Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id DAA12151 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 19 May 2000 03:59:24 +0100 Message-ID: <39246861.67449453@mediaone.net> Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 23:02:09 +0100 From: Chuck Palson <cpalson@mediaone.net> X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.72 [en] (WinNT; I) X-Accept-Language: en To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: Useless memes References: <Pine.WNT.4.21.0005181748580.-451915@Starship051.cbe.wwu.edu> Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="------------EF18547E116EDB7BA5EF21F0" Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
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All very perceptive points, TJ.
TJ Olney wrote:
> Ah, my pet peeve about Dawkins here. He makes sweeping generalizations
> about how bad astrology is. He is of course right that if one seriously
> subscribes to the stuff about compatibility etc, that eliminating 1/12 of
> or even 1/4 of the gene pool from consideration as potential mates is
> pretty stupid.
>
> However, astrology is useful in several ways, aside from the obvious one
> that it generates income for astrolgers.
>
> 1) It is a tried and true pickup line/conversation starter, something that
> people seem to need desparately.
>
> 2) The newspaper/magazine horoscope, as a vague bit of advice with lots of
> hedges in it serves some people as the only trigger for introspection that
> they ever have. People then project their own situation onto the
> horoscope and sometimes it triggers them to do something they had planned
> to do but hadn't gotten around to, to not do something they really knew
> they shouldn't do. More often it is simply disregarded. It is
> conversational fodder for conversations that are really social grooming
> rituals. Rituals that let people know that they are connected.
>
> 3) Horoscopes in magazines that are more specific, with dates etc, can and
> do set up self-fulfilling prophesies for days to make decisions, days to
> go out on the town, days to get lucky etc. Some people may actually
> believe that the events for which they were responsible were ordained by
> the stars, but most would not.
>
> Most people simply ignore the horoscope if they can't make any interesting
> connections to their own lives. If they do make a strong connection, then
> they are likely to report it to others, increasing the likelhood that
> those others will also check their own horoscopes.
>
> There may be other "utilitarian" aspects of astrology, but I haven't come
> up with them.
>
> TJ
>
> -- TJ Olney Western Washington University - Not all those who wander are lost.
> For the musical version of this thought: http://mp3.musicmatch.com/artists/artists.cgi?id=113&display=1
>
> ===============================================================
> This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
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This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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