The Barnum Effect

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People see specific details in vague platitudes and they fill in vague language with personal examples. It's a common logical fallacy that so-called psychics use as well. If you read horoscopes from a bunch of different sources, they're always completely different. So this doesn't hold a candle to science. Science makes highly sophisticated predictions based on quantitative calculations which are corroborated regularly out to six decimal places or every day. astrology absolutely does not do this ever.

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.
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