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Young people are flocking to astrology

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#211

Post by YurgenJurgensen »

giraffe_lady wrote: post #32
Tainnor wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think there's any value in astrology. The fact that people believed in it (and still do) for a very long time doesn't change that, as humanity has had many long-standing beliefs that turned out to be entirely wrong (e.g. geocentrism, that there was something particular about biochemistry that couldn't be recreated synthetically, aether, ...). The fact that it may serve a certain psychological function means t…

You ever flip a coin to decide something for yourself, then do the opposite of how it fell? In tossing the coin you learn something about what you actually want to do. Was there value in flipping the coin? A very complex version of this is basically how I view astrology.

That coin cost you one penny. Astrology props up an entire industry of grifters.

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#212

Post by copperx »

idoubtit wrote: post #187
anon-3988 wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why I think that it is perhaps beneficial to not completely remove religion, but replace it with something that is more aligned to the 21st century. Let's be honest, humans are very flawed and prone to succumb to religious thinking; regardless of how smart/dumb you are. Superstitious thinking can arise from simple day to day observation. So it is much better to fill in the void with something dull like "do go…

What's the point if this mysticism doesn't make "better" people than any random superstition or religion? I fear it's more dangerous than most basic superstitions. I mean, these "self-introspection, consciousness-obsessed cultures like Hindu and Buddhism" are a source of hatred and violence. The Hindu majority is India is on this brutal trend. And in Burma-Birmania-Myanmar, the Buddhist population was almost unanimou…

Regarding the last point, that's true. Notice how there aren't any forums/communities/Discord channels centered on a single astrological sign.

It would be amusing though, to stumble upon a, say, Pisces forum where members try to figure out their behavior.

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#213

Post by fl0wenol »

im3w1l wrote: post #73
Barrin92 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>as of now anyway - is a harmless, if extremely stupid, outlet As the article mentions people go as far as turning down relationships because of "mismatched star signs". That to me is not harmless at all, people make significant decisions based on superstition apparently exercising quite a lot of prejudice. Good friend of my family on my mother's side always was into herbal alternative medicine and people laughed it…

> As the article mentions people go as far as turning down relationships because of "mismatched star signs". That to me is not harmless at all, people make significant decisions based on superstition apparently exercising quite a lot of prejudice. If we take for granted that most guys are decent and yet many woman keep falling for the wrong guys, then perhaps a method that essentially produces a random result might b…

Also consider that while star sign might be the stated reason for incompatibility, the truth could have been an impression or gut feeling and so the astrological mismatch is simply a way to give a reason for their feelings, whether done consciously to save face, or subconsciously to have something decisive to latch onto.

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#215

Post by Guthur »

noufalibrahim wrote: post #203
raverbashing wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, in the end ask about your star sign is as consequential as asking which team is your favourite. It can be a fun conversation starter, but if you make your life out of that, then it gets ridiculous

It's, at best, a conversation starter. Hofstadter in his Metamagical Themas had a chapter on how the predictions are worded specifically to be vague and feel good so that any of them could apply to any one. Taken more seriously, they have serious social effects. e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangala_Dosha I expect the interest in "new age" religions or quasi-religious practices to go up as traditional religions…

We follow celestial for a great deal of predictive power and have done for God knows how many millennia, massive works have been devoted to them.

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#216

Post by ZephyrBlu »

squidbeak wrote: post #25
kwertyoowiyop wrote: post #4

Sigh. No they aren’t.

How do you explain the industry's growth? > According to Allied Market Research, the global astrology industry was valued at $12.8 billion in 2021, up considerably from $2.2 billion in 2018. By 2031, it’s expected to rise to $22.8 billion.

That TAM and growth is fucking insane.

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#217

Post by not_a_shill »

ycombinete wrote: post #117
whakim wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I agree that astrology is complete nonsense, you're not likely to win many people over when you treat stereotyping (which you've described here) and racism as equivalent.

Your parent said "akin to racism". You're not likely to win many people over, when you treat "akin" and "equivalent" as equivalent.

[flagged]

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#218

Post by prennert »

edu wrote: post #197
trog wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, I firmly believe that at least one celestial object has a direct effect on human life, but I dunno if the sun counts

I'd add the earth to the list. Pretty sure it's a celestial object and it has "some" effect in human life ;)

Don't forget the moon

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#219

Post by arthur2e5 »

> Yet more Americans know their zodiac sign than their blood type,

I mean, most people get a reminder of their birthday once per year, but blood type? You have to test for that and most people just don't see that sort of thing come up. The average person neither gets blood transfusions obviously (and it's not like medical professionals take what you state about your blood type for granted, so remembering doesn't help) nor have a good reason to donate.

If anything, it's good that Americans aren't doing Japanese blood-type personality beliefs. I hope they never do.

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#220

Post by yxhuvud »

whakim wrote: post #87
nprateem wrote: post #66

I had an argument with a girl the other day who was adamant she wanted to know my star sign. I said "you tell me" and after 10 guesses I finally told her. She then went on to tell me what I must like etc - most of which was complete bollocks obviously. I told her her beliefs were akin to racism. Just because of when I was born she thought it was acceptable not to bother to treat me as an individual but as automatical…

While I agree that astrology is complete nonsense, you're not likely to win many people over when you treat stereotyping (which you've described here) and racism as equivalent.

They are different in grade, not kind.
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