What's Wrong with Astrology?

With the US election upcoming, the silly season is in full force. Every astrologer has their prediction at the ready and is prepared to back it up with lengthy analysis. And yet half of these astrologers will be incorrect -- probably more, since most astrologers lean to the left and are therefore predicting a win for Kerry. So much for objectivity. The problem isn't in making wrong predictions. I do that, too. Every astrologer does.

The problem lies in what happens afterwards. How will these people make sense of their error? How will they come to understand where they went wrong? This is the real problem in modern astrology as I see it: there is a inability to accumulate new knowledge. Mistakes are made, and lessons go unlearned. Mistakes then recur and are later forgotten.

When they get something right like an election call, they also fail to conduct a post-mortem. They mistakenly assume that since they are right they don't need to look more closely at their method. This complacency undermines the development of their abilities. Too often, astrologers are content to rest on their laurels. Shouldn't we remind them that elections and other contests such as sporting events are only 50-50 propositions where astrology is no more useful than flipping a coin? A correct prediction of this type is no more a confirmation of one's technique than a novice investor mistakenly assuming he has market savvy in the midst of a bull market.


Christopher Kevill
http://modernvedicastrology.com


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