your sign today…”
I’ll have you know that today is Thursday, July 31, 2008, so Heather is actually reporting about an incident that yet to happen! Then again, she’s actually there in the future, but technically it means she’s predicting a future event, though it’s not in her future in the future, but…
Okay, I guess I’m confused. But just to be on the safe side, I think it’d be worth it to stay way away from her website next Tuesday.
July 30th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Deepak: “When it comes to faith there is nothing right or wrong”
Pauli: “That’s not right, it’s not even wrong”
Game, set, match.
July 30th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
OK boys , what colour were her eyes?
July 30th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Phil…You are truly brilliant.
July 30th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Well, come on now, guys. After all, she’s an astrologer, not a psychic…tho I was definitely getting some vibrations, myself…maybe I’ll watch with the sound on, next time.
…and blast you Crux Australis for beating me to that joke… :p
July 30th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
@Deepak
“Astrology is a belief, a faith. Just as we believe and have a faith in our respective religions. When it comes to faith there is nothing right or wrong, its just there. We need to view Astrology as just another religion and leave it at that.”
No, the difference here is that astrology makes real-world predictions. Once it does that, it can be tested. When it is tested, it fails. That makes it WRONG (the caps are not supposed to suggest yelling, I just don’t know how to put it in italics). If Astrology wants to be seen as ‘just another religion’, it can stop charging tons-o-money for its services, and has to stop making real-world predictions and advice that LOADS of people, some of whom have a lot of real power (i.e. Nancy Reagan used to have astrologer meetings and would shape her schedule around it).
It’s not just ‘another religion’. Believing it certainly takes a LOT of faith, but how demonstrably wrong can something be before you have to realize it’s a house of cards?
July 30th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
So, a simple test would be to check the horoscopes in the L.A. Times to see if disasters were predicted for EVERYONE of EVERY sign in the area.
Yeah… but… it wasn’t a disaster. Like I mentioned in another post, I think a guy got a bruise somewhere near the epicenter. It was really a nonevent.
STOP MAKING ME DEFEND AN ASTROLOGER!!!!!
July 31st, 2008 at 12:06 am
I like how their phone “rings” (on vibrate) right after the earthquake, and they seem to miss it. Shouldn’t she have known the phone would ring?
July 31st, 2008 at 12:18 am
I recently heard one of my friends say she would never date someone of a specific sign, because of that sign, and she got offended when I said that that was no different than racism. She’s über P.C. and was horrified at the comparison. Happily, it got her thinking, and that’s the first step. I then handed her the copy of Sagan’s The Demon Haunted World that I bought at TAM (it was in my backpack) and told her to give this book a read, with an open mind.
July 31st, 2008 at 12:53 am
Astrologers (and I’ve met several and got to know the biz through a roommate decades ago) generally do not stick their necks out to predict disasters. They tend to focus on the personal. They make $ and ego strokes from personal consultations. The one major problem they tend to ignore (because they are ignorant) is that the Ephemerides they use to calculate planetary positions do not coincide with what is observable in the sky. As well, astrologers disagree on “house” systems. Indian astrologers will calculate a different “rising sign” from a western astrologer. You can’t simply sweep all of this under the table. It gets down to magical correspondences and magical belief. Hey, that’s cool. They should admit it and go on from there. No pretense that it has anything to do with astronomy or science.
July 31st, 2008 at 12:56 am
Yea I think my dog is more psychic when it comes to earthquakes then this girl.
July 31st, 2008 at 12:57 am
leeobee Says:
July 30th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Them breasts were only things not fake about her!
Yeah they were hers–she paid for them herself!
RT NZ Says:
July 30th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
OK boys , what colour were her eyes?
She had eyes????
Seriously, I’m impressed that only one person seemed to want to defend astrology. But even then that person was logged on using the name of one of the more famous New Age saps and/or charlatains. Connection?
July 31st, 2008 at 1:11 am
baryogenesis Says:
You can’t simply sweep all of this under the table. It gets down to magical correspondences and magical belief. Hey, that’s cool. They should admit it and go on from there. No pretense that it has anything to do with astronomy or science.
But THAT is the crux of the problem. We as reasonable humans should not be brushing off the New Age Saps. There are astrologers ( and I know several) that will insist on their self-claimed scientific validity. And there are those ignorant enough to believe in the whole crock of Taurus.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:55 am
Phil, you missed another thing that she missed. She had to ask repreatedly whether they were still recording. Shouldn’t she know?
Anyway, she did have some good advice about dealing with the quake – Get in the ****ing doorway – so she gets a 1/4 mark for that one.
July 31st, 2008 at 1:57 am
I empathize with Phil and his dislike for anatomical comments. However, it should be noted that details of her appearance (hair, makeup, clothing) were likely checked before filming began . I think the low neckline is having the desired effect. It short-circuits the brains of many men so that they don’t think critically about the snake oil they’re being sold.
I’ve seen an unusually high number of low necklines in infomercials.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:52 am
People born between May 21 – June 20 (a.k.a. Gemini’s) seem to be the worst car drivers, as an insurance company asserts:
http://columbus.injuryboard.com/automobile-accidents/astrology-and-car-crashes.aspx
According to Forbes, 12% (and not the expected 8%) of the billionaires are born between Aug. 23 – Sept. 22 (so-called Virgo’s):
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/03/28/billionaires-horoscope-astrology-cz_lk_0328billyhoroscopes.html
I don’t believe the stars have anything to do with it (Hey! I’m a Virgo, what ‘d you expect!), but … what do these correlations mean? Of course correlations aren’t causes; it might be a temporary coincidence, just as the infamous Mars-effect.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:55 am
Here I am, seeing “100 comments” and expecting some astrology trolls bashing Phil as always. But instead nothing but boob jokes.
Good work!
I turned on the TV for a minute and there was “Breaking News”! They showed a table tipped over a little in Chino. It was priceless.
Check out this photo titled “Damage in Santa Monica”.
July 31st, 2008 at 6:09 am
I will unapologetically, and without subtlety, confirm that she has fantastic breasts. So there.
July 31st, 2008 at 6:50 am
@ Phil
Thank you! My three favorite comobination: Black hair, long hair, cute face. Nay, but four favorites there are: Buxom busom. Thank you!
What did you say she does for a living? Never mind. She’s either too young for me, or I’m too old for her. Such is life.
Don
P.S. I don’t believe in astrology
July 31st, 2008 at 7:12 am
Reading the article and the comments revealed one basic truth: neither pro nor con knows much about astrology. The predicting of earthquakes is an entirely different area of study within the discipline than making sun sign predictions: it’s possible to work with one or the other or both or neither and still be called an “Astrologer”. The fact that she didn’t predict the quake says absolutely nothing about astrology. I find it sad that there’s so much ignorance about what I find in fact a very useful area of study.
July 31st, 2008 at 7:30 am
I think we can all agree, most emphatically, that she is a mammal.
“You can’t help getting older, but you can stay immature.” – Red Green
July 31st, 2008 at 7:52 am
I have two things to say:
1.- Astrology is BS
2.- She’s HOT!
July 31st, 2008 at 8:25 am
Yea I think my dog is more psychic when it comes to earthquakes then this girl.
I grew up with a cat that would get visibly antsy about a minute before a tremor. Anecdotal and probably some confirmation bias, but there you go.
P.S. I don’t believe in astrology
I’ll say I do if she’ll date me. I am a male first and a skeptic second.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:57 am
Well,, I find that being “sold” something (be it a new brand of car, or be it astrology) by means of sexual enticement, is just plan unethical. Evolution has seen fit to provide males with only enough blood to run one head successfully, and advertisers ruthlessly exploit that.
If you’re not careful, you wake up one day, penniless, surrounded by all stupid rubbish that you bought. And you still didn’t get any sex!
My feeling is: Don’t advertise what you aren’t selling!
And by that standard, there is a very limited number of professions for which naked or near-naked mammaries are a legitimate advertisement
July 31st, 2008 at 9:32 am
@A Real Astrologer – So enlighten us, if we’re all such ignorant savages. It shouldn’t be difficult to prove that astrology is a legitimate science if it is one. Go right ahead and give us proof.
July 31st, 2008 at 9:35 am
Not defending astrology, and I am not an expert, but from what I have always been told by practitioners and/or believers, astrology is not supposed to be able to predict specific events at specific times; more an overview of influences. So debunking it based on psychological experiments that demonstrate propensity for selective thinking and pattern recognition in noise, makes good a good scientific argument. Debunking by pointing out that it doesn’t do something that most partitions don’t claim it to do is a bit of a straw man argument. Again, not defending, just saying there are more scientific approaches to debunking…
July 31st, 2008 at 9:57 am
@Corey J Feldman: astrology is not supposed to be able to predict specific events at specific times; more an overview of influences
Even if they’re only making an overview there’s got to be a process they use to do that, a system which can be observed.
July 31st, 2008 at 10:11 am
Oh, comon, Phil! Most of us are male, and we’re presented with a nice set like that… how can we ignore THAT elephant in the room? Besides, since her mode of dress is obviously a deliberate choice, she obviously enjoys showing off her attributes.
I just hope they are not as fake as her predictions…
July 31st, 2008 at 10:14 am
@Bruce A: As I said in my comment, not defending astrology. There are just better ways of debunking it then pointing out that is didn’t do something that it doesn’t claim to do…
July 31st, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Don Snow wrote: P.S. I don’t believe in astrology
Quiet Desperation wrote: I’ll say I do if she’ll date me. I am a male first and a skeptic second.
Now, if only we had the intellectual equivalent of a paper bag….
(sorry Phil)
July 31st, 2008 at 12:50 pm
There was this movie long ago called ‘The Heavenly Body’ (1944), where Hedy Lamarr plays the lonely, neglected wife of an astronomer, who goes to an astrologer and gets told she will meet a new love. Of course super-serious hubby is not amused. It all works out in the end, and the astrologer turns out to be a food hoarder (during a time of rationing). Could our girl in the vid be hoarding food under that blouse?
July 31st, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Astrology is not a science. It is an art. To get all whiney and anal retentive while discussing it is like demanding that the party next door be put to a stop beacuse you didn’t get invited. I guess it’s the difference between wanting to be with a woman and plastering her mug on the internet to make fun of her.
July 31st, 2008 at 2:17 pm
@Steve – of COURSE it is. And you’re not just saying that because you’ve got a book to sell us.
Oh wait, YOU DO.
July 31st, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Steve….yeah, that’s it. We’re JEALOUS.
July 31st, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Jeez Bruce. I didn’t mention the book or even use my last name. But if somebody reads this blog and wants to buy a copy of SIGNS OF SUCCESS: The Remarkable Power of Business Astrology, who am I to stop them? By the way, the book was published by AMACOM, the publishing arm of the vested and conservative American Management Association. They chose to take on this untraditional title not because it was some emotional screed for or aganst astrology, but because actual knowledge of its principles might be of some benefit to business folks who must do business in countries such as China and India where astrology is a vested part of the historical culture. Or would you just prefer if I just pouted?
And Candian skeptic – I don’t think you’re jealous. I think you’re superficial and smug. How’s that working out for you?
July 31st, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Canadian Skeptic- Sorry about that. Completely unnecessary. All I really know about you is that you are Canadian. And a skeptic. For the rest, there’s too many angry people in the world. This evening I don’t care to be one of them. Best of luck to you.
July 31st, 2008 at 8:37 pm
I’m with BA. You guys should all grow up. I totally respect her for her mind. Oh, wait, she’s an astrologer?
July 31st, 2008 at 9:26 pm
@Steve “but because actual knowledge of its principles”
Which are…?
It may surprise and trouble you to know I’m seriously interested. If I’m wrong about something I want to change that.
July 31st, 2008 at 10:01 pm
@Ruprecht:
“According to Forbes, 12% (and not the expected 8%) of the billionaires are born between Aug. 23 – Sept. 22 (so-called Virgo’s)”
Yes, they say this:
“That was our finding after trolling through all the birth dates we’ve collected on the world’s wealthiest. So far, we have confirmed the birth dates for 613 of our 793 billionaires. Of those, more than 70, or roughly 12%, were born between Aug. 23 and Sept. 22, making this earth sign the most common among billionaires.
…
“The least common sign among billionaires? Sagittarius, which represents just 6% of the world’s wealthiest.”
This inspired me to find out how numberology (spelling intentional) affects the abstract affairs of numbers driving them to become randomaires, so I headed over to random.org, generated 3065 random numbers (613*5) from 1 to 12 (giving each a numberological “sign” of unari, duari, triari, quadrari, quintari, sextari, septari, octari, nonari, dezi, undezi, and dudezi), in 5 columns. I then took my lucky randomaires and figured out how their numberological signs influenced their truly random selections as randomaires.
The results were as follows:
Column 1: 67 randomaires (10.9%) were of the sign undezi. 37 (6.0%) were quadrari.
Column 2: 68 randomaires (11.0%) were of the sign nonari. 41 (6.7%) were duari.
Column 3: 72 randomaires (11.7%) were of the sign octari. 35 (5.7%) were nonari.
Column 4: 63 randomaires (10.2%) were of the sign quadrari. 42 (6.9%) were unari.
Column 5: 61 randomaires (10.0%) were of the sign duari. 33 (5.4%) were octari.
July 31st, 2008 at 10:10 pm
I love boobs.
Love em.
July 31st, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Bruce A- If I thought there was an easy answer to your question, I wouldn’t have written a book about astrology. I’m very sincere in my assessment of astrology as an art…and I can no more easily provide you a quick blog answer regarding its principles than I could neatly summarize musical composition in a couple of sentences. I’ll accept that there may be far brighter individuals who can do that very thing, but I personally needed 250 pages to express myself. What may surprise YOU is the first paragraph of the book:
“It’s been my experience that most (not all) astrologers tend to have an emotional guardedness about them, and perhaps it’s just as well. Fixated upon the heavvens, playing at omniscience, protecting their odd turf from the uninitiated, astrologers make a vocational commitment that really tends to benefit from a vague personal focus. Or maybe it’s as you’ve always suspected and they are just camouflaging the sad and ambitionless lives of overly credulous losers.”
Shades of grey, friend, shades of grey.
August 1st, 2008 at 12:06 pm
[...] Fonte: Bad Astronomer [...]
August 1st, 2008 at 9:21 pm
[...] The Bad Astronomer. [...]
August 2nd, 2008 at 9:36 am
http://www.astro.com/samples/sp_ph_e.htm
psychological horoscope(s).
August 2nd, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Hey, Phil!
I followed the link to your longer discussion here http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/astrology.html
You have a broken link on that page – http://www.skepticreport.com/astrology/sunsigncomp.htm is 404. You probably mean this one: http://www.skepticreport.com/predictions/sunsigncomp.htm
August 3rd, 2008 at 3:45 am
I know there was a point to be made here ( I hate astrology) … but I was so busy looking at this woman’s chest that I……… um …. what was this thread about again ?
August 3rd, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I just put it on mute and watch the video, over and over, mmm….
August 3rd, 2008 at 10:09 pm
Nice breasts, shame about the astrology.
August 4th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I agree with you Steve, astrology is an Art and is similar to music.
November 10th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
I didn’t get a chance to turn on the volume… not that it matters. i watched it twice, kept looking those amazing brown eyes…
January 25th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Just a few questions:
Is the earth part of the solar system?
Does the earth rotate and revolve around the sun?
Does the moon revolve around the earth?
Are there 24 hours in a day and 24 time zones on the globe?
Does 24 divided by 2 equal 12?
Are there 12 hours of AM and 12 hours of PM?
Are there 12 months in a year?
Are there 7 days in a week?
Does the word “Sunday” sound kind of like “sun”?
Does the word “Monday” sound kind of like “moon”?
Does the word “Saturday” sound kind of like “Saturn”?
So, just what part of this do you consider “nonsense”?
I realize that your point is primarily that “predictive” astrology does not work. There are many examples of that. There are far too many variables in the equation. However, you have obviously overlooked the basics.
What an irony that you live by the rules of astrology every day while claiming you can debunk it.
January 25th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Greg: You’re kidding, right? What does that have to do with anything?
Cavemen used fire. I use fire. Therefore I am living by cavemen rules. Right?
January 25th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
No. What I’m saying is that, although predictive astrology is indeed a dodgy subject with a less than stellar reputation, the ancient civilizations based everything from the number of days in the week to the number of months in a year to the names of the days of the week to the number of time zones on the globe all on astrological observations. The practice of astrology was highly revered and leaders of church and state consulted with astrologers routinely. So, when I hear people speaking disparagingly about it, I like to point out that there’s a little more history to it than they might be aware of.
As for “living by caveman rules”, I’m not really sure I agree that the analogy is valid given that astrology is far more complex. But, in the sense that the cavemen understood that their survival depended upon their own ingenuity, yes. We still live by that rule, I would say.
May 11th, 2009 at 4:43 am
[...] http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/07/30/shakin-up-astrological-nonsense/ [...]