madrid@auvax (Roslyn Madrid) (07/22/83)
What follows is a message I received in response to my posting
about a possibly verifiable astrological phenomenon. Because
it gives many details about which I was regrettably vague, it
seems worthwhile to post it in its entirety.
The "Mars effect" is the claim by Michel and Francoise Gauquelin
that especially outstanding athletes are born preferentially when Mars is in
two sectors of the sky. They have made repeated studies that seem to bear this
out: however, similar studies conducted by others show no such effect, and
their methods have been criticised.
I won't make a definite statement because I don't have time to wade
through all the arguments, and I might not understand them if I did, but I
suspect that the Gauquelins are using biased data.
The other matter is a real can of worms. The organization is called
CSISOP (the Comittee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the
Paranormal), but the dispute started before it was formed. I'm certainly
not going to wade through all the arguments on this one: some of them read
like net.flame.
references:
The Skeptical Inquirer, Winter 1979-80
Results of an (unsuccessful) independent attempt to reproduce
the results of the Gauquelins using American athletes, with a
response by the Gauquelins. The Skeptical Inquirer is published
by SCISOP.
The Skeptical Inquirer, Summer 1980
Followup to the previous article
The Skeptical Inquirer, Winter 1981-82
A chronology of the dispute over CSISOP, and arguments by both
sides.
The Humanist, September/October 1975 (SCISOP was formed in 1976)
Article critical of astrology in general and the Mars effect in
particular.
The Humanist, January/February 1976
Response by the Gauquelins, another article critical of
astrology, and a proposal for another test of the Mars effect.
Fate, October 1981
Article accusing CSISOP of censorship and cover-ups.
PS: I'm mailing this because it's hard for ordinary users here to post articles
to the net. I won't be offended if you rebroadcast any of it.
As they say, "hope this helps"
Jim Janney
ucbvax!lbl-csam!lanl-a!unm-ivax!janney
R.
auvax!madrid