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Young people are flocking to astrology

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Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#361

Post by namaria »

stevezsa8 wrote: post #206
f6v wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My girlfriend is in the middle of her PhD program Just like in any occupation, you can be good at your job, but completely bananas outside of it.

I was having a conversation with a friend at work about a conspiracy theory loving colleague. I asked if it's possible to be good at your job while believing in far out stuff. My friend said "seems like it". But I have a feeling the mental baggage that comes from wacky beliefs is going to affect other aspects of life and work in a negative way. But that's just my opinion.

Everyone is mostly wrong about most things most of the time. Don't assume you're a paragon of rationality and correctness just because the toleration in your daily life is bigger then the margin by which you're holding mistaken beliefs.

We just need to be right enough long enough within a limited scope. That's what makes civilization successful. Specialization.

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#363

Post by ndsipa_pomu »

MassiveOwl wrote: post #334
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…

I never reveal it at work, there are morons out there that have opinions like "I'm starsign x, and if you're y, then we won't get along". It's so frustrating

Typical Geminis

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#365

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

MontyCarloHall wrote: post #357
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m a 61-year-old software developer. It’s been interesting (and infuriating), experiencing some of the conclusions that younger techs have reached about me, due to my gray hair. I’m also a developer of Apple device software. That has resulted in even more abuse. There’s serious hate for Apple amongst techs. Human nature likes pigeonholing other people into simple “sort buckets,” and we have many ways to do that. It…

>There’s serious hate for Apple amongst techs. According to the StackOverflow developer survey, 33% of developers use macOS [0], which is approximately double its overall market share of ~15% [1]. In my experience, every tech company office I’ve ever been to has been a sea of MacBooks. [0] https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2023/ [1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_operating_sys... .

Yup. I worked for years in the imaging industry, and there's plenty of Apple, there.

That still doesn't stop a very vocal minority of folks from spewing hate on us. Heck, just spend five minutes, browsing comments on this very forum, and you'll run into it.

Seriously. Just make a few posts, indicating that you develop Apple software, and see where that takes you.

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#366

Post by oxfordmale »

whstl wrote: post #234
oxfordmale wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is an useful filter to reduce the pool of eligible candidates when dating, even if it is random. It should also be seen in context. Certain celestial bodies (moon and the sun) have a massive impact on your life on earth. It is easy to see why people would interpolate this to other celestial bodies.

"It is an useful filter to reduce the pool of eligible candidates when dating, even if it is random." I mean, yes, that's true. But IMO it's not really at random. I don't think anyone would dump someone because that person is a Scorpio (unless they're absolute nuts). It's more like a conversation starter to let people open up and talk about their personality traits. You bring up jokingly "ugh my ex was also a Leo...…

There is little scientific evidence to suggest there is a correlation between personality and star signs. It is a good icebreaker, and to gauge common interests.

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#367

Post by simbolit »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #350
simbolit wrote: post #328

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> childhood body image issues — issues that men can’t know what it’s like Thanks for negating my childhood experiences, much appreciated.

I think it’s worth explicitly comparing our childhood issues. It took a long time to come to terms with the fact that it’s just nothing close to what women go through. It’s horrible in its own way. But women are judged for the rest of their lives, in exactly the ways this thread illustrates. When have you ever wondered if your body was the reason you did or didn’t get a job? It’s one thing for image issues to impact…

What the h*ll do you know about my life? Nothing.

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#368

Post by varjag »

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #354
varjag wrote: post #345

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no qualitative difference between belief in astrology and any of the world's religions. Not saying you're not entitled in disregarding astrology believers but the cut-off point is completely arbitrary and dare I say irrational.

I would argue that astrology is in principle testable and it should be able to make concrete predictions. Obviously, popular astrology uses such woolly terms that all of the predictions can be interpreted as accurate to the believer. However, the few times that anyone has tried to verify astrological predictions, it's turned out to be false. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1986-30007-001

If we get into this territory all major religions struggle as well. Petty gods from the canon somehow fail to deliver unambiguous punishment for clearly worded insults. The outrage over Bible or Quran burnings is largely driven by the demonstrated impotence of the deity rather than the sacrilege itself. The stories themselves are completely bonkers and self-contradicting in many aspects.

But I guess ignoring all religious people in the world is simply impractical.

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#369

Post by namaria »

sneak wrote: post #248
LargeTomato wrote: post #37

My girlfriend is in the middle of her PhD program and is very intelligent but she's really into this stuff. She makes comments about it in public and I cringe. But the worst part is that half my female friends and all my gay friends love astrology. It's very weird.

> is very intelligent but she's really into this stuff These can't both be true. Being in a PhD program is not a sign of intelligence. Belief in astrology is a clear sign of lack of intelligence.

I wouldn't jump to conclusions about people based on their blind spots. The guy who invented calculus believed a whole lot of nonsense. Doesn't make him dumb or invalidate his accomplishments. Being in a PhD program is most definitely sign of some sort of above average intelligence. Irrational beliefs are not proof of lacking intelligence. People who are so ready to dispense judgement should go talk to specialists about things they hold to be true on fields they don't really know a lot about. Would be humbling.

Re: Young people are flocking to astrology

#370

Post by ChrisMarshallNY »

sillysaurusx wrote: post #278
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m a 61-year-old software developer. It’s been interesting (and infuriating), experiencing some of the conclusions that younger techs have reached about me, due to my gray hair. I’m also a developer of Apple device software. That has resulted in even more abuse. There’s serious hate for Apple amongst techs. Human nature likes pigeonholing other people into simple “sort buckets,” and we have many ways to do that. It…

Hey! 35yo dev here. If you could go back and give your 35yo self some advice, what would it be? (Feel free to make it specific to yourself; I’m just curious.) You’re a bit of my hero since I aim to be a dev till at least 60. I barely survive Leetcode interviews now — in fact I can’t think of a single one I’ve passed. Having to interview at 60 plus sounds awful, mostly for the reasons you describe.

I've always been a big fan of open-mindedness, humility, self-discipline, completionism, personal integrity, and constant learning.

If you keep those going, you'll do well in almost everything.

I'm loath to give more specific advice, because the whole industry is experiencing a bit of a "sea change," right now, and I'm not sure that past performance is a good indicator of future results.

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