Hey, baby, what's your sign?

So . . . today is my birthday, which anyone reading this blog would know because I tend to make a moderately big deal of it (plus, anyone reading this blog is almost certainly someone who knows me personally, so I would have beat you over the head with the fact that it's my special day). Which brings up the topic of astrology.

Astrology, frankly, is a load of crap. Most people know this, though some people delude themselves into thinking they know this and then go checking their horoscope anyway. I have actually heard somewhat intelligent people try to defend a scientific basis for astrology, and I ain't buying it. There is, however, a scientific basis for why some people buy it.

A common criticism of these prognostications is that everyone is lumped into one of 12 categories, and 1/12 of all people aren't going to have the same thing happen to them. I take the opposite view - I think that 100% of people are going to have the 'same thing' happen to them, because the predictions are vague enough to apply to anything. For example, here is my "if today is your birthday" horoscope (because today is in fact my birthday):

"There is something you would like to do but are reluctant to get started because you fear that others might not approve. That’s just an excuse and you know it. It’s really your own fear that is holding you back. It’s now or never. "

Tell me, is there anyone out there to whom this wouldn't apply? Add to this the fact that horoscopes are published every day and you get a serious confirmation bias. If a horoscope says (as my Gemini horoscope says today) that my life will soon be turned upside down in a positive way, and it happens, presto! They predicted correctly (note they didn't say when it would happen, just 'soon'). If it doesn't happen, I forget about it because I get another prediction tomorrow, and I guarantee it won't be along the lines of "you will wait for yesterday's horoscope to come true."

On the same note, the personality-trait side of astrology is also bunk. I am a Gemini, which supposedly means I have a (non-schitzoid) split personality. Really? There's more than one side to my personality? What a shocker! Good thing it's only Geminis that exhibit that trait. Astrological traits of various signs such as stubbornness, gullibility, fairness, crabbiness; all of these apply to everyone at some point or another.

Well, at least astrology did give us a hackneyed pick-up line.

Have a happy Eric's birthday!