Movement from General Science to Against The Mainstream is fine by me, although this thread was not started to present an ATM argument which disputes any mainstream science. I put this thread in General Science with the intention of respecting BAUT rule not to promote ATM in mainstream fora. This was in response to some earlier comments on an ATM thread to the effect that ATM should only be for promotion of propositions in conflict with existing scientific knowledge/consensus rather than for purely empirical discussion. I agree the policy clarification explained above by ToSeek is reasonable given the dubious content of the hypothesis and my underlying ATM intent. Now of course it comes under the thirty day closure rule with clock ticking to 7 Feb. May I reiterate how much I appreciate the opportunity afforded by the Bautforum for interaction on these difficult topics, which I generally find are subject to strong cultural repression, but which should be open to sceptical discussion. My agenda is to explore how rational empirical study can broaden the boundaries of knowledge regarding interaction between the earth and the solar system. This is a fine point, considering the weight of anecdotal superstition surrounding astrology, and the difficulty of cleaving a rational path within it.
My aim is to use mainstream statistical methods to analyse some major non-mainstream claims. This was the aim of Michel Gauquelin, who ended up killing himself in despair at the rejection of his findings about planetary correlations. It also may bear comparison to the work of Geoffrey Dean, who turned from advocacy of scientific astrology to the conviction that astrology is bunk, in the face of failure to find strong results. I do not share Dean’s pessimistic assessment, as I am hopeful that the problem is that planetary effects are simply much weaker than has hitherto been assumed in scientific studies.
As readers of my earlier BAUT ATM threads would know, I am sympathetic to astrology, but try to approach it from a scientific perspective. For convenient reference, here are links to these earlier threads, as well as to some comments I made on others’ threads and some non-ATM threads.
1. Science and Astrology
2. Cosmos and Psyche Planetary Theory
3. Planets and Rain
4. http://www.bautforum.com/questions-a...nus-earth.html
5. Planets and Earthquakes
6. Precessional Cosmology
7. Geocentrism
8. Jupiter influencing sunspots
9. Astronomical History
10. Explaining Planetary Alignments Relationship to the Sunspot Cycle
11. 178.867624
12. http://www.bautforum.com/general-sci...ros-cycle.html
13. http://www.bautforum.com/questions-a...e-gravity.html
14. http://www.bautforum.com/general-sci...-obsolete.html
15. Harmony of the Spheres
16. Spiral Model of Solar System
17. http://www.bautforum.com/questions-a...le-galaxy.html
18. http://www.bautforum.com/questions-a...2-vectors.html
19. 2009 Planet Calendar
20. http://www.bautforum.com/general-sci...l-pyramid.html

Robert Tulip