Saw these books the other day in a well know store.
All good harmless fun or is it?
"We can use star signs to encourage children to understand themselves and other people"
All pretty pictured up to a target audience.
At a time that we need more young people to look up and to take an interest in the natural night sky I was rather disheartened or maybe Astronomy is just being outmarketed.
I dunno, what do you reckon?
I wouldn't say harmless, because it's proposed as being real and children can't know any better. Cartoons and other children's stories are obviously fiction, but that isn't.
It always amazes me how many people believe in some part of astrology - one girl I dated at Uni would sometimes cancel a date if the horoscope suggested we'd argue, amongst other peculiar beliefs. I'd say that's no way to live a life. On the other hand, I have star sign coffee mugs, because they're fun.
it is good in a way because kids don't understand anything any more. their social interaction is fakebook and Twitter etc ... if this makes kids think about how others think it might be a good thing.
I'm a Leo and a snake in Chinese ...my traits are basically what astrology says. I don't like star signs but I can't deny what my traits are ..
it sounds like astronomy is dying but it's not. I have 9 nieces and nephews ... all except 1 have seen Saturn and Jupiter and the moon and various deep sky objects .. but it's boring to them. they would rather play gta then look at a grs transit ..
when we were kids I'm sure the Atari 2600 was cool (was for me) but I still had a telescope that my dad didn't know how to use and I wasn't allowed to touch it ...
What these people dont understand ( those that believe in astrology ) is that stars are moving, the star charts from 1 or 2000 yers ago do not correspond to what you see today.
Why people believe that the stars can affect your emotions and influence your day to day life ( i for one dont ) will probally need a tread of its own, but no doubt that would quickly be locked.
the moon certainly affects our emotions .. just look at the crime spikes around full and new moon .. maybe because we are 70 odd percent water .. who knows. look at the stats ... we are affected by what's above us.
I'm not into astrology .. but as I have said people have traits .. and you are what you are ...
matt
just like breeds of dogs .. they have traits based on their breed ..etc ...
(I would put you as a Taurus Ian)
What these people dont understand ( those that believe in astrology ) is that stars are moving, the star charts from 1 or 2000 yers ago do not correspond to what you see today.
Why people believe that the stars can affect your emotions and influence your day to day life ( i for one dont ) will probally need a thread of its own, but no doubt that would quickly be locked.
I have to disagree with you here, everything we on Earth do is influenced by a star from our emotions to our day to day life .......... I for one would be very pixxed off if one particular star was no longer there when we rotated around again after another 24hours.
Seriously, I doubt that those children picture books are going to do any harm to a young mind, there are far worse outcomes for our children than an interest in astrology will ever be.
I don't think there is anything sinister about little illustrated books. As kids we probably all looked at the horoscopes in magazines and had a chuckle to see what next week luck would be. I reckon kids getting that material might even look up and delve into a bit of astronomy. They wouldn't differentiate between the two. Two many geeks on this forum. 90% of people don't know or don't care about what's up there. Doesn't make them any dummer. Of course there is always the odd ball but their number is greatly exagerated.
My 4yo son loves his pop-up books about Physics and Chemistry, I bet books on bloody astrology would out-sell them though.... I'll allow him to have an astrology book when we collide with M31, not before!
I'll let the late, great Carl Sagan explain astrology to him one day.....
I don't think there is anything sinister about little illustrated books. As kids we probably all looked at the horoscopes in magazines and had a chuckle to see what next week luck would be. I reckon kids getting that material might even look up and delve into a bit of astronomy. They wouldn't differentiate between the two. Two many geeks on this forum. 90% of people don't know or don't care about what's up there. Doesn't make them any dummer. Of course there is always the odd ball but their number is greatly exagerated.
Find it a bit iffy personally. I'm not keen on putting labels on people, which can have the effect of the person living to the label rather than to their true nature.
I'm with Sheldon on this one:-
Penny: Okay - I'm a Sagittarius, which probably tells you way more than you need to know.
Sheldon: Yes - it tells us that you participate in the mass cultural delusion that the sun's apparent position relative to arbitrarily defined constellations at the time of your birth somehow affects your personality.
Penny: Participate-in-the-what?
How can a large body of helium, liquid hydrogen and ice along with another similar heavenly bodies, all without a consciousness , work together so that on friday I will meet a tall blonde woman and win an unexpected trip on a cruise to Italy?
Children are impressionable and so to teach them astrology, even in a fun way will to sme degree leave somekind of influence upon them, especially if their parents believe in or practice astrology, and more than likely such parents are the ones who will buy these books.
Why do adults believe astrology anyway? I have not had anyone give me a satisfying answer.
Anyway i'd better go and pack for that cruise.
Well I don't give a rats about this one way or the other Ian. But in response to your first question, I'd add that our own little brains appear to be made up of not much more than carbon atoms and water and stuff, and they seem to be capable of some quite wonderful things. Don't you agree?
Quote:
Originally Posted by ianB
How can a large body of helium, liquid hydrogen and ice along with another similar heavenly bodies, all without a consciousness , work together so that on friday I will meet a tall blonde woman and win an unexpected trip on a cruise to Italy?
Children are impressionable and so to teach them astrology, even in a fun way will to sme degree leave somekind of influence upon them, especially if their parents believe in or practice astrology, and more than likely such parents are the ones who will buy these books.
Why do adults believe astrology anyway? I have not had anyone give me a satisfying answer.
Anyway i'd better go and pack for that cruise.
