00:01
So what's the difference between astronomy and astrology? well, i'll tell you if you really want to make an astronomy instructor discuss it, ask them if you can get into their astrology class.
00:15
They will not be happy with that because astrology is what's sometimes called a pseudoscience.
00:24
And i don't mean to say you shouldn't enjoy astrology.
00:30
But we'll see what makes it a pseudoscience, whereas astronomy is a science.
00:40
And one way i can kind of distinguish between the two is one of the fundamental instruments of astrology is a horoscope, whereas, of course, astronomy uses something called a telescope.
01:01
So you've probably all read your horoscope for the day or the year or the a month.
01:08
And it purports to tell you how these stars, planets, etc., are going to influence your life, moon, sun, how the positions of those in our sky influence your life, your luck, your love, personality, all that goes into play.
01:39
Whereas a telescope you're using to make observations, of course, on those celestial objects.
01:52
So you can kind of see what's the basis.
01:55
Astrology, you're making an assumption that the horoscope is true.
02:00
In astronomy, you're using the telescope to find out how things actually work.
02:13
And that's kind of the basis of science.
02:15
You start with observations.
02:20
The second thing that makes astrology a pseudoscience, is sometimes your horoscope is going to be correct and sometimes it's going to be incorrect.
02:40
And you never know when is when.
02:45
And i think that's why it's kind of fun to read your horoscope.
02:47
It's like, oh, did it really happen today? was it correct today? well, maybe i can believe it tomorrow, et cetera.
02:55
And there's probably never a pattern about why it's correct and why it isn't.
03:01
And meanwhile, if you come up with astronomical law, such as the universal law of gravity, if it gets invalidated over and over again, it will be tossed out, must be true, always true, to remain viable.
03:46
It doesn't mean you can't change the law, but usually what you're working towards is a better understanding of the law, a more precise law, such as newton's gravity moving towards the general theory of relativity, for example...