Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from ...

220 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
can be self-sustaining. Stories are told, critical thinking goes out
the window, and more people believe. Where does it stop? People
laughed when former U.S. president Ronald Reagan’s wife Nancy
relied on an astrologer to make appointments for meetings when
the signs were auspicious, but this is no laughing matter. He was
the president of the United States, and his wife was relying on an
astrologer! That’s just about the scariest thing I can think of. I
would hope someone wielding that much power would have just a
wee bit more rational thinking ability.
PPP
Incidentally, the horoscope cast for me on the web did have more
to say, and it sums up this chapter better than anything I could
possibly write:
Though you may be as intelligent as anyone, you do not really
have a rational, logical approach toward life, and trying to reach
you through logical arguments is often futile. Your feelings, intuition,
and heart, not your head, lead you, which may infuriate or
bewilder your more rational friends. You certainly recognize that
there is much more to life than can be explained intellectually
and categorized into neat little boxes, and you have an open, receptive
attitude toward such areas as psychic phenomena, telepathy,
parapsychology, etc.
After reading this chapter, wouldn’t you say that sounds just
like me?