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For believers in the paranormal, out of all the different "fields" which one has the most solid evidence? By "fields" I guess I mean between things like cryptozoology, UFO's, ESP, etc.?
I'd have to say cryptozoology because we actually do find living creatures that we previously thought were extinct (coelacanth for example) and we find new species all the time.
Astrology...yep I went there...astrology. Crime rates and hospital emergency room visits go up during a full moon.
Yeah, unfortunately that's not astrology, it's statistics.Astrology...yep I went there...astrology. Crime rates and hospital emergency room visits go up during a full moon. Now you could attribute this to criminals being able to see better or people going out more because visibility is up and getting injured, but I prefer to think its because of some mystical moon-force that tugs on the fluids in the human brain and causes them to act all crazy. Why do women have their "monthly visitor"?....moon-force. Also, think of how many times your horoscope in the newspaper has been correct. Is it because they're vague descriptions that could apply to anyone? Or is it because of the change in the force from Jupiter as it moves through the constellation Scorpio? If a person has a saturnine disposition, perhaps it really is due to the influence from saturn.
No they don’t. There have been dozens of studies examining a statistical link between lunar phases, crime, emergency room visits, mental illness, etc. Despite several comprehensive studies few have indicated any substantial link yet the lunar fallacy persists in the public mind. Just looking at one example of a five year study by Kung and Mrazek shows no connection. They analyzed a total of 1,826 nights with 186 full moon effects in those years with a mean of ±SD of 2.30±1.7 patients seen on “full moon” nights as opposed to 2.32±1.56 when the moon was not full. There was zero correlation between the moon’s phases and increased activity in psychiatric emergencies.Astrology...yep I went there...astrology. Crime rates and hospital emergency room visits go up during a full moon.
Nope. There’s no evidential correlation and even if there were the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy is a better explanation than increased visibility. (see also: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3885282)Now you could attribute this to criminals being able to see better or people going out more because visibility is up and getting injured, but I prefer to think its because of some mystical moon-force that tugs on the fluids in the human brain and causes them to act all crazy.
Well, probably. But the correlation is a bit exaggerated. The moon’s cycle phase is 29.53 days, human female’s menstrual cycles average about 28 days (though it varies considerably of course). So close, but the correlation is not there in other mammals (like macaques at 26 days) and even our closest living relatives chimpanzees have 37 days. So perhaps human females are uniquely blessed with the lunar/menstrual connection that other mammals including our primate brethren do not possess? If that’s the case why do opossums have a 28 day menstrual cycle as well? Maybe humans came from a opossum common ancestor… Yes, there is likely a connection, but I’ll hold out for some more detailed studies before I shrug and accept “moon-force” as anything more substantive than pixie dust.Why do women have their "monthly visitor"?....moon-force.
Yup. Or more accurately, it’s because people’s personalities are varied and our common interests and hopes unite us more than we realize. We all have concerns about love and death and life and money. It’s pretty universal.Also, think of how many times your horoscope in the newspaper has been correct. Is it because they're vague descriptions that could apply to anyone?
Bees are on the what now? What force? Any gravitational influence would be negligible. Ahhhh, that mystical "moon-force"?Or is it because of the change in the force from Jupiter as it moves through the constellation Scorpio?
Or more likely we all have personality traits that can be described by that ambiguous easy-to-ascribe-to-anyone disposition called “Saturnine”. Or even Pisces-like, Sagitarius-like, and on and on...If a person has a saturnine disposition, perhaps it really is due to the influence from saturn.
For believers in the paranormal, out of all the different "fields" which one has the most solid evidence? By "fields" I guess I mean between things like cryptozoology, UFO's, ESP, etc.?
There is some truth to this actually. My mother worked on a psychiatric ward for 17 years and it was common knowledge that the patients went ballistic during the full moon whether they could see it or not. The moon has always been associated with mystery and madness, even our language reflects this (lunatic, moon-struck etc).
ill go out on a limb and say its associated with they way gravity effects the tides.