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Should Scientists Date People Who Believe Astrology?

YourAstrologer writes "Wired Science asks: Should scientists date people who believe in astrology? Apparently, the argument is quite complex. Astrology is sort of a flawed mental shortcut for understanding the world, but so is disregarding someone because of their spiritual beliefs. Women are inundated with astrological nonsense from fashion magazines, so it is normative for them to believe it even if they are otherwise highly logical. Smart people can convince themselves of silly things."

25 of 1,181 comments (clear)

  1. Which method? by Bloke+down+the+pub · · Score: 5, Funny

    Which method - radiocarbon or by slicing thenm and counting the rings?

    --
    It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
    1. Re:Which method? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      You don't need to slice them to count the rings - just look at any hippy chick's fingers and you'll see plenty ;-)

    2. Re:Which method? by rubycodez · · Score: 4, Funny

      treat them as equals? walk into work, pound them on the back and yell, "hows it hangin', asshole? feel good?, well ya look like shit" Nah, maybe should treat them better than an equal would be treated.

    3. Re:Which method? by Hognoxious · · Score: 5, Funny

      given that many MALE scientists believe in imaginary superbeings that were made up by some random illiterate guy some thousands of years ago
      George Lucas isn't that old.
      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    4. Re:Which method? by The+Great+Pretender · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's a short queue on /.

      --
      A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
  2. Yes. by Sir.Cracked · · Score: 4, Funny

    Beggars can't be choosers....

    --
    Where are we going, and why am I in this handbasket?
  3. This...IS....SLASHDOT! by Internet+Ronin · · Score: 5, Funny

    Seeing as this is Slashdot, lemme just say, you should probably take what you can get. Astrology, piercings, fetishes, just be glad a girl's talking to you and not asking you to do her math homework. Seriously though, sometimes breasts are big enough to make other things not important.

    1. Re:This...IS....SLASHDOT! by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Seriously though, sometimes breasts are big enough to make other things not important.


      Sometimes?

      --
      I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
    2. Re:This...IS....SLASHDOT! by Mikkeles · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yes, "sometimes"; else you may be faced with this!

      --
      Great minds think alike; fools seldom differ.
  4. It depends by insertwackynamehere · · Score: 3, Funny

    What's they're sign? If you two are incompatible according to the stars then you can forget about being compatible on Earth.

  5. Astrology is just plain wrong by Malevolent+Tester · · Score: 5, Funny

    As a Marxist, I have no time for pseudoscientific concepts that claim to explain the workings of human nature in their entirety while offering no evidence or falsifiability.

    --
    If you haven't made a developer cry, you've wasted a day.
  6. Offense by Stormcrow309 · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have to take offense to this. Couple of years ago, the local paper's astrological peice listed for my birthday, 'If today is your birthday, you gonna get lucky today.' Now, yes I was dating the lady who was incharge of editing that section at the time; but by God, it was correct.

    --

    In God we trust, all others require data.

  7. Think of the children by dougoxley · · Score: 4, Funny

    Think of the children... No, seriously, think of the children.

  8. Oh man... by o'reor · · Score: 4, Funny

    From the comments on TFA:

    check this 68k mac software does statistics on astrology.

    http://dragonflypower.com/HSReadme.htm

    (note, this is not even on /. !)

    Which begs the question: Should anybody date someone who recommends taking a look at a 68k Mac software in 2008 ?

    --
    In Soviet Russia, our new overlords are belong to all your base.
  9. I'm a Scorpio. by xs650 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm a Scorpio, Scorpios don't believe in astrology.

  10. How to find a spouse by romanm · · Score: 5, Funny

    There's an old Bosnian joke about how Mujo decided which girl he should marry. He discussed about it later with his friend Haso:
    H: I heard you got married. Congratulations! How did you decide?
    M: Well, this was not easy. I had three candidates and I conducted a test. I asked the first one:
          "What's 2+2?".
          She said "4".
          I though to myslelf, that's good, the woman is smart.
          The second one said: "Well, it depends. It can be 4, but sometimes it can also be 3 or 5."
          That's even better, the woman is cunning.
          I asked the third one the same question and she says "I don't care. Whatever my husband says it is".
          I thought to myself, this woman surely will respect her husband. This is good.
    H: So, which one did you take?
    M: Oh. The one with big tits, of course.

    I don't think that scientists are THAT different to other men.

  11. Re:Oh really? by SuperDuck · · Score: 5, Funny

    women are easily swayed by what they read in fashion magazines. Not married to a "fashionista", I guess? Not any more, fortunately. She was *so* yesterday. ;-P
    --

    "Kinky sex involves the use of duck feathers. Perverted sex involves the whole duck." - Lewis Grizzard
  12. Re:Sure, provided they are hot by gnick · · Score: 5, Funny

    No, it's arrogant. Sounds like perfectly normal behavior. For a Leo...
    --
    He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
  13. Re:Comtempt is not compatible with love by erlehmann · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm a person with very firm Christian beliefs.

    Interesting - you believe in salvation through a holy zombie despite a total lack of explanation as to how the reanimation of dead bodies relates to human events ?
  14. Re:Comtempt is not compatible with love by Eli+Gottlieb · · Score: 5, Funny

    OK, let's at least get this clear: the resurrection of Jesus (you know, the fictional one) did not involve zombies. Jesus did not hunger for the flesh of the living. Instead, he actually came back to life.

    We're talking Goa'uld Sarcophagus or Ancient Healing Device here, not a zombie virus.

  15. Re:Ahh... by geminidomino · · Score: 3, Funny

    Especially if they're[sic] beliefs include doing nasty things to women, homosexuals and non-believers. Hey now. My beliefs include doing nasty things to women, and I've gotten nary a complaint...
  16. Re:Science is 24/7 by Imsdal · · Score: 3, Funny

    Science is a 27/7 way of life

    And a confusing life it is! But finally, I understand why so many scientists have problems with time management...

  17. Oh my. by TrebleJunkie · · Score: 4, Funny

    Guys, if any women are actually reading this, we are collectively sooooo not ever getting laid.

    --

    Ed R.Zahurak

    You know, oblivion keeps looking better every day.

  18. Astrology for scientists. by 3-State+Bit · · Score: 5, Funny
    Astrology for scientists.
    1. Sequence your DNA.
    2. Compress it and take the hex checksum. You can use any compression scheme and any checksum algo (but use a real one, don't just make one up ad hoc) to get the hex result, it doesn't really matter. However, you have to go with the first one you pick, you can't pick a different one just because you didn't like the results.
    3. Take the last hex digit of your checksum that isn't a C, D, E or F. (If your whole checksum consists of just these letters, add 1 to your compressed DNA and checksum again (repeating if necessary). Use the following guide to picking an astrological sign:
    4. Next, read the linked Wikipedia article (and any mainstream sources too if you want, for example in newspapers and magazines), and:
    5. Start acting in accordance with your selected personality. That's it!

    Now for some good news: by following the above steps, you will develop a mathematically sound personality that society actually needs, and, more to the point, every one of the linked personalities gets laid and so will you. Study your personality, make the set of behaviors etc. your own, and date only people who have an astrological sign that complements the one you've chosen using the above steps! When faced with a choice, read the astrology section of a trusted newspaper, and just do whatever is prescibed for your chosen personality. The only caveat (and really it is the only one) is not to mention your true birthday, only one that fits in with your chosen sign, if anyone asks. This is just to keep from having to explain the science behind your choice every time you mention it. If the relationship gets to be very serious, just invent a story about a botched birth certificate, for why your identification doesn't show your "true" birthday... As with nicknames, people will understand that you have a different "official" birthday.

    FAQ.

    Why is this better than a traditional horoscope?
    The traditional way of determining astrological signs for selecting a personality is flawed because there is an unequal distribution of births by month. (It's not the only thing true about birth months, incidentally! Check out these studies linking lifespan and month of birth!) Also, your physical birth month will be a function of, how can I put this delicately, your parents' mating habits, so it's less than scientific...

    But won't twins have the same checksum?
    Duh. It's an astrological sign. You know, normally based on birthdate...

    But won't people cheat and just keep picking different checksum schemes until they get the "

  19. Re:Which method? -- How about being well informed? by Bloke+down+the+pub · · Score: 4, Funny

    What emerged was a type of psychological langauge framework that describes how certain planetary positions influence living systems including people and animals, possibly through DNA influences at the quantum level.
    My bullshit meter just redlined!
    --
    It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.