23-yr-old engineer commits suicide. Reason: A crow sat on his head

Bangalore Mirror ^ | July 20, 2013 | HM Chaithanya Swamy

[Jyotishi]

Were They Astrologers? — Big League Scientists and Astrology

http://www.mountainastrologer.com/standards/editor’s%20choice/articles/science_ast.html

[editor-surveyor]

>> “Geez...I read it as a cow sat on his head.” <<

.
Same here!

It sure would have saved him lots of trouble.

[The_Media_never_lie]

No, Johnny is definitely not OK.

[doorgunner69]

What!? Sheryl Crow sat on his head?

Considering her (lack of) wiping beliefs/practices, that might put him over the edge.............

[mlo]

"Astrology isn’t a religion - it’s mathematics"

Calculating charts is mathematics. Thinking the positions of planets affect your life or personality is delusion.

[RedHeeler]

Good.

[editor-surveyor]

>> “I also find Flat Earth Theory...” <<

.
Just what is “Flat Earth Theory?”

I can find no evidence that anyone ever believed that the Earth was flat until school teachers began talking about it in the 1950s.

The Bible, and every other ancient volume speak of a spherical Earth.

[null and void]

“In astrology the rules happen to be about stars and planets, but they could be about ducks and drakes for all the difference it would make. It's just a way of thinking about a problem which lets the shape of that problem begin to emerge. The more rules, the tinier the rules, the more arbitrary they are, the better. It's like throwing a handful of fine graphite dust on a piece of paper to see where the hidden indentations are. It lets you see the words that were written on the piece of paper above it that's now been taken away and hidden. The graphite's not important. It's just the means of revealing the indentations. So you see, astrology's nothing to do with astronomy. It's just to do with people thinking about people.”

~ Douglas Adams, Mostly Harmless

[Kip Russell]

Just what is “Flat Earth Theory?”

I can find no evidence that anyone ever believed that the Earth was flat until school teachers began talking about it in the 1950s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth

The Flat Earth model is an archaic belief that the Earth's shape is a plane or disk. Many ancient cultures have had conceptions of a flat Earth, including Greece until the classical period, the Bronze Age and Iron Age civilizations of the Near East until the Hellenistic period, India until the Gupta period (early centuries AD) and China until the 17th century. It was also typically held in the aboriginal cultures of the Americas, and a flat Earth domed by the firmament in the shape of an inverted bowl is common in pre-scientific societies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth#Modern_period
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth#Modern_flat-Earthers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Earth_Society

[editor-surveyor]

Laughable in the highest!

Anyone that has ever stood on a bluff overlooking the ocean instantly knows that the Earth is quite curved.

[editor-surveyor]

Douglas needs to think and read a bit deeper.

The pagan practice of astrology tells us nothing about anything. (especially about people, except that they can be quite gullible)

[Dr.Deth]

Come at me, crow.

[Kip Russell]

Yes, belief in a flat Earth is woo of the highest order.

That hasn't prevented many ancient civilizations (and the occasional modern nutjob) from believing in it.

[null and void]

Strictly speaking, Douglas didn’t say that himself, one of the characters in a book he wrote did.

Also, given that he’s dead, I doubt he’ll be doing much further research...

[editor-surveyor]

I’ll have to remember to always make kooky statements through a character in a book. :o)

[null and void]

It is very flat, in polar co-ordinates, with the origin at the earth’s center.

If it were scaled down to the size of a typical ball bearing, it would be more perfect than the best commercially available ones.

[Kip Russell]

I’ll have to remember to always make kooky statements through a character in a book.

One of my favorite quotes on that subject by science fiction author S M Stirling:

"There is a technical term for someone who confuses the opinions of a character in a book with those of the author. That term is idiot." ---Conquistador (2003)

[null and void]

I’ll have to remember to always make kooky statements through a character in a book. :o)

Or you could use a screen name.

Sorry, "null and void" is taken...

[Slings and Arrows]

I believe that Stevie Ray Vaughn had an eloquent commentary on the situation.

[Vendome]

There you go!