Flat Earther vs Astrologist who is more hopeless?

Flat Earther. The closer decision would be Young Earther. But I say the astrologer is worse.

I take back what I said earlier. This guy is just an idiot.

I don't know either of you but purely based on both of your takes I would be willing to bet any amount that Sklansky beats you on an IQ test.

yep, lol play nice kids.

Just wanted to say that I've posted here since 2005, and despite owning several of his books, I've just now realized that his name isn't David Slanksy.

Cup-and-ball? Is that something that happens in the gender neutral bathrooms?

Is there any validity to removing someone's civil rights if they're an astrology supporter? If they can't be trusted with any subject, surely we should take steps to ensure they don't do further damage to society.

I'd remove their right to vote but probably only that.

I have no doubts that a man who is considered one of the smartest players of all time can achieve a high score on an IQ exam.

My earlier post was to explain how using hyperbole can often be taken out of context down the road, and can be inadvertently offensive. Sklansky then pops in with :

"But my point was that believing in astrology is a terribly bad thing to do. Very few things are as bad."

It's more open-ended hyperbole. This type of poorly-thought out writing discredits the value of the opinion being rendered. Disliking astrology is a completely fine opinion, but there are ways to express it and there are ways to get yourself in trouble on the internet. This is not complex stuff.

Just based off the quote alone, and the fact that heroin is so ****ing awful this man really doesn’t have any clue what it’s like to be the parent of a heroin addict.

Ignorance is all it is imo

I was specifically responding to your post calling him an idiot and trying to point out the hypocrisy.

I was a junkie for over 12, playing poker a lot of the time to feed my habit. I did some petty retail frauds too. But never did I drag others down, or send anyone else into hellish misery. So your statement does not apply to all heroin addicts, although most are indeed scumbags. I have been clean for over 10 years now, and all my using friends (most were scumbags) except 1 or 2 are dead.

That's not hypocritical. He had an easy out to clarify or apologize for a poorly thought out statement, and he doubled down on it instead.

Getting annoyed by the lack of tact from a public figure doesn't make me an idiot. Getting into some arbitrary logic puzzle contest to prove absolutely nothing in a thread started by a guy mad about an old Sklansky quote might make me one.

You called him an idiot, I said he's smarter than you.

That's all I said.

are you Parker Talbot, bro?

Thanks ever so much. That was about 1980. Maybe she's still there.

No way on the last statement here. Anyone who bases their personal (non-astronomical) decisions on where Jupiter is in the sky can't be very smart. Even if those guys believed in some crazy stuff, I don't believe they based many decisions on them. Astrology was less thoroughly disproven in Newton's day. Alchemy of some sort is possible (human controlled nuclear reactions can change one element into another). Telepathy is vaguely defined, and while I personally don't believe in it, I think it's more likely to be true than is astrology.

On the bright side, you're getting close to your next life, when maybe you'll be smarter (and get laid more often).

I have to assume that David has no experience with loving an addict, otherwise he’s much dumber than I thought.

If your loved ones knew about your addiction then I assure you that you spread a lot of misery around.

Thanks for thread.

Have to admit few people i generally like in life saying `to be more careful` around certain periods of life has played tricks with my mind at times, and i`d skip some play days/weeks (due to `jupiter etc not in right condition etc` or would be `less` aggressive if you will in my relationship cose to take things easier). I know it sounds dumb as fk but it is what it is.

Thanks David for well put quote.

I have a family member who is almost certainly one the smartest people I personally know who believes in astrology to the point of reading dozens of books on the subject, constructing people’s charts, etc

Extremely well rounded as far as knowing about economics/finance, history, aced Calculus, yada yada

Insanely large vocabulary with a huge interest in etymology

They were a private practice physician in one of the most competitive and well-paid specialties. Near the top of their class throughout med school and very high percentile scores on MedCAT test.


It’s crazy to me, but certain people can compartmentalize their faith/belief/personal psychology.

Mr. Sklansky has seemed reasonable and intelligent over the years. I'm sure he doesn't mean the statement in it's literal form. My son was a heroin addict and I can assure you the astrology beliefs are much more preferable.

Has anyone with a firm belief in astrology ever broken into your home and stolen your wedding rings and grandfather's watch to support their position?

Huh, did you ever ask him what evidence he had for his belief? Did he ever actually refuse to do things on particular days because his moon wasn't in the right spot or whatever, or make any major decisions based on astrology? If not, I could see it as more of a curiosity than a strong belief system. I mean, I hate religion of all sorts and don't believe in anything supernatural, but I love watching movies about Satan.

If he did, then I guess it is like his religion. And while I know a small percentage of scientists are religious, personally I would prefer not to be seen by a doctor I knew believed in astrology or was religious (most other things being equal).