Rising Sign

[flippyshark]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

I would find it absurd to put any credence in astrology .... until I looked around at all the people I know and found it beyond the likely realm of coincidence how many of their notable traits were related to their zodiac sign.

I certainly can't disprove the notion, although my own experience leads me to a different conclusion. I have never been able to find a meaningful correlation. (For one thing, the personality descriptions on horoscopes aren't consistent from one astrologer to another, and there is so much wiggle room in any of them, it's a virtual certainly that everyone will fit at least a few adjectives for any sign, selected at random.)

I suspect that the real engine driving belief in astrology is that most common of rational pitfalls, Confirmation Bias. (We remember the hits and forget or dismiss the misses.) But, that could just be a trait of my skeptical Aries nature. (Are Aries supposed to be skeptics? I have no idea.)

I agree with the "it's all just in fun" attitude toward the zodiac, up to a point. I have run into people who actually make judgements and have biases and prejudices based on what sign others are, and that really drains the fun out of things very quickly. The last thing we all need is another excuse for passing judgements and making assumptions about others.

I don't know what time of day I was born, so I think I'll just scout all the rising signs until I find one that makes me out to be a real tiger. Grrrowl!