The Importance of Confirmation Bias

3min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

"It's a very comforting idea that everything in the universe is not only connected, but also chiefly concerned with humans and human activity," he says. "We should be striving to get past this type of thinking as a society by entertaining it ... Engaging in pseudoscience is necessarily anti science."

Do zodiac signs dictate demeanors and destinies, or are horoscopes hogwash? Dave Farina consults the stars about astrology with us here on Skeptical Sunday!

On This Week's Skeptical Sunday, We Discuss:

The pseudoscience of astrology (not to be confused with astronomy — the legitimate study of space) purports that the position of celestial bodies relative to Earth influences events and human behavior.
Initially designed as calendrical systems for predicting seasonal shifts and divining the will of the gods, astrology has been observed across cultures since at least the second millennium BC.
From a scientific standpoint, astrology lacks a coherent explanation and fails to make statistically significant predictions.
Experiments with natal charts and horoscopes consistently show no correlation between astrological predictions and real-life traits or events.
Belief in astrology may offer comfort and purpose, but it hinders scientific progress and critical thinking.
Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!
Connect with Dave Farina on YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, and check out the Professor Dave Debates podcast here or wherever you enjoy listening to fine podcasts. Dave's book, Is This Wi-Fi Organic?: A Guide to Spotting Misleading Science Online is out now!