Astrology

1
Astrology
2/18/1996
lots and lots and lots of math.
2
Goals

• Is astrology a science?
• Why should we care?
• Is science just another belief?

3
Recap

• Science is about making theories.
• Scientific theories
• Explain what is already seen
• Predict what can be seen in the future.
• Predictions can be tested.
• Scientific theories can be falsified.

4
Astrology

• The date, time, (and place) of birth affect
• Your personality
• Your actions
• Events that will affect your life
• Horoscopes appear in most papers.
• Millions of people read them daily.

http//www.azcentral.com/ent/horoscopes/astrology1
01.html
5
Astrology

• Is it a science?
• Explain what is seen?
• Make predictions?
• Does it work?
• What test would falsify astrology?

6
Astrology Tests

• Come up with a test of astrology.
• Using no more than
• People in this room.
• Available newspapers (past or present).
• Time available.

7
Does Astrology Work?

• Does it pass the test?
• Does it work better than chance?
• Does it matter?

8
Science vs. Astrology

• Scientists skeptical of astrology because
• It takes power out of the hands of scientists.
• It cant be tested.
• It has failed when tested.
• It proposes forces that are non-physical.
• It threatens our belief in a knowable universe.
• But no one believes astrology so who cares?

9
Astrology and the President

• (TIME, May 16, 1988) --
• The First Lady dabbled in astrology as far back
  as 1967. In 1981 Joan Quigley made Nancy
  Reagan a believer . And from then on, no
  presidential public appearance was slated without
  the Friend's say-so. To this day, Nancy's Friend
  continues to influence the President's schedule.
  For the Reagan-Gorbachev Washington summit, she
  cast the charts of both men and determined

Former White House Chief of Staff, Donald
Regan and others make a compelling case that in
1986 and 1987 astrological influence dramatically
reduced the presidency's effectiveness, at least
partly, by keeping Ronald Reagan under wraps for
much of the time. Nancy's intrusions in the
scheduling process, Regan said in an interview
with TIME last week, began to interfere with the
normal conduct of the presidency. (TIME, May
16, 1988)

• that 2 p.m. on Dec. 8, 1987, was the most
  propitious moment for them to sign the
  intermediate-range nuclear forces treaty. At
  Nancy's behest, the entire summit was built
  around that hour. For the upcoming Moscow summit,
  Gorbachev's chart (he is a Pisces) has been
  recast alongside Reagan's (Aquarius).

10
Homework 3

• Due Tuesday 14-Sept Read Bennett Section 1.1
  1.2 (B1.1 B1.2).
• Due Wednesday 15-Sept Read Sg2 The Harmony of
  Worlds from Cosmos and B5.3
• Some assert that Keplers discovery represents
  the true birth of science as it is now practiced.
  Describe why one would assert this (put your
  answer in the context of this weeks discussion)?
  
• Bennett, Chapter 5, Problem 23
• You observe a small moon orbiting Jupiter. You
  measure how far away from Jupiter it is and how
  long it takes it to go once around. With this
  information you can learn
• Jupiters radius.
• Jupiters radius and the moons radius.
• The moons mass and the moons radius.
• Jupiters mass.
• The moons mass.