The one I thought of was actually “What do you think about astrology?”
The answer I am looking for is neither that they believe or don’t believe it, I want to hear something between. Something like
“It’s fun! I love seeing the connections between people born with similar birthdays and stuff, and honestly it does seem accurate sometimes. But also I don’t live by it! What about you?”
This open, honest way of communicating is what’s important. Didn’t knock the idea down or support it 100%, just approached with an open mind.
Having an open mind is great and all, but once you’ve gathered enough information to take a position you’re not obligated to coddle those who remain willfully ignorant. I’ve personally never found astrology “fun,” it’s stupid woo that encourages people to adopt other stupid woo. At a time when anti-intellectualism is being institutionalized into government policy (in the US at least,) I don’t see how anyone in good faith can actively encourage that.
I don’t take astrology that seriously, it’s more of a conversation starter or a tool for introspection. Sometimes I see things about my birthdate that help me notice new things about myself, and sometimes it just seems made up.
Connecting astrology to anti-intellectualism is a pretty big reach in my opinion. I don’t think the ideas of astrology, religion, magic, etc should be applied to policy that impacts anybody else.
I see your point - but there’s always going to be questions science can’t answer because science is based only on what we can observe and measure.
A big one is “where did everything come from”
So I don’t see a way of avoiding magical or spiritual thinking - it’s likely more important to separate that from fact when making decisions that effect more than just you :)
Why? I don’t see how astrology hurts anybody (unless people take it to extremes, like not dating someone because of their signs or something like that.)
The one I thought of was actually “What do you think about astrology?”
The answer I am looking for is neither that they believe or don’t believe it, I want to hear something between. Something like
“It’s fun! I love seeing the connections between people born with similar birthdays and stuff, and honestly it does seem accurate sometimes. But also I don’t live by it! What about you?”
This open, honest way of communicating is what’s important. Didn’t knock the idea down or support it 100%, just approached with an open mind.
Having an open mind is great and all, but once you’ve gathered enough information to take a position you’re not obligated to coddle those who remain willfully ignorant. I’ve personally never found astrology “fun,” it’s stupid woo that encourages people to adopt other stupid woo. At a time when anti-intellectualism is being institutionalized into government policy (in the US at least,) I don’t see how anyone in good faith can actively encourage that.
I don’t take astrology that seriously, it’s more of a conversation starter or a tool for introspection. Sometimes I see things about my birthdate that help me notice new things about myself, and sometimes it just seems made up.
Connecting astrology to anti-intellectualism is a pretty big reach in my opinion. I don’t think the ideas of astrology, religion, magic, etc should be applied to policy that impacts anybody else.
But, magical thinking can creep into policy, often with disastrous results.
A more solid footing can be achieved by consulting science educators, for perspective about our place in the universe.
I see your point - but there’s always going to be questions science can’t answer because science is based only on what we can observe and measure.
A big one is “where did everything come from”
So I don’t see a way of avoiding magical or spiritual thinking - it’s likely more important to separate that from fact when making decisions that effect more than just you :)
Sometimes knocking an idea down is justified, especially in the case of astrology.
Why? I don’t see how astrology hurts anybody (unless people take it to extremes, like not dating someone because of their signs or something like that.)