Shawna Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 I'm no longer a Cancer. Grrrrr. New astrological sign: Professor finds horoscopes may be a little off kilter From Times wire reports January 14, 2011, 6:12 a.m. The astrological calendar is all wrong. That public comment from a Minnesota astronomy professor set the Internet aflame this week. People might think they're a Pisces (compassionate, imaginative), but often they're really an Aquarius (witty, clever) -- at least based on an exact reading of the Earth's orbit. Or maybe, if you were born between Nov. 29 and Dec. 17, you're actually a strange new zodiac sign: Ophiuchus, the serpent holder. But who wants to admit to being that snake-guy sign on a first date? "I defined the zodiac by the constellations that are in the background when you look at where the sun, moon, and stars are," said Minneapolis Community and Technical College instructor Parke Kunkle, the man responsible for momentarily turning the astrology world upside down. "Ophiuchus has been around a long time, and the sun has been going through Ophiuchus for thousands of years." Get important science news and discoveries delivered to your inbox with our Science & Environment newsletter. In Kunkle's 13-member zodiac, the signs occupy more or less space on the calendar depending upon how long they are in the sun's path. Although Ophiuchus (seeker of wisdom, lucky) has only what amounts to a celestial toe in the sun's path, Kunkle defended its inclusion by noting it hosts the sun for more than twice as long as Scorpio (independent, passionate). Leading astrologers, after getting their collective bearings, were unified and defiant in their response: Not this time, Science. "It holds no water," said South Florida's self described "master astrologer" Jeffrey Brock. Brock said it was a "completely unfounded" attempt by scientists to discredit astrology, which they had never been fond of to begin with. Proclaimed Miami astrologist Ron Archer: "Mythology is always true." Even uber-astrologist Walter Mercado weighed in, telling El Nuevo Herald that there would be no need to change its horoscopes. Kunkle's re-examining of astrology is rooted in the Earth's "precession" -- put simply, the gravity-fueled change in orientation of the Earth's rotational axis. "The Earth sort of spins like a top," explained Florida International University physics professor James Webb. "It usually doesn't just stand up straight and spin, it usually wobbles." "Astrologers for years have not taken that into account," Webb continued. "So now people are starting to call them on it." Hogwash, responded Brock, director of the Astrological and Metaphysical Research Center. Brock said the brand of astrology practiced by the vast majority of the Western world focuses on the first day of spring -- an ever-shifting date that compensates for the planet's rotational habits. As for the inclusion of Ophiuchus, Brock said "we've always known about Ophiuchus" but that because the constellation only barely touches the sun's path, it is not truly a zodiac sign. Up in Minnesota, Kunkle said the publicity frenzy surrounding his remarks has prompted media calls from as far away as France. Kunkle noted that he's by no means the first member of the scientific community to raise this issue (it's been debated for thousands of years). But thanks to the Twitter-ing, Facebook-ing age we live in, he might just be the most famous. Kunkle has never been a horoscope reader. When people ask his sign, he usually tells them "vegetarian." Recalling all the paintings and poems inspired by the stars, Kunkle argued that there's plenty of reasons for people to look skyward without believing in astrology: "What they get then is the beauty of the universe, the beauty of the cosmos out there." According to the professor, astrology buffs should be using these dates, reflecting where the stars currently are aligned: --Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16; --Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11; --Pisces: March 11-April 18; --Aries: April 18-May 13; --Taurus: May 13-June 21; --Gemini: June 21-July 20; --Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10; --Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16; --Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30; --Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23; --Scorpio: Nov. 23-29; --Ophiuchus* Nov. 29-Dec. 17; --Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20. *Discarded by the Babylonians because they wanted 12 signs per year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkstones Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 This only affects people born in 2009 and onward, not anyone born before then. So whatever your star sign was when you were born, it still is now. Much ado about nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 KUNKLE! I've been saying that since yesterday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamisammy29 Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 This is a pile of crap!! AND PLUTO IS STILL A F***ING PLANET!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 NO! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miamisammy29 Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 YES! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Much ado about nothing. that goes for the whole astrology Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkstones Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 I don't think it's 100%, but if you look at the traits for Geminis, that's me to a tee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLizard Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 :sleepy: And that's all I have to say about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkstones Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Are you responding to what I said or the thread, because if you're responding to what I said, that's kind of rude, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 I don't think it's 100%, but if you look at the traits for Geminis, that's me to a tee. sorry, but you fell victim to the Forer effect See the description from the experiment mentioned in the article... that's the same what astrologists (and other people) are using Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkstones Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 That's interesting, but I still astrology is pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenacious_Peaches Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 sorry, but you fell victim to the Forer effect See the description from the experiment mentioned in the article... that's the same what astrologists (and other people) are using The Wiki article mentions a Big Bang Theory episode that references the Forer Effect: Leonard: How did you know my birthday's Saturday? Penny: I did your horoscope, remember? I was going to do everybody's until Sheldon went on one of his typical psychotic rants. Sheldon Cooper: For the record, that psychotic rant was a concise summation of the research of Bertram Forer, who, in 1948, proved conclusively through meticulously designed experiments that astrology is nothing but pseudoscientific hokum. Penny: Blah, blah, blah, a typical Taurus. I love that show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 I'm no longer a Cancer. Grrrrr. New astrological sign: Professor finds horoscopes may be a little off kilter From Times wire reports January 14, 2011, 6:12 a.m. The astrological calendar is all wrong. That public comment from a Minnesota astronomy professor set the Internet aflame this week. People might think they're a Pisces (compassionate, imaginative), but often they're really an Aquarius (witty, clever) -- at least based on an exact reading of the Earth's orbit. Or maybe, if you were born between Nov. 29 and Dec. 17, you're actually a strange new zodiac sign: Ophiuchus, the serpent holder. But who wants to admit to being that snake-guy sign on a first date? "I defined the zodiac by the constellations that are in the background when you look at where the sun, moon, and stars are," said Minneapolis Community and Technical College instructor Parke Kunkle, the man responsible for momentarily turning the astrology world upside down. "Ophiuchus has been around a long time, and the sun has been going through Ophiuchus for thousands of years." Get important science news and discoveries delivered to your inbox with our Science & Environment newsletter. In Kunkle's 13-member zodiac, the signs occupy more or less space on the calendar depending upon how long they are in the sun's path. Although Ophiuchus (seeker of wisdom, lucky) has only what amounts to a celestial toe in the sun's path, Kunkle defended its inclusion by noting it hosts the sun for more than twice as long as Scorpio (independent, passionate). Leading astrologers, after getting their collective bearings, were unified and defiant in their response: Not this time, Science. "It holds no water," said South Florida's self described "master astrologer" Jeffrey Brock. Brock said it was a "completely unfounded" attempt by scientists to discredit astrology, which they had never been fond of to begin with. Proclaimed Miami astrologist Ron Archer: "Mythology is always true." Even uber-astrologist Walter Mercado weighed in, telling El Nuevo Herald that there would be no need to change its horoscopes. Kunkle's re-examining of astrology is rooted in the Earth's "precession" -- put simply, the gravity-fueled change in orientation of the Earth's rotational axis. "The Earth sort of spins like a top," explained Florida International University physics professor James Webb. "It usually doesn't just stand up straight and spin, it usually wobbles." "Astrologers for years have not taken that into account," Webb continued. "So now people are starting to call them on it." Hogwash, responded Brock, director of the Astrological and Metaphysical Research Center. Brock said the brand of astrology practiced by the vast majority of the Western world focuses on the first day of spring -- an ever-shifting date that compensates for the planet's rotational habits. As for the inclusion of Ophiuchus, Brock said "we've always known about Ophiuchus" but that because the constellation only barely touches the sun's path, it is not truly a zodiac sign. Up in Minnesota, Kunkle said the publicity frenzy surrounding his remarks has prompted media calls from as far away as France. Kunkle noted that he's by no means the first member of the scientific community to raise this issue (it's been debated for thousands of years). But thanks to the Twitter-ing, Facebook-ing age we live in, he might just be the most famous. Kunkle has never been a horoscope reader. When people ask his sign, he usually tells them "vegetarian." Recalling all the paintings and poems inspired by the stars, Kunkle argued that there's plenty of reasons for people to look skyward without believing in astrology: "What they get then is the beauty of the universe, the beauty of the cosmos out there." According to the professor, astrology buffs should be using these dates, reflecting where the stars currently are aligned: --Capricorn: Jan. 20-Feb. 16; --Aquarius: Feb. 16-March 11; --Pisces: March 11-April 18; --Aries: April 18-May 13; --Taurus: May 13-June 21; --Gemini: June 21-July 20; --Cancer: July 20-Aug. 10; --Leo: Aug. 10-Sept. 16; --Virgo: Sept. 16-Oct. 30; --Libra: Oct. 30-Nov. 23; --Scorpio: Nov. 23-29; --Ophiuchus* Nov. 29-Dec. 17; --Sagittarius: Dec. 17-Jan. 20. *Discarded by the Babylonians because they wanted 12 signs per year. If it'll make you feel any better, you'll always be a cancer here at SongFacts Either way, it doesn't change for me: still a pisces... bleh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna Posted January 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 If it'll make you feel any better, you'll always be a cancer here at SongFacts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLizard Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Are you responding to what I said or the thread, because if you're responding to what I said, that's kind of rude, no? I dunno, astrology in general I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edna Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 Ha!! Shawna, I will love you even if you become a Geminis... (Pinkstones, dont take it as a rude comment against you, I'm surrounded by Geminis (friends, husband, exs...)) Hey, Keith and I are still Sagittarius... I had a job many years ago, I wrote horoscopes for almost five years I copied from books some friends gave me, I made the rest all up myself... I must agree with Tim and with Bitter Almonds about astrology... and with Sammy: Pluto is a planet!!! (and a doggie too... ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkstones Posted January 14, 2011 Report Share Posted January 14, 2011 What people don't understand is that your zodiac sign, whether you believe in astrology or not, has not changed. Also, this refers to the sidereal zodiac, which we don't use. We use the tropical zodiac, which was codified for Western astrology by Ptolemy in the 2nd century. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levis Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 Astrology is to science what psychoanalysis is to psychology i.e. a zit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 Let's not kid ourselves, it's all the same poppycock: astrology, psychoanalysis, and psychology. Hell, I took psych classes in uni as gpa boosters since it takes no effort to get As. It also helped there were a lot of hot chicks in these cake classes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levis Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 's true, it's impossible to get a wrong answer in psych EXCEPT WHEN ALL YOUR EXAMINERS ARE INTOLERANT FREUDIANS I mean just because I suggested treating mood disorders with ECT, chiz chiz chiz it's been proven to work and everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinkstones Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 I'm sorry, what? Electroshock therapy for simple mood disorders? That's barbaric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ombre Vivante Posted January 15, 2011 Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 Whatever happened to coffee and choco ice cream to treat mood disorders? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna Posted January 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2011 I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Levis Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Jeez, it's not like it hurts and it's not the trauma you see it portrayed as in films. It's easily the most effective treatment for depression - it works better on mood disorders than any other mental illness. Totally going to go get a PhD in psych once I'm done with my current one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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