James Randi and Star-Sign Compatibility

An astrologer gives a demonstration of the supposed compatibility between different astrological signs and fails completely.

From episode 2 of 'James Randi - Psychic Investigator' (1991)

Category:

Education

Tags:

• james
• randi
• psychic
• paranormal
• investigator
• astrology
• signs
• zodiac

[UncleFeedle]

@happybunnysmiles There is as much evidence for your god as there is for the existence of astrology as a valid phenomena.

[UncleFeedle]

@happybunnysmiles Existence is proof of existence. It says nothing about the cause. As to blind belief, I dismiss as irrational the notion of believing in something without any rational justification.

[UncleFeedle]

@NightinGal89 By evidence, I mean astrologers demonstrating that astrology does what they claim it does under conditions in which they cannot cheat or obtain success through mere random chance.

[UncleFeedle]

@NightinGal89 Yes you can believe what you choose. I prefer to have as many true beliefs and as few false beliefs as possible.

Does astrology provide results better than random chance?

[UncleFeedle]

@NightinGal89 By looking into, I mean I have taken the claims made by astrologers and tested them. On every occasion, I find that astrology provides results no better than random chance.

I'm not interested in how it works - only in whether it works at all. Until any astrologer can demonstrate that astrology has any basis in reality, it does not deserve any serious attention.

[BlankPageEmperor1334]

19 people aren't blissfully married.

[NightinGal89]

@UncleFeedle Bottom-line is you believe what you choose, I'm not arguing for fun, I'm writing this because I'm tired of people who never analyze themselves and end up making all the mistakes that their charts warn against.

Sure, you can analyze yourself with just psychology, but astrology gives you insights into a person's mind that nobody from the outside can see.

[NightinGal89]

@UncleFeedle About "evidence"..I'm not sure what evidence you are looking for, since astrology shows human psychology, mostly. That's why it's most relevant in issues like personal understanding or relationship dynamics.

And it's also why the best astrologers also happen to be therapists, or at least have basic knowledge of psychology. Jung himself was an adept.

[NightinGal89]

@UncleFeedle here you are, going on about evidence and "looked carefully into". Astrology is not the normal form of knowledge that society accepts.

Looking into it sounds ridiculous, since most astrologers only get the hang of it after many years of analyzing charts and learning what each symbol represents. It's not like a muffin recipe, or Java programming, that you can maybe look into for a few months and decide whether it works or not.

And how it works also depends on how you use it.

[ebrobaru]

@NightinGal89 pwned!

[UncleFeedle]

@NightinGal89 I have looked into astrology carefully, along with ESP, psychokinesis, precognition, astral projection, scrying, dowsing, numerology, palmistry, levitation, crystal healing, fortune telling, ouija boards, tarot cards, the I-Ching and numerous other woo-woo phenomena. I have found no evidence whatsoever that any of the above are anything other than purely imaginary. If you can provide any such evidence, you will be the first to do so.

[UncleFeedle]

@NightinGal89 1. Please define astrology. 2. What is astrology capable of? 3. What are its limitations?