Is Astrology a Science? Let's Put an End to This Debate
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[1]Astrologers and believers may shout at the top of their voices calling astrology a science, but skeptics think otherwise, and they have plenty of reasons to do so. That this so-called science is doing more harm than good to the beautiful world of planets, stars, and other celestial bodies（天体）out there, is good enough reason toput it under the scanner.
He who does not allow his miracles to be investigated is a crook, he who does not have the courage to investigate a miracle is gullible, and he who is prepared to believe without verification is a fool.
—— Dr. Abraham T. Kovoor
[2]What is it that makes astrology so popular, you ask? It's our urge of wanting to know what's in store for us in the future. That means, astrology gives us a sneak peek into our future? No! It doesn't do that, but it does have a feel-good effect on it, which makes us want to believe that it does. Then why do they say astrology is a legitimate/lɪ'dʒɪtɪmət/science? Simply because that's the only way 'they' can sell their 'trade'.
Why Do People Believe in Astrology?
[3]Many people say they believe in astrology as it works and they have themselves experienced it. But does it 'actually' work? Your daily horoscope says you will have some money coming your way today, and you find a quarter in the pocket of your old jeans. How accurate would you consider a prediction like this one.Logically speaking, the vaguer a comment, more are the chances that it will turn out to be true. It's highly unlikely that an astrologer will tell you that you will find a $100 bill in your old jeans, and you will actually find one. Furthermore, it's also worth noting that we are more likely to remember those astrological predictions that we think came true, like 'money coming your way', and ignore the ones that didn't.
The Forer Effect
[4]As for readily/'rɛdɪli/associating with one‘s own zodiac(黄道十二宫) traits, it has more to do with the Forer effect, which says that astrological readings are so vague/veɡ/that they can apply to everybody.
The Forer effect is a term used to describe the tendency of people to interpret general statements as being accurate for them personally, even when they are not.
[5]Forer gave a personality test to a group of students, then asked them to rate the test results for accuracy (i.e. how well the test results described their unique personality). Students rated their results on average at 85.2% accurate. What the students didn't know was that they had all been given fake results—each had been given the same personality assessment. That assessment was created by combining snippets of horoscope/'hɔrəskop/readings. It demonstrates how easily people can be led to believe that their personality is being accurately assessed when it clearly is not.
Is Astrology a Legitimate Science?
[6]Loosely, astrology can be defined as a form of divination/ˌdɪvɪ'neʃən/(占卜) whichgoes by（= is guided by） the belief that life on Earth is guided by celestial alignments. In other words, the alignment of stars and planets at the time of your birth decides your nature and future.
[7]Astrology has been subjected to（经受，be forced to experience...） numerous scientific teststime and again. And every single time, the results have been disastrous(灾难性的). Had it been a science, astrology would have easily passed these tests, but the fact is that it has not. If we produce 12 individuals born under different zodiac signs（黄道十二宫） in front of an astrologer, and ask him toidentify their zodiac signs on the basis of their characteristic traits, would he be able to do that? If astrology is really scientific, he should be able to pull off this task withimmense/ɪ'mɛns/ease. He won't, or rather can't, and that's only because astrology is a superstition（迷信）, which was developed on a fragile/'frædʒəl/base when astronomy and astrology were considered one and the same.
[8]Modern astrology was developed around 2,000 years ago, when human knowledge of the Universe was limited. Back then, it was believed that the Earth was the center and everything moved around it, and only a few planets were discovered. Over the course (period)of time, many new planets, stars, and galaxies/'gæləksi/were discovered. We realized that our solar system is a tiny part of the Universe, our Sun is just one of the millions of stars out there. Surprisingly, all these findings were neverincorporatedinto astrology, and even today, astrologers go by the beliefs that were held around 2,000 years ago.
[9]The only development that we have seen in astrology is the addition of Ophiuchus（蛇夫座） as the 13th zodiac sign (that's if at all it can be called a development, because most of the astrologers do not acknowledge the new sun sign.)Thatthe astrologers prefer to keep this constellation/ˌkɑnstə'leʃən/out of their realms/relm/isn't really surprising, because if they acknowledge it, then all their previous predictions will be questioned. From the astrologers' point of view, this is a classic case of 'Damned if You Do, Doomed/du:md/if You Don't'.Any new finding in the field of science is published and subjected to peer reviewby a community of researchers //注：科学需要能接收修正改进，甚至推翻的（可证伪性）//. When it comes to astrology though, new findings are eitherrefuted/ri'fjʊt/（驳倒否决）, or not acknowledged in the first place.
The 'Unknown' Force
[10]What is it about the 'chosen few' celestial/sə'lɛstʃəl/bodies which make their influence on our lives so strong? Some say gravity is the factor, which could have well been the correct answer. But the Relative Planetary Gravity of the Moon (7.7) is greater than that of Jupiter (5.8), shouldn't the Moon has a larger influence than Jupiter? //注：引力和距离的平方成反比，所以越近的月球，引力越大，即使质量小些。所以引力是和距离相关的// Well, astrologers argue that the distance doesn't matter. If distance is really not an issue, like they say, then shouldn't all the planets in the Universe be considered, or at least the ones that we have discovered? An easier way out is to say, it's an unknown force that cannot be explained, and that's exactly what most astrologers do.
Biting Off More than it Can Chew
[11]Yet another problem with the zodiac is the fact that it tries to accumulate too much into one. If the population of the world is 7 billion, then each zodiac sign should have roughly around 580 million people, and these 580 million people should more or less have a similar day. Leave alone a similar day, these people won't even have the same nature. Think about it, if leadership is a quality which is associated with certain zodiac signs, wouldn't all the leaders have one of 'these' zodiac signs? And if astrology helps you identify leaders, why do we even need leadership development programs?
[12]Interestingly, there is noconsensus/kən'sɛnsəs/among astrologers themselves. Each astrologer asserts that he is the best in the business, and has an equally loyal fan followingvouching forhim. A person who believes in Hindu astrology (jyotisha), which is quite popular in India, will dismiss the daily horoscope column in the newspapers as a joke, and yetfail toanswer convincingly/kən'vinsiŋli/as towhy the system that he follows should be taken seriously.
convincingly/kən'vinsiŋli/adv. 令人信服地；有说服力地
[13]As you evaluate each attribute of astrology, you will realize that far from science, astrology is actually a pseudoscience/ˌsʊdo'saɪəns/. Without any practical or scientific evidence, it can only be considered a source of entertainment... nothing more. Earlier, people looked at the sky as the heavens - the abode/ə'bod/(住所) of god - which was connected to the life on the planet in some mysterious/mɪ'stɪrɪəs/way. Today, however, we can confidently音/ˈk ɑnfədəntlɪ/say that we know a considerable bit of what's happeningout there. The sad part is that, even after knowing this, we fail to see through the fraud/frɔd/that astrology is.
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