Why? Because their high court says so. So there.
Because we all know saying “______ is science” makes it so. Not, you know, if it’s based on evidence or experimentation. I mean, come on. Astrology uses stars and angles. Super scientific.
And I thought it was just the creationists who used this tactic…
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Anna Jobsis
February 3, 2011 at 7:48 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Isn’t that geometry?
Sam Barnett-Cormack
February 3, 2011 at 7:48 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
It would be one thing if there were a disconnect between wider academic use and legal use (it would be bad, but at least separate). However, it seems here that they’re spuriously adopting a legal meaning and at the very least encouraging its wider use in academic contexts. It feels like it could conceivably be used in action against an academic or commentator who claimed publicly that it wasn’t a science… but I know nothing about the Indian legal system.
Annie
February 3, 2011 at 8:06 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
The article said that many universities have included astrology as a subject. But can you get a DEGREE in astrology in India? a PhD? And if one were to get a PhD in astrology, which title would go first, “Dr.” or “Madam”?
Isaac Emery
February 3, 2011 at 9:22 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
To be fair astronomers can do an awful lot with stars and angles. I don’t think that’s the issue here. :)
Lobotomy
February 3, 2011 at 9:36 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I onced asked an astologer why I should believe astrology. She told me it was scientific. When I asked how it was scientific she explained that it used logarithms!She went on to explain that there was a planet in the same orbit as Venus but it was always on the other side of the sun from the Earth so we could never see it.All very scientific.
Nick
February 4, 2011 at 12:55 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
In 1991, a New York court ruled that a man who bought a house could back out of the contract because the seller had failed to disclose a defect in the property. The defect? The house was haunted. Seriously. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S…
LadyAtheist
February 4, 2011 at 2:02 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
These are the same people who believe that drinking your own urine is medicinal (and not just for dehydration in a lifeboat on the ocean, either!)
Mike O'Brien
February 4, 2011 at 2:05 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I’m just glad the US Supreme Court hasn’t ruled that Creationism is a “Science”.
benjamin_sa
February 4, 2011 at 3:53 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Now that Astrology is a science, I cannot wait for all the great new technological spin offs we are going to get. Sure any day now an app will come out warning of when not to drive, virtually eliminating car accidents. Better natural disaster management, No more broken homes, or failed marriages. It will be simple to choose a career, financial strategy. Going to be sweet : )
SpitefulFox
February 4, 2011 at 4:56 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
My opinion of India just dropped. Which is saying something, since I already have an axe to grind against caste systems and arranged marriage. >_>
Prof. von Explaino
February 4, 2011 at 6:32 AM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Counter argument:http://ninjerktsu.blogspot.com…
Philip
February 4, 2011 at 1:21 PM (UTC -7) Link to this comment
From the article: “Mehta submitted an affidavit filed by the food and drugs administration (FDA) department which said that necessary action is being taken against the guilty under the Drugs and Megical Remedies Act.”Medical? Magical? Megical!Note that this is still a local court, and presumably this will be appealed to the Supreme Court, which might decide against its 1990s’ pro-astrology bias. Of course, they might still decide that astrology should remain legal, as it is in the West, without claiming it is scientific or traditional.