Saturday, May 22, 2004
PERCY SEYMOUR - ASTROLOGY
Scientists have always dismissed astrology as a load of old bunk. Now, a British astronomer has said that there might be something in it after all. Percy Seymour. In his latest book, The Scientific Proof of Astrology, the former Plymouth University, England, astronomy lecturer, and member of the Royal Astronomical Society, argues that, while he does not believe in horoscopes, the movement of the sun, moon and various planets undoubtedly hold an influence over us.
Robert Massey, astronomer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England:
"It's right up there with stuff like crop circles being made by extraterrestrials,"
Dr Mike Hapgood - Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, England:
... says we have no real data on how, if at all, magnetic fields might affect human behaviour. "There's an interesting question there and it's not something that is well understood," he says.
Geoffrey Dean - Perth:
Last year, Geoffrey Dean, who left astrology to become a scientist in Perth, carried out what is probably the most robust scientific investigation into astrology ever undertaken. He led a study of 2000 people, most born within minutes of one another, and looked at more than 100 different characteristics, ranging from IQ to ability in art and sport, from anxiety levels to sociability and occupation — all of which astrologers claim are influenced by heavenly bodies. He found no evidence of the similarities that astrologers would have predicted.
Jacqueline Mitton of the UK's Royal Astronomical Society:
"The difficulty for scientists is that we know the strangest sounding ideas can sometimes turn out to be true,"
The Melbourne Age
Heavens above, the planets may affect us
May 21, 2004
|
Scientists have always dismissed astrology as a load of old bunk. Now, a British astronomer has said that there might be something in it after all. Percy Seymour. In his latest book, The Scientific Proof of Astrology, the former Plymouth University, England, astronomy lecturer, and member of the Royal Astronomical Society, argues that, while he does not believe in horoscopes, the movement of the sun, moon and various planets undoubtedly hold an influence over us.
Robert Massey, astronomer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England:
"It's right up there with stuff like crop circles being made by extraterrestrials,"
Dr Mike Hapgood - Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, England:
... says we have no real data on how, if at all, magnetic fields might affect human behaviour. "There's an interesting question there and it's not something that is well understood," he says.
Geoffrey Dean - Perth:
Last year, Geoffrey Dean, who left astrology to become a scientist in Perth, carried out what is probably the most robust scientific investigation into astrology ever undertaken. He led a study of 2000 people, most born within minutes of one another, and looked at more than 100 different characteristics, ranging from IQ to ability in art and sport, from anxiety levels to sociability and occupation — all of which astrologers claim are influenced by heavenly bodies. He found no evidence of the similarities that astrologers would have predicted.
Jacqueline Mitton of the UK's Royal Astronomical Society:
"The difficulty for scientists is that we know the strangest sounding ideas can sometimes turn out to be true,"
The Melbourne Age
Heavens above, the planets may affect us
May 21, 2004
|
