12/09/08
"Astrology is crap"
Dave Reneke wonders how a bunch of disorganised rocks floating around a basic half dead star can determine your destiny
There are a lot of things in life I just don’t get. One of them is my wife – I don’t understand how she thinks. Another is my kid who speaks an entirely different language to anyone else on this planet. I don’t get what millions of people see in cricket, and, I don’t get astrology!
Can someone explain to me, in simple terms, how a bunch of disorganised rocks floating around a basic half dead star can determine my entire life’s destiny? − or for that matter, the way I butter my toast!
This morning (Sunday) I picked up our Sunday paper as I usually do, and as seems to be the norm these days, it included a ‘free’ gift. Usually we get a pull out supplement, a CD, a DVD or similar. Imagine my surprise when I was handed a ‘Your Stars’ booklet, written by an astrologer and includding some advertising from a very well known and respected women’s clothing company.
Now, pardon me, but why have they done this? This booklet is crap! It is not based on fact or has any resemblance to fact. It contains predictions on your future – your stars are highlighted along with what is supposed to happen to you. Looks harmless BUT it is dangerous stuff if you fall for it - some people order their lives by this drivel!
You might get the impression by now that I’m not into astrology. Dead right! Why does this made up, mass produced garbage get such a high prominence in the press or on TV? I see entire programs devoted to these fortune telling fakes. Try and get a decent educational show on and see how far you get. Send in a good meaty astronomy or space story to most major newspapers about an amazing new discovery that might help us locate life elsewhere in the universe or something equally as cool and guess what... you’ll never hear from anyone. I have and I’m still waiting.
These astrologers make squillions out of gullible people desperate to know “what my future holds.” These people cannot tell you that you dope – get a life! Your future is determined on what you do and think about today – not how the bloody stars and planets looked thousands of years ago!
MY gripe is this. This is a major newspaper. Read buy a lot of people. Imagine how much time, effort and money went into producing this booklet. How much better would it have been, leading up to the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, to include a nice DVD or ‘booklet’ on the planets, or the solar system, or the universe!!! This could start some kid off on a career… or at least start him/her off on a great lifelong hobby. Is one available, you bet. It’s called ‘Eyes on the Skies’ and put out by the European ESO organisation as the official DVD for the International Year of Astronomy 2009... and there are many more like that available.
In the past, on and off, they’ve been following this theme by giving away things like Xmas CDs, and sporting items/publications etc, and that’s laudable, but they’ve failed miserably here. The thing is they’re printing something that doesn’t work. It simply is a whole lot of nonsense.
Is it just me, or is astrology simply a fantasy cooked up to make people feel better? I'm well aware that astrology is baseless and silly, but I at least once hoped that it might have internal mechanisms that were somewhat grounded in reality. No, it hasn’t.
I’m probably a little off target with the finger pointing but I’m biased, I’ve never believed in astrology. Everything time I hear someone talking about their astrological predictions, they’re taking the very general prediction they’ve been given and either twisting something that has happened to fit or altering their life to suit which sounds dangerously stupid to me.
Oh, I almost forgot. If you’re re an astrologer who takes offence at this and wonder if, by writing to me, you’ll invoke a response, you’re wrong… but then again, you knew that, right?
Dave Reneke
www.skyandpsace.com.au
Can someone explain to me, in simple terms, how a bunch of disorganised rocks floating around a basic half dead star can determine my entire life’s destiny? − or for that matter, the way I butter my toast!
This morning (Sunday) I picked up our Sunday paper as I usually do, and as seems to be the norm these days, it included a ‘free’ gift. Usually we get a pull out supplement, a CD, a DVD or similar. Imagine my surprise when I was handed a ‘Your Stars’ booklet, written by an astrologer and includding some advertising from a very well known and respected women’s clothing company.
Now, pardon me, but why have they done this? This booklet is crap! It is not based on fact or has any resemblance to fact. It contains predictions on your future – your stars are highlighted along with what is supposed to happen to you. Looks harmless BUT it is dangerous stuff if you fall for it - some people order their lives by this drivel!
You might get the impression by now that I’m not into astrology. Dead right! Why does this made up, mass produced garbage get such a high prominence in the press or on TV? I see entire programs devoted to these fortune telling fakes. Try and get a decent educational show on and see how far you get. Send in a good meaty astronomy or space story to most major newspapers about an amazing new discovery that might help us locate life elsewhere in the universe or something equally as cool and guess what... you’ll never hear from anyone. I have and I’m still waiting.
These astrologers make squillions out of gullible people desperate to know “what my future holds.” These people cannot tell you that you dope – get a life! Your future is determined on what you do and think about today – not how the bloody stars and planets looked thousands of years ago!
MY gripe is this. This is a major newspaper. Read buy a lot of people. Imagine how much time, effort and money went into producing this booklet. How much better would it have been, leading up to the International Year of Astronomy in 2009, to include a nice DVD or ‘booklet’ on the planets, or the solar system, or the universe!!! This could start some kid off on a career… or at least start him/her off on a great lifelong hobby. Is one available, you bet. It’s called ‘Eyes on the Skies’ and put out by the European ESO organisation as the official DVD for the International Year of Astronomy 2009... and there are many more like that available.
In the past, on and off, they’ve been following this theme by giving away things like Xmas CDs, and sporting items/publications etc, and that’s laudable, but they’ve failed miserably here. The thing is they’re printing something that doesn’t work. It simply is a whole lot of nonsense.
Is it just me, or is astrology simply a fantasy cooked up to make people feel better? I'm well aware that astrology is baseless and silly, but I at least once hoped that it might have internal mechanisms that were somewhat grounded in reality. No, it hasn’t.
I’m probably a little off target with the finger pointing but I’m biased, I’ve never believed in astrology. Everything time I hear someone talking about their astrological predictions, they’re taking the very general prediction they’ve been given and either twisting something that has happened to fit or altering their life to suit which sounds dangerously stupid to me.
Oh, I almost forgot. If you’re re an astrologer who takes offence at this and wonder if, by writing to me, you’ll invoke a response, you’re wrong… but then again, you knew that, right?
Dave Reneke
www.skyandpsace.com.au
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