Transcript Astrology - University of Redlands

Astrology
2/18/1996
…lots and lots and lots of math.
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Goals
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Non-scientific theories.
Is astrology a science?
Why should we care?
Is science just another belief?
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Concept Test
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Consider the following hypothesis:
An all powerful being created the universe 12
days ago with all our memories and all physical
evidence intact.
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Limitations of Science
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Key to the scientific method is The Test.
Q: What can and cannot be tested?
Q: What is and is not reproducible?
A: Magic, the Divine, matters of faith cannot be tested
and are not reproducible.
Result:
1. Science is the search for natural or material explanations to the
Universe.
2. Science is limited to those questions of which natural or material
explanations can be applied.
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Limitations of Science
• Can science disprove the existence of God?
• Can science disprove the existence of Divine
Action?
• Science is limited to the search for natural
explanations.
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What can Science Say?
• Is there evidence for un-natural explanations?
– The unknown versus the unknowable!
– God of the Gaps.
– Intelligent Design.
• Are we justified in assuming that natural or
material explanations are sufficient to describe the
world?
• Are we justified in assuming the Universe isn’t
random.
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Concept Test
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Which of the following DO NOT satisfy the
requirements of a scientific theory?
a. Objects of different mass fall to Earth with the same acceleration.
b. In the case of a very high mass in very small volume, there is a
distance from the object inside of which one must travel faster than
the speed of light to escape.
c. The better a species is adapted to its environment the more likely it
is to pass on the ability to survive to its descendents.
d. Outside our universe is another universe with which we have no
contact.
e. The making of leavened bread requires yeast.
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Non-scientific Theories
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Make no predictions
Un-testable
Can’t be falsified
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Falsification
• A real Scientific Theory tells you what
observations are necessary to falsify it.
– Not so proponents of:
• Face on Mars
• Moon Hoax
• Astrologers
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Non-scientific Theories
Viking Orbiter (1976)
Mars Global Surveyor (1998)
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Concept Test
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Consider the following hypothesis:
An all powerful being created the universe 12 days ago with
all our memories and all physical evidence intact.
This is not a scientific hypothesis because:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Does not explain what is seen.
Postulates a supreme being.
Makes no predictions.
Disagrees with currently accepted theories.
None of the above.
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Concept Test
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Consider the following theory. Why does it not satisfy the
requirements of a scientific theory?
“The chain of events needed for life to arise is too complicated to
have happened by chance, a divine intelligence must therefore have
caused life to arise (Intelligent Design).”
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
It assumes the natural process by which life arose isn’t just
unknown, but is unknowable.
It makes no prediction which can be tested.
It requires causes that are not material.
All of the Above.
None of the Above.
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Recap
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Science is a way of making theories to explain the
physical world.
Scientific theories:
– Explain what is already seen
– Predict what can be seen in the future.
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Predictions can be tested.
Scientific theories can be falsified.
Reproducible and self-correcting.
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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/astrology101.html
http://astrology.about.com/od/basicsofastrology/
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Astrology
• Like other “-ologies”, is it a science?
– Explain what is seen?
– Make predictions?
• Does it work?
• What test would falsify astrology?
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Astrology Tests
• Come up with a test of astrology.
• Using no more than:
– People in this room.
– Available newspapers (past or present).
– Time available.
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Does Astrology Work?
• Does it pass the test?
• Does it work better than chance?
• Does it matter?
“One of the other prime uses of astrology is in connection with the basic
psychology of children and recognizing in children, at an early age, a basis for
later psychological difficulties. The horoscope is perhaps the best method to
reveal these tendencies while the child is still in infancy. When parents know
from the beginning where the seeds of difficulties lie in the child's life, early
care and training might mitigate much later unhappiness.”
- The Cosmic Palette: Astrology 101 by Haizen Paige
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Science vs. Astrology
• Scientists are skeptical of astrology because:
a. It takes power out of the hands of scientists.
b. It can’t be tested.
c. It has failed when tested.
d. It proposes forces that are non-physical.
e. It threatens our belief in a knowable universe.
• But no one believes astrology so who cares?
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Astrology and the President
“[Former
(TIME, May
White
16, 1988)
House
-- Chief of Staff, Donald] Regan and
others
make
a compelling
case that
inback
1986 and 1987
“The First
Lady
dabbled in astrology
as far
astrological
influence
dramatically
reduced the
as 1967. In 1981
[Joan] Quigley
made Nancy
[Reagan] a believer
…. And from
no by keeping
presidency's
effectiveness,
at then
leaston,
partly,
presidential
publicunder
appearance
was
slated
without
Ronald
Reagan
wraps
for
much
of the time.
the Friend's say-so. To this day, Nancy's Friend
Nancy's
intrusions in the scheduling process, Regan said
continues to influence the President's schedule.
inFor
anthe
interview
with TIME
last week,
‘began to interfere
Reagan-Gorbachev
Washington
summit,
with
thethe
normal
ofand
thedetermined
presidency.’”
she cast
charts conduct
of both men
(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).”
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Homework #3
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Due Wednesday 13-Sept: Read Sg3 The Harmony of Worlds
from Cosmos.
1.
2.
3.
On page 64 Carl says “Kepler stood on the cusp of history; the last scientific astrologer was the first
astrophysicist.” What’s the difference between these two and what does it mean to make the
transition from one to the other?
Bennett, Chapter 3 (B3), Problem 32
Last year Mike Brown at Caltech discovered an object orbiting the Sun in the outer-reaches of our
solar system. Preliminary observations indicate it is larger than Pluto. According to Brown, the
planet orbits (on average) 70 AU (astronomical units) away from the Sun. How many years does it
take this new planet to make one complete orbit of the Sun?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
70 years
140 years
490 years
590 years
4900 years.
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