While the gen-z comment is unwarranted, I have to side with the frog on this one (and not just because of my username), even if he’s being contrarian just to feel superior.
‘Harmless’ things like astrology and other types of magical thinking can become a larger problem if your society has a failing, inadequate or inaccessible education system. Without adequate education of critical thinking, they’re taken more and more seriously by wider swaths of society, which can foster mistrust in the scientific method, sometimes leading to deeply unhealthy outcomes, such as using crystals and other alternative ‘medicines’ for ailments instead of using scientifically backed methods.
It can also lead to increased susceptibility to manipulation via conspiracies and misinformation that confirms the mystical thinking.
Carl Sagan gets to the heart of the problem in his book, A Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle In The Dark:
“Science is more than a body of knowledge; it is a way of thinking. I have a foreboding of an America in my children’s or grandchildren’s time—when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the key manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what’s true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.”
I think there’s another thing to pick here too. Horoscope makes some assumptions based on which time of a year you have been born. This obviously has very little effect on your life.
However the generation you’ve been born in has a massive effect on you. Each generation grows up with other kids from that generation, they learn from each other often more than from the older gen. This sorta creates a cultural gap between the generations, or generational gap as it’s called.
So when your mom says she was a hippie and got conservative along the years, it’s fair to call her a typical boomer
I recall hearing that there’s a correlation with being good at sports and having a birthday earlier in the school year. Reason being, at a young age, on average there’s a big advantage to being 6 months older, and that advantage can often result in a positive feedback loop. You get selected more for showing aptitude and thus receive more training, which results in being selected more.
I think the context matters. Just reading the paper and ask someone what their sign is so you can laugh at the horoscope section? Not really a huge deal. First date and using it as an ice breaker to get someone to talk about themselves? Mayyyyybe. Treating it with any actual level of seriousness is definitely a danger zone.
While the gen-z comment is unwarranted, I have to side with the frog on this one (and not just because of my username), even if he’s being contrarian just to feel superior.
‘Harmless’ things like astrology and other types of magical thinking can become a larger problem if your society has a failing, inadequate or inaccessible education system. Without adequate education of critical thinking, they’re taken more and more seriously by wider swaths of society, which can foster mistrust in the scientific method, sometimes leading to deeply unhealthy outcomes, such as using crystals and other alternative ‘medicines’ for ailments instead of using scientifically backed methods.
It can also lead to increased susceptibility to manipulation via conspiracies and misinformation that confirms the mystical thinking.
Carl Sagan gets to the heart of the problem in his book, A Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle In The Dark:
I think there’s another thing to pick here too. Horoscope makes some assumptions based on which time of a year you have been born. This obviously has very little effect on your life.
However the generation you’ve been born in has a massive effect on you. Each generation grows up with other kids from that generation, they learn from each other often more than from the older gen. This sorta creates a cultural gap between the generations, or generational gap as it’s called.
So when your mom says she was a hippie and got conservative along the years, it’s fair to call her a typical boomer
In absolute terms, Boomers didn’t get more conservative as they aged, they got more liberal. Just at a much slower rate than the younger generations.
You’re probably right
Time of year athletes were born correlates with hockey performance or something right?
I’ve tried to use a fact like that to bridge the gap between me and those who like astrology.
I recall hearing that there’s a correlation with being good at sports and having a birthday earlier in the school year. Reason being, at a young age, on average there’s a big advantage to being 6 months older, and that advantage can often result in a positive feedback loop. You get selected more for showing aptitude and thus receive more training, which results in being selected more.
Yeah! Was that Freakonomics?
Yes, I think that’s probably it!
Hello Froggy fellow
Hello there, my amphibian friend! You’re the first other frog I’ve seen on here :)
I had an encounter with @MisterFrog@lemmy.world recently. Lemmy is a great pond :)
The only people I know who believe in astrology aren’t gen-z
I think the context matters. Just reading the paper and ask someone what their sign is so you can laugh at the horoscope section? Not really a huge deal. First date and using it as an ice breaker to get someone to talk about themselves? Mayyyyybe. Treating it with any actual level of seriousness is definitely a danger zone.
Agree 100%
Also ahhhh! Another frog! :D