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Bombay High Court Rules Astrology To Be a Science
neosaurus writes "In India, the Bombay High Court recently ruled astrology to be 'a time tested science more than 4000 years old.' Not only does this stretch the definition of science, it also reaffirms people's faith in pseudosciences at a broader level." At least we can know for certain the people trying to get creationism taught as science in our schools have equally wacky friends around the globe.
That isn't very reassuring.
I have met numerous people, some of them quite clever and respected, who despite being well aware of various pseudo-science tricks (say homeopathy and the like) all fell for astrology. They will claim that people born at a certain time of year share some traits... (like it's some kind of scientific measurable proof. sigh)
I have no idea why it appeals to so many, especially women for some reason. Just look at most women's magazines!
Every newspaper has a column (all of them sufficiently vague that you can't use this to prove how ridiculous the whole thing is).
I wonder what it is that makes so many of us susceptible to such blatant scientific fraud.
As for India, I am not surprised... their belief system is already quite complicated and intersects with all aspects of life, science included.
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Because unlike other things on Idle this has real consequences for intelligent and honest people at large. This undermines real science and makes fighting pseudoscience and superstition harder because idiots now have another country to point to and say "See, they think it's real!". It makes it harder to defend vaccines, to debunk homeopathy, and to get rid of the cancer that is religion because garbage masquerading as science now has another sanctuary in a legal code.
That's why it doesn't belong in Idle, because it has real harmful effects.
Seems consistent to me.
Not if you like to be consistent with reality.