When it comes to zodiac signs so many things come to mind—it’s impossible to list them all. From fortune-tellers to girls obsessed with their zodiac signs, there’s a wide range of people out there. When I check Google Trends, I see that the concept of zodiac signs is constantly being searched in our country. Sometimes the interest dips, other times it spikes, but it always manages to carve out a place in the search trends. It seems our people are quite into zodiac signs Generally, if you take a look at the trends, you’ll notice the usual suspects: match results, celebrities, or trending topics. I’ve gotten used to it by now. It’s not like our people are going to sit down and read popular science books day and night. This is actually a common trend across societies, not just ours. The average level of any society is pretty ordinary—some are even below that. What makes America “America” is actually its elite. The average American is often leading the pack when it comes to ignorance. While we’re busy searching for zodiac signs, the average American is probably searching for something entirely different.
Even though I strive to write on diverse topics and produce quality content, it’s clear how challenging this is. The general tendencies of people are also quite evident. That’s why I personally know how successful content creators are and how much effort they put into their work. Becoming as well-known as Evrim Ağacı (a Turkish organization ) is incredibly difficult. Even if you were to achieve that level of recognition, people might still prefer listening to a few fortune-tellers over you. Some cunning individuals who label themselves as astrologers don’t hesitate for a moment to deceive people. Today, I’m going to explain to you how horoscopes are nothing but nonsense and why astrology is a pseudoscience—and I’ll back it up with solid reasoning.
What are the Zodiac Signs?
Zodiac signs are essentially the twelve constellations visible in the sky. Each constellation represents a zodiac sign, and each sign corresponds to a specific period of the year. But why are there twelve? The Earth orbits the Sun in an elliptical path, and the plane of this orbit is called the ecliptic plane. Zodiac Belt, as we call it, covers an area 8 degrees north and south of the ecliptic plane. The constellations that form the zodiac signs lie within this belt. Since there are twelve constellations, there are also twelve zodiac signs. These are, in order: Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius. For more detailed information, you can refer to this article:
When Did Zodiac Signs Emerge?
Zodiac signs were created approximately 3,000 years ago by the Babylonians. To fit the zodiac signs into twelve months, the Babylonians removed the constellation corresponding to the Serpent (Ophiuchus) from their system. So, in reality, there are thirteen zodiac signs, not twelve, and the one we don’t commonly know about is the Serpent. The period for the Serpent sign lasts a little over two weeks.
Astrology is a Pseudoscience
There are some ignorant individuals who claim that astrology is a science. The problem actually lies in the education system. We take so many classes, yet we still don’t properly understand what science is or how it’s conducted. If you were to ask an average high school student about the difference between a theory and a law, would they even know? When even our students lack scientific literacy, it’s no surprise that the average person might mistake astrology for science.
Science relies on experimentation. A phenomenon or event must be testable through experiments. Additionally, the principle of falsifiability is crucial. If something cannot be falsified, it cannot be considered science. Now, in astrology, someone makes a claim, but I can’t test it or falsify it. If someone says, “Look, you can’t disprove me, so I’m right,” people will believe them. It’s impossible to defeat an unfalsifiable argument. For example, if someone says, “Prove to me that unicorns don’t exist,” I can’t prove it because there’s no observation or data to work with. Unicorns could be real, but we have no evidence to support their existence.
If something is explained in scientific language and presents arguments but doesn’t adhere to the most basic principles of science, we call it a pseudoscience. There’s no scientific method involved. Therefore, zodiac signs are nonsense.
What we call zodiac signs are essentially just a few constellations in the sky. How can the month I was born affect my personality? What kind of connection could there possibly be? How can Saturn being in a certain position cause you to break up with your boyfriend? And apparently, Mercury retrograde ruins some lady’s day. If we asked Mercury, would it even recognize her? Then there’s this whole thing about zodiac compatibility—some signs are supposedly compatible with others, while some aren’t. When I was a kid, I used to check these for fun and move on, but there’s actually a group of people who take this stuff seriously. I’m a Virgo man, and according to the zodiac, I have high compatibility with many signs. If that’s true, then I’m compatible with a lot of women. Virgo men are also said to have many traits, but I don’t fit half of them. The traits they describe are so generic that they can apply to almost anyone. And when they do match, people say, “See, it’s accurate, so it must be scientific.”
Last Words
Last thing I can’t wrap my head around is how even educated women are into zodiac signs, even if just as a hobby. You see a woman studying natural sciences at a good university, yet she loves chatting about zodiac signs. Astrology is such a plague that no matter how educated you are, it sucks you in. For some reason, women seem more curious about these topics. Thankfully, the truly educated ones see it as a simple hobby and don’t actually believe in it. I once listened to a girl who genuinely believed in astrology for an hour, and I didn’t say anything contrary so as not to upset her. Even though it was obvious I was bored, she kept going. If I knew then what I know now, I would’ve straight-up told her it’s pseudoscience.
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