I feel this way about college-educated adults that I meet that believe in Astrology. So nuts how many I've met since moving to New York
Astrology outbreaks are not a concern of mine Even when the moon is in retrograde
I think programmers should be professionally leery of astrologers. And if asked for a reason they should reference this - http://www.thedailyparker.com/post/2011/10/06/c5f28bae-4b9c-...
To be honest, when someone puts it that way, it sounds like they do actually believe it, to some extent at least.
No one who doesn't believe it would phrase things that way.
And why do you say that? Do you have any reason to think I'm not being earnest other than your "hunch"? Is that really the quality of discussion you want to have with complete strangers who are otherwise saying nothing offensive whatsoever- to question their sincerity? Seems pretty whack to me.
When someone says "I don't believe X" it means they don't believe it.
When someone says "I don't necessarily believe X" it means they kinda do believe it.
Not one person who believes the world is spherical would ever say (or agree that it correctly captures their view) the statement "I don't necessarily believe the world is flat".
[EDIT: I thought this example might help make things clearer.
version 1:
- wife to husband: you're spending a lot of time with that new co-worker. Do you find her attractive?
- husband: no, I don't find her attractive.
&
version 2:
- wife to husband: you're spending a lot of time with that new co-worker. Do you find her attractive?
- husband: no, I don't necessarily find her attractive.
A husband that genuinely did not find the co-worker attractive would never express things in the second way. It's clear in that second way that he does find her attractive to some extent but doesn't want to say it]
Sometimes "I don't necessarily believe..." is used when the person feels awkward admitting that they have some belief, or when they haven't consciously realised that they do. It can be when they haven't fully admitted it to themselves.
Anyway, I would reword the entire post to remove the word necessarily but I'll leave it in case anyone else reads it and might make the same Mistake.
(It's a very rough-surfaced, approximate, oblate spheroid)
But this kind of thing tends to also serve as a psychological aid. People with anxiety being told things they want to hear. For some psychics serve as de facto therapists.
This isn't to say there aren't charlatans and scammers who take advantage of the vulnerable and impressionable.
But on the whole, Astrology and the like are "harmless", at which point I personally don't care. People are entitled to their personal foolishness.
Astrology has some value, in the same way alchemy has value: it helped start serious scientific inquiry into astronomy. Sadly, while there are now vanishingly small amounts of people who take alchemy seriously, astrology is a relatively common belief to hold, even among people who are scientifically-minded. It puts me in mind of the first 9/11 truther I knew, who was a close friend who should have known better. However, at the time she was willing to buy into it, simply because it played into her anti-GWBush sentiments. This is after I explained how the statements were false, and backed it up w/ evidence (having queried my father, who was a mining engineer and had done building implosions in his career as a blasting contractor).
Unfortunately, "smart people" can just as easily fall prey to these types of delusions, it seems to be a common human trait (like all the logical fallacies). Thinking that one is immune paradoxically makes one more susceptible to these types of errors, rather the best defense is to recognize that no, nobody is immune. Much in the same way as ignoring advertising's effect on decision-making.
Edit:typo
It links to an ifs report
> Those early formative years influence attitudes and expectations about success, academically and socially, and that can possibly stay with an individual.
Maybe there’s no measurable difference by adulthood, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was.
Compared to days, years, and Lunar months, what does astrology give us, orbits of other planets? Distant constellations? Who cares?! This doesn't affect our daily life in the slightest. Astrology doesn't add anything. The normal calendars we already use are the best and most relevant.