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Majority of Young American Adults Think Astrology Is a Science

Posted by Unknown on from the where's-carl-sagan-when-you-need-him? dept.

Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Americans have always had a strange fascination with astrology. First Lady Nancy Reagan famously employed the services of an astrologer after the assassination attempt on her husband. Now UPI reports that according to a new survey by the National Science Foundation, nearly half of all Americans say astrology is either 'very' or 'sort of' scientific. Younger respondents, in particular, were the least likely to regard astrology as unscientific, with 58% of 18 to 24 years olds saying that astrology is scientific (PDF). What's most alarming is that American attitudes about science are moving in the wrong direction. Skepticism of astrology hit an all-time high in 2004, when 66 percent of Americans said astrology was total nonsense. But each year, fewer and fewer respondents have dismissed the connections between star alignment and personality as bunk. Among respondents in the 25 — 44 age group 49% of respondents in the 2012 survey said astrology is either 'very scientific' or 'sort of scientific,' up from 36% in 2010. So what's behind this data? The lead author of the report chapter in question, public opinion specialist John Besley of Michigan State University, cautions that we should probably wait for further data 'to see if it's a real change' before speculating. But, he admits, the apparent increase in astrology belief 'popped out to me when I saw it.'"

28 of 625 comments (clear)

  1. And in other news... by Type44Q · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Majority of Young American Adults Think a Comma is Nike's "Swoosh" Symbol.

    1. Re:And in other news... by ackthpt · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Majority of young Americans think health care is something only old people need.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:And in other news... by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      A majority of young adults are dumb as a box of rocks. and it's not their fault. It's that they had horrible parents that did not teach them anything and went to public school.

      Education in the United states is a complete and utter joke. As an adult that went through that system and had to have my father scream at teachers and administrators to do their frigging job, and myself had to do the same thing until I simply pulled my child from the worthless public school system and sent her to private school at great personal expense, I know how worthless it is. They teach to the common moron and we cant leave the dumb kids behind. Oh and we cant dare insult someone , little timmy loves the spegetti monster as his lord and savoir, we cant upset his family teaching that the world was not created in 3 days and is only 400 years old...

      Americans are poorly educated, and it has became so bad that todays young adults are less educated than the ones just one generation before because of being PC and how education is the bottom of the barrel budget wise.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    3. Re:And in other news... by bondsbw · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The majority of (all) Americans think health care is the same thing as health insurance.

      --
      All my liberal friends think I'm a conservative, all my conservative friends think I'm a liberal.
    4. Re:And in other news... by ninjagin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What you have identified as "political correctness riding a democratic ass" is a lot older than you assume, but it is, in fact democratic... old school. It's old name, back in the times of the Greeks and the Romans, was "decorum". It means "fit" in latin, having the meaning of "suitable". It's part of good rhetoric, as a device that brings an audience closer to you by not being rude or offensive. To flip that around the other way, you can include (or show that you welcome) a person or group of people in your reasoning or community by choosing your words carefully.

      I think you may be conflating decorum with inappropriate recognition for achievement, but the two are separate things. The former is meant to show or develop alignment with shared goals or interests, and the other is meant (with good intent, perhaps, though with questionable results) to boost self-esteem.

      I choose to observe rules of decorum (the people around you actually decide what they are) because I want to work more effectively with people around me and to perhaps have an easier time convincing those people to do things that I see as beneficial. By not declaring that the people around me are my hated opposition or labeling them in ways that might confine their ways of thinking to those that oppose my views, I keep them open to my persuasion.

      Since I share your goal of not perpetuating inappropriate recognition of achievement, I'm happy to let you know that I was utterly unconvinced by your point of view and there is little chance that you will ever persuade me. I encourage you to keep floundering away in your rhetoric until everyone around us is as convinced as I am.

      --
      .. pa-ra-bo-la, pa-ra-bo-la, 2 pi R, 2 pi R, where's your latus rectum, where's your latus rectum, 2 pi R
    5. Re:And in other news... by Will.Woodhull · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Blowing off a mod point to post this. But I want to see any responses, so I don't want to AC this.

      Bringing this back on topic, an increasing number of young people use the word "science" in its older sense, back when it meant an internally self-consistent body of knowledge. Back before the experimental method was described. In the original sense of the word, astrology is a science, just as the medicine of ancient Greece was a science, or artists' study of color theory, perspective, and proportion is a science.

      The real question is why so many youngsters today are using the word "science" in this larger sense? I think the answer has to do with their early exposure to fractals, to strange attractors and butterfly effects, and to the mixing of eurocentric world views with the world views of India and east Asia.

      It might be that the apparent increase in belief in astrology has more to do with a shift in how the word "science" is now used among young people. Among those under 30 yo, talking about the science of acupuncture, or the science of yoga or of meditation is not uncommon. In this sense, the science of astrology fits right in.

      What would be interesting is if the poll had also asked the question, "Does astrology have less, as much, or more impact on your daily life as chemistry and physics?" I would guess the answer to that would show no significant change over the years.

      --
      Will
    6. Re:And in other news... by Hognoxious · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Perhaps the problem is that a lot of young Americans don't know the difference between astronomy and astrology?

      Looking at your post it seems they're not alone.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    7. Re:And in other news... by Cimexus · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Haha, very true. I'm a recent migrant to the US, having previously lived in a country with a universal single-payer system. One of my first challenges when I started work here was understanding my insurance options ... open enrollment, deductibles, co-pays, in-network vs. out of network etc. All this new terminology was really quite overwhelming given that I'd never had to ~think~ about healthcare AT ALL before in my life. I was used to turning up to any old doctor/clinic I could find, getting treated, swiping my healthcare card on the way out and ... leaving. Money barely came into it. But here - so many choices, so many restrictions. It's a minefield.

      A lot of people I talk to here really can't wrap their mind around healthcare in a world where it isn't tied up intimately with the insurance industry. They also can't seem to understand that universal healthcare does not mean the government is somehow controlling your treatment. In my old country, doctors/clinics/some hospitals were regular, private businesses, just like in the US. If I didn't like one, I could go to another. The only difference is the government pays most or all of the bill at the end. Government-PAID healthcare does not always mean government-RUN healthcare...

  2. More likely by OblongPlatypus · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The decrease in astrology's visibility (people no longer read magazines, and "horoscope blogs" don't seem to have become a thing) may just have led to most young people not having a clue and assuming astrology = astronomy.

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    -- If no truths are spoken then no lies can hide --
    1. Re: More likely by Dayze!Confused · · Score: 5, Interesting

      This is why Neil deGrasse Tyson prefers the term astro physics.

      --
      "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." [Thomas Jefferson]
    2. Re:More likely by sandytaru · · Score: 4, Funny

      Just make sure not to adopt one born in the Year of the Goat. I hear they tend to be flakey. Try for a Horse or a Dragon.

      --
      Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
    3. Re:More likely by MiniMike · · Score: 4, Insightful

      most young people not having a clue and assuming astrology = astronomy.

      I find this only slightly less depressing.

    4. Re:More likely by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Informative

      When I was growing up in the 1970s, it was common for people at parties to ask "What's your sign?" and "Age of Aquairus" was playing on the radio. Today, I almost never hear about astrology. I find it hard to believe that is anywhere near as popular as it used to be. Hold on, let me go get some real world empirical data ... okay, I just asked my 15 year old daughter how many of her friends believe in astrology. Her response: "What's astrology?"

       

    5. Re:More likely by rjstanford · · Score: 5, Funny

      Totally true. I don't believe a thing about astrology, but then again I'm a pisces. We're naturally skeptical.

      --
      You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
    6. Re:More likely by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I read the .pdf, and I have this to say about it:

      I simply don't trust surveys that don't publish the exact questions they used.

      The wording, and how the questions are presented, are extremely important to the results. Most surveys are woefully unreliable anyway. But when you throw in the fact that you don't even know the actual questions asked, you might as well throw it away.

      I don't give a damn if it was the National Science Foundation that conducted the survey, or the National Creationism Organization. List your questions when reporting your results, or don't bother me at all.

    7. Re:More likely by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hold on, let me go get some real world empirical data ... okay, I just asked my 15 year old daughter how many of her friends believe in astrology. Her response: "What's astrology?"

      I see the problem with your data. The poll was for 18-25 year olds. Your daughter still has three more years of stupid to absorb from school before she can have an opinion.

  3. And they vote! by fastgriz · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Explains the government we have.

  4. Typo/misread? by Sockatume · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If I was skimming a survey that asked about scientific topics I'd probably read "astrology" as "astronomy" by accident. I'd possibly even chalk it up to a typo and deliberately substitute the two. I'm reading the paper right now to see if they accounted for this.

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    No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
  5. Astrology by rmdingler · · Score: 4, Funny

    You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

  6. IT IS SCIENCE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's a science of extracting money from gullible people.

  7. Racism is better! by TheRaven64 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Start about 4 minutes in.

    --
    I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  8. Prior data may suggest what is going on by JoshuaZ · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There's prior evidence that higher education and intelligence levels lead to rejection of astrology. See http://www.unz.com/gnxp/the-less-intelligent-more-likely-to-accept-astrology-as-scientific/. However, astrology is more commonly believed on the left than on the right end of the political spectrum as measured by self-identified conservatives or liberals. See the prior link where about only 65% of liberals declare astrology to be not at all scientific as opposed to about 75% of conservatives.. (In general a lot of different pseudoscientific beliefs end up being more or less common on one end of the political spectrum, although these can change over time, such as anti-vaccination attitudes becoming more common on the right after the HPV vaccine came out.) The correlation is not that strong, but there has been a left-ward trend in the US in the last few years. It is possible that memetic drag has thus increased the belief in astrology.

  9. One day of working for a paper would convince them by WillAdams · · Score: 5, Interesting

    that astrology is intended as nothing more than entertainment --- the ``forecasts'' in a given newspaper each day are chosen from a set of a number of different forecasts, each of which is intended to fill up a different amount of space, e.g., if newspaper A has 1/2 a page to allot to them, they use the 1/2pg. filler version, if newspaper B only sold a 1-col ad for the astrology page, then they use the 5/6pg. filler version.

    --
    Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
  10. Mixup by bickerdyke · · Score: 4, Informative

    or it might be a simple mixup between astrology and astronomy.

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    bickerdyke
    1. Re:Mixup by IRWolfie- · · Score: 4, Informative

      It is. This was tested in a eurobarometer by replacing "astrology" with "horoscopes" http://ec.europa.eu/public_opi... . The percentage of support dropped from 41% to 13%, indicating that most people do indeed mix them up.

  11. I don't believe in astrology by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 4, Funny

    We Virgos are sceptical about such things.

    --
    Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
  12. Re:Majority of young Americans would like Beta, if by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 4, Funny

    Majority of young Americans would like Beta, if they ever came here in the first place.

    The majority of young Americans don't even know what VHS is these days, let alone Beta. ;-)

  13. Re:Majority of young Americans dont know clockwise by See+Attached · · Score: 5, Funny

    Due to the ubiquity of digital clocks, many dont know clockwise from counter-clockwise! Righty-Tighty, lefty-loosey - might be asking alot!

    --
    Time for a new Political party in the US (or two!) One is off the rails Other cant pony up a leader.