What's your sign?
Richard Dawkins is back with a new TV series assaulting , the superstitions that continue to attract followers in a world tranformed by science. His first target is a belief-system (of sorts) which appeals to no less than a quarter of the UK population: Astrology.
Richard was born on March 26, which makes him an Aries. According to astologers, this means his personality tends to the following characteristics: "assertive, pioneering, enthusiastic, adventurous, humourous, fast-paced, energetic and passionate, sociable, good communicator, brave, action-oriented, individualistic, independent, impulsive, competitive, eager, straightforward, forceful, headstrong, a leader, focused on the present and freedom-loving. They can also sometimes be intemperate, violent, impatient, fiery, rash, extreme, and arrogant, impulsive, intolerant, insensitive, and bullying out of selfishness."
Now, I ask you, does that sound like Richard Dawkins? Ok, it does seem to describe his personality quite accurately; but big deal? I know someone born in November with those kinds of personality types; equally one can find lots of people who lack those kinds of characteristics. Dawkins argues that listing personality characteristics on the basis of a birthdate is much like listing stereotypical national characteristics under the name of a country and expecting every citizen of that country to give evidence, to some extent, of those characteristics. This would be ridiculous.
I, on the other hand, was born on October 15, which makes me a Libran. Accordingly, astrologers say my characteristics include: "a pleasant, clever, articulate, charming, charismatic, beautiful, outgoing, fair, artistic, social, refined, diplomatic, even-tempered and self-sufficient character. The Libra person is co-operative, sees both sides, open-minded, just, urbane, partnership oriented, avoids conflict, balanced, graceful, debative, idealistic, and equalitarian. They can sometimes also rationalize, be easily deterred, indecisive and lazy, and are also thought to be flirtatious, extravagant, frivolous, impatient, envious, aloof, and quarrelsome."
How close is that as a description of my personality? I will confess to some overlap (I won't say where), but then I can see some of Dawkins's personality traits in my Libran list too, and I can see some of my own personality traits on his Aries list.
I see that same arbitrariness -- randomness, accidental or generic accuracy -- in the astrology charts published each day in our newspapers. I bet I could write those charts myself, without any knowledge of astrology, and never be caught out. In fact, that's precisely what a friend of mine did, some years ago, while working for a newspaper. His editor called him in and told him that the "astrologer" would be away for the next six weeks and that he, a cub reporter, would be covering for him. He compiled the lists, as instructed, using phrases that could apply to most people's lives, and no-one noticed the difference.
Do you really care what your "sign" is? What exactly does it signify about you or anyone else born within a month of you? What is it that underwrites the widespread acceptance of a belief system that became theoretically impossible the moment it was discovered that the Earth is not the centre of the universe?
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In the words of the famous Yogi Berra, "It's deja vu all over again." Why make another carbon copy of what already exists.
James Randi debunks all kinds of frauds from homeopathy to faith healing, from astrology to telekinesis. The proof of homeopathy fraud even involved Ö÷²¥´óÐã
/science/horizon/2002/homeopathy.shtml
For sheer showmanship and skill, it will be hard for Dawkins to put on a better program than Randi.
There are twelve signs of the zodiac. There are about 6 billion people on the planet. Assuming that the number of people born is roughly equally distributed by month, that means that half a billion people have the same personality as they were born in the same period. Complete nonsense.
The lists of personality types, are of course designed to be broad so everyone sees a wee bit of themselves and hence go "Ach well, must be something in it".
Still, it helps fill the papers.
I'm a Leo!
"Leo is the fifth sign of the Zodiac and is popularly associated with the keywords magnanimous, generous, hospitable, caring, warm, authoritative, active and open.
Leos are typically pictured as very dignified and regal. They are hard-working, ambitious and enthusiastic, however they are prone to laziness and can often take "the easy way out."
They are known to be exuberant, extroverted, generous with a natural dramatic flair and very creative. They are typically very self-assured, and love taking center-stage in whatever arena they are in.
Fiery determination and the desire to be important often rule their life. They usually pursue their goals doggedly and use their charisma to sway others to their cause. Open and honest, Leos tend towards the philosophical and tend to hold great idealisms about how things should be.
Under a Fixed sign, Leos are usually determined, stubborn, loyal and traditional. They are often resistant to imposed changes, and tend to hold onto people and situations for a long time.
Leos, like the Lion they are named after, are thought to be born leaders, with charisma, enthusiasm and determination. They do well under pressure and are good at defusing crisis situations.
They are often lovers of the finer things in life. They are associated with gold, jewelry, fashion, luxury items and adornment. Because of their creative nature, they tend to not stick with the boring and mundane, and look for excitement in life.
The downside to a Leo is usually their pride. Due to this, they are sometimes prone to being conceited, jealous, snobbish, boastful, overbearing with a disdain for those under them.
Due to their positive nature, they are typically very gullible and tend to believe the best will happen. When it doesn't, they are prone to depression, may react nastily to affronts and could be deeply hurt by malice and hostility. If faced with negative situations Leos are also known to react with extreme confidence, which can get them into even more trouble"
Ask anyone that knows me and a lot of this sums me up!! Not that I believe in them at all;-)
The newspapers are the problem. Why do even our quality papers insist on taking up space publishing this superstitious nonsense? If the papers stopped, it would help to marginalise this irrational worldview. Instead, they pay hundreds of thousands of pounds to syndicated astrologers and reprint their copy. Appalling.
Horoscopes are like Nostradamus: arbitrarily accurate.
In addition to the excellent Randi (whom Mark links to above), I recommend Penn & Teller's 'Bullshit' for an irreverent debunking of all its varieties.
Surprise surprise, Dawkins and Randi more than know each other. Birds of a feather. Here's one group of video's there are probably others if you hunt.
Look for the one where he debunks astrology. I couldn't find one that would run on my browser but I'd seen it on TV several times many years ago.
Oh good...another post about Dawkins...*YAWN*
Pete.
I remember noticing some years ago, in the birthdays column of a newspaper, that Patricia Routledge and Yasser Arafat were born on the same day. Their horoscopes must have been interesting:
"Ariel Sharon will continue to confine you to your headquarters. On the bright side, Alan Bennett has written you a lovely new monologue."
#5
at last John, something we agree on. Penn and Teller are definitley worth checking out - even if they are Libertarian's, well I know Penn is. Teller doesn't say that much. ;)
I was gald to see that this programme is part of a series. Does anyone know how many weeks it runs for?
dp- I'm happy we agree... :-) it feels good, man.
dp next monday
The Irrational Health Service
C4 Mon 20 Aug 2007 8pm
Prof Richard Dawkins looks at how health has become a battleground between reason and superstition. A third of us now spend a total of over 1.6 billion a year on superstitious alternative remedies, but 80% of them have never been subjected to properly conducted trials.
Thanks Alan, I just found Snake Oil by the late John Diamond in a charity shop for 50p - bargain!
It deals with all the charlatans he came across whilst trying to deal with his own terminal cancer. I'm looking forward to reading it.