Re:Young people are flocking to astrology
by JohnFen on Monday July 24, 2023 @04:51PM
(#36854018)
> I automatically assume they are not intelligent, irrational, and I find it impossible to take them seriously.
You shouldn't, though. Belief in astrology is certainly irrational, but it's not incompatible with being intelligent. In fact, the more intelligent a person is, the higher the chance that they have at least some irrational belief, because it takes intelligence to weave together a plausible-sounding chain of reasoning for why the belief is true.
Broadly, belief in irrational things such as this are highly correlated with people being insecure, afraid, and/or feeling that they have little control over their lives. You can see the correlation in populations between how insecure the population is and belief in this sort of thing.
So, don't look at it as indicative of intelligence. It's an emotional/social thing, not a brainy thing.
You shouldn't, though. Belief in astrology is certainly irrational, but it's not incompatible with being intelligent. In fact, the more intelligent a person is, the higher the chance that they have at least some irrational belief, because it takes intelligence to weave together a plausible-sounding chain of reasoning for why the belief is true.
Broadly, belief in irrational things such as this are highly correlated with people being insecure, afraid, and/or feeling that they have little control over their lives. You can see the correlation in populations between how insecure the population is and belief in this sort of thing.
So, don't look at it as indicative of intelligence. It's an emotional/social thing, not a brainy thing.