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August 22, 2005

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I think they would reduce "Bob" to a set of mystical numbers using numerology and use that. Maybe the Kaballa would give it a different interpretation, which is cool then you could have at least 2 versions to pick from.

Applying logic is a common mistake when dealing with astrologers. They'll always have a nonsensical way out of causal paradoxes like this. In this case it will no doubt be something like: the mystical powers of Bob/Xena have subconsciously influenced the IAU committee to pick a name that is exactly in keeping with past and present personality types who were born at (whatever time of year). You can't win by reasoning with these people.

Did "Crap", and "Bear", come together accidently? I wish they would find a planet which would mean that I will be wealthy, and soon.

I do not know about astrology in much detail (pretty much because it is silly, the gravitational pull of the planets don't have much influence on my life... and the names even less so). It seems a bit bizarre that they would put much emphasis in the names.

It also seems that if any weight were given to the names of the planets and their sattelites... what about JUPITER?!!?? (Jupiter being the Romanized name of the Zeus). From:
http://www.nineplanets.org/jupiter.html...
"Jupiter's satellites are named for other figures in the life of Zeus (mostly his numerous lovers)."

Ganymede: http://www.pantheon.org/articles/g/ganymede.html

Io:
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/i/io.html

Europa:
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/e/europa.html

AND there is a Leda (who can forget the poem "Leda and the Swan" by Yeats?... well not the poor journalism student who I convinced to recite it a college class wearing a T-shirt depicting that very subject. The professor was not amused):
http://www.nineplanets.org/jupouter.html#leda

By the way, I learned about the naming of Jupiter's moons while helping a 1st grade class project on the Solar System. It was in the _My First Book of the Planet Jupiter_ book.

Actually the Xena rumor turned out to not be true. Besides, the name is already taken. The name will depend on whether this new "object" is considered a planet or a KBO.

According to the wiki article, if it's a KBO it has to be named after a creation deity, if it's a planet it has to follow with the greek names like the other planets.

"According to the wiki article, if it's a KBO it has to be named after a creation deity, if it's a planet it has to follow with the greek names like the other planets."

I was always wondering why they called it "Sedna" instead of a Greek deity.

The planets are mostly given Romanized names for Greek myths. Like Jupiter instead of Zeus, Mars instead of Ares, Venus instead of Aphrodite and Neptune instead of Poseiden. The moons seem to be Greed though. They seem to be using both Roman and Greek mythologies... and more recently some Inuit mythology.

The cool website where I looked it up:
http://www.nineplanets.org/ ... from his page on Sedna is a link to the page of one of the guys who found it with an explanation on the name:
http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/sedna/ where he says: "Our newly discovered object is the coldest most distant place known in the solar system, so we feel it is appropriate to name it in honor of Sedna, the Inuit goddess of the sea, who is thought to live at the bottom of the frigid arctic ocean. We will furthermore suggest to the IAU that newly discoverd objects in this inner Oort cloud all be named after entities in arctic mythologies. "

"The planets are mostly given Romanized names for Greek myths."

Oops. I said Greek. *baps self with rolled-up newspaper.*

It's okay... I just noticed my typo!

Greed indeed!

Clarification: the moons seem to have Greek myth names, and the astrologers have the actual GREED!

(do you think the spelling police will come after me in a couple of months?)

BOB??!!?? Holy crap, if Bob is in the 7th house that means we are ALL MARRYING BOB. ;)
Or at least, we all like Bob. Which certainly doesn't apply to me.

I'm just sayin'...... ;)

Today, they discovered one of Saturn poles is very hot - flaming even. Astronomers are stumped by this. If astrology is to believed (and no I am NOT saying it is) that would be karmic justice I would think. Since Saturn, they say, heeps all the shit onto us, no wonder it's poles are screwy and it's burning where it's not supposed to.

I'm just sayin' that too.... lol

This post doesn't make alot of sense. I think it's an embarassment to the rest of the site.

Astrology was not formed in this type of way. And respected astrologers will not start interpreting or predicting w/ this object right away. But you're clearly just looking for something to ridiclue astrology more than actually make a logical argument.

One can see the logic of the conclusion here is correct, but the premise is not. The fault lies in the term 'astrology.' You guys do not know what to include and what to leave out.

Bobby:

Perhaps you should take up your criticisms with the astrologers I cited in the post who were speculating about what the discoveries of these new planets mean for astrology.

Or perhaps you would like to explain how the ancient people figured out all those detailed rules and charts they use if my premise is wrong and if astrology "was not formed in this type of way".

Reminds me of some posts,

"Why don't you try making fun of the REAL psychics?!"

"Why don't you try making fun of the SERIOUS Creationist arguments?!"

Of course, it's pretty much all the same to us: They're all bunk. Some bunk is just slightly more Time Cube than others.

Good point Bronze Dog. Believers in astrology, such as Bobby, criticize my posts saying “Astrology was not formed in this type of way” and “You guys do not know what to include and what to leave out”, but then he can’t himself say how astrology was formed or what should be included or excluded. The truth is, astrology was made up in exactly the way I described in this post – using arbitrarily allocated names to allocate supposed characteristics to different heavenly bodies. As I wrote in The Astrology Challenge, rules made up in this fairy-tale way are very unlikely to be true.

I am closing this post to comments. Anyone who thinks they know how the ancients worked out all those detailed astrological rules, and who can show their work, should post it to the comments of The Astrology Challenge. Post answers only please, no more whining about how I’ve got it all wrong, how astrology doesn’t work the way Skeptico says, blah blah. Answer The Astrology Challenge or shut up.

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