Constellation science? Can constellations be believed?

Astrology is pseudoscience. It is a method to predict secular affairs, and its theoretical basis is that celestial bodies can determine or express the changes of the world in some way. This is the definition of astrology given by the British Encyclopedia. Astrology is beyond imagination. It can be traced back to the ancient Mesopotamian civilization over 2000 BC. At that time, people thought that some special astronomical phenomena represented a symbol of the world.

Around the 5th century BC, Babylonian astronomers first used the concept of the zodiac. Imagine the whole sky as a big ball, and the stars are all distributed on the spherical shell. This is the so-called celestial sphere. The ecliptic is the trajectory of the sun on the celestial sphere, and the 8-degree area on both sides of it is the ecliptic belt. Planets all move on the ecliptic. Babylonians also divided the zodiac into twelve regions, but the names of these regions came from the ancient Greeks. In fact, the names of most constellations come from Greek mythology.

If the equator of the earth extends infinitely to intersect with the ecliptic, there will be many intersections, and the vernal equinox is one of them. From the vernal equinox, divide an area every 30 degrees, which is the 12 house of the zodiac. Maybe you are familiar with the following names: Aries Palace, Taurus Palace, Twin Uterus, Cancer Palace, Lion Palace, Virgo Palace, Libra Palace, Scorpio Palace, Sagittarius Palace, Capricorn Palace, Aquarius Palace and Pisces Palace. These names are named after the zodiac where each region is located.

Astrology depends on this. When you were born, the position of these celestial bodies formed a specific so-called "Tiangong map", and the position of the sun at that time was your birth constellation. Some stars will think that this "constellation" determines everything about you, and then it will "predict" your character and destiny through a set of tedious theories.

Many people don't know that the sky seen by the ancient Babylonians is actually different from the sky now. The precession of the Earth's rotation will cause vernal equinox to move westward for about 50 seconds every year. After thousands of years of accumulation, the current constellations and palaces can no longer correspond to each other. This means that if you are the so-called "Aries", then you should actually be "Pisces". So, why do astrologers still make predictions based on their positions thousands of years ago?

You may say, "But I have seen some astrological predictions really effective!" "Yes, it may sometimes seem" effective ",just as witch doctors may sometimes" cure "patients. In that case, let's do a little experiment first. I extracted the following description from an astrologer:

Advantages of Libra: trustworthy, not afraid of difficulties, patient and cautious; Disadvantages: strict with others, indecisive when things happen, and easy to remain the same.

If you are a Libra, do you think this is a description of your personality? Amazing, isn't it? But I'm sorry, I seem to have made a mistake. What I just said should actually be Capricorn, not Libra.

Astrology is to deceive you with this specious prediction. If this description is just to your taste, you will definitely find it very useful. In fact, astrological judgments are always what you like to hear, and even the shortcomings they say are advantages from another perspective, rather than shortcomings that are spurned by universal moral standards. For example, I have never seen astrology say which constellation is meaner. Because it is specious, the possibility of its "efficacy" is sometimes very great. Astrology takes advantage of your psychological weakness. If 10 times is correct, it will also make you believe in astrology. However, one in ten chances is not even comparable to random guessing.

Finally, "I'm superstitious now, and I'm not so arrogant." Do you think superstition is a sign of not being arrogant? Constellations are often disguised as science, but they are actually a superstition. As for why it is superstition, it has been made clear above. Don't be confused by this kind of thing. Many things in life are to be mastered by yourself, not determined by the constellation.

Some are credible, some are not.