kwh@bentley.UUCP (KW Heuer) (05/15/86)
In article <633@ihdev.UUCP> ihdev!rastaman writes: >In article <782@bentley.UUCP> kwh@bentley.UUCP (KW Heuer) writes: >>also some well-documented effects (the full moon crazies) that are probably >>psychological in nature. > >I believe there was a one paragraph article in the May 6 >"Chicago Tribune" stating that somebody funded by the NSF >found zero correlation between moon phase and aberrant behavior >Sorry, I just glanced at the article and didn't pay much attention >to the details (who, where, how). Oops. I *thought* it was accepted as fact (why, I even heard Johnny Carson* say it once!); apparently there is still some controversy. I don't think the "paycheck" explanation holds water, though. Neither the week nor the (calendar) month is a close enough fit to the lunar cycle to maintain any correlation with full moon, even with a small number of data points. Old wives' tale? Perhaps, but I kind of thought there was some supporting evidence. Self-fulfilling prophecy? certainly (I *said* it was probably psychological); to eliminate this you'd have to find out whether the subjects believed in the effect. Hawthorne effect? I don't think it applies. Karl W. Z. Heuer (ihnp4!bentley!kwh), The Walking Lint *Johnny also doesn't know the difference between "wane" and "wax", thinks the year 2000 is in the 21st century, and doesn't understand how to do the birthday-matching trick (after two explanations). If he were any dumber, he could run for office!