rpjday@watrose.UUCP (rpjday) (05/01/86)
> Is there anything to Biorhythms, or is it just neo-astrology?
1) Not likely.
2) What is neo-astrology??
Actually, there is a certain amount of justice in lumping biorhythms
in with astrology, as both fields have about the same amount of
scientific justification (i.e., none).
The history of biorhythms given thus far has been reasonably accurate;
the area originated with Dr. Wilhelm Fliess, who was an ardent numerologist
and developed the treatment of certain ailments by applying cocaine to
the "genital" areas of the nose (any reports that Dr. Fliess is alive
and well and working as the trainer for the Washington Redskins are
totally unfounded).
The original cycles were of 23-day (masculine) and 28-day (feminine)
duration. Later, an engineer named Teltscher added the 33-day
intellectual cycle. Not to be outdone, some of the more devoted
students of the art added the "compassion" cycle (38 days),
the "aesthetic" cycle (43 days), the "self-awareness" cycle (48 days),
and the "spiritual" cycle (53 days). Currently, legislation is
being enacted to introduce the "motor" cycle (58 days), and the
"wash, rinse and spin" cycle (45 minutes for top-loading).
The cycles are divided between the positive discharging days,
when the curve is above the zero axis, and the remaining negative
regenerating days. When any curve crosses the zero line, we have
a "critical" day, where we are supposed to be susceptible to certain
weaknesses associated with that cycle. In addition, we have
"doubly-critical" and "triply-critical" days which, when taken all
together, tells us that fully 1/5 of the days are critical days,
making us wonder whether it's worth getting out of bed in
the morning. As well, we must also consider "half-critical" days,
which occur on either side of critical days, thereby increasing the
number of critical days to about 60 percent! One shudders to think
about it.
(Note: the popular literature states that research has shown that
60 percent of all accidents occur on critical days (supposedly 20
percent of the time). However, these critical days have invariably
included the above-defined half-critical days, which means that
60 percent of accidents occur on 60 percent of ... uh ... never mind.)
And do biorhythms claim to be reasonably iron-clad predictors of
our performance? Let's listen to Bernard Gittelson, in his book
"Biorhythm -- A Personal Science" (science??).
"... there is a real problem of interpretation... True,
on critical days there is a good chance that the rhythm
or rhythms showing temporary instability will dominate,
but never completely. On an emotionally critical day,
for example, it sometimes happens that the strength of the
physical and intellectual rhythms neutralizes any threats.
... If all three rhythms are in the low phase, you are not
likely to perform at your peak. But exactly how far below
your best you will in fact perform remains an area of
controversy and uncertain interpretation."
We are also warned that, if our lifestyle does not seem to follow
the rhythms laid down for us, it may be because we are "arhythmic":
"some people are "rhythmists" and some are "non-rhythmists";
... is it simply that some people develop different ways of
dealing with biorhythms, and that some of these methods
effectively mask biorhythmic effects?"
Finally, we are told that there are even MORE dangerous days, defined
by the crossing of cycles going in different directions! The latest
mathematical calculations show that at least 157 percent of our days
are critical days, which should not overly bother professional sports
fans who are used to athletes giving 110 percent, and sometimes peaking
at 200 percent.
Several studies have been done on biorhythms, and I give terse excerpts
from the conclusions of some of them:
"... not a serious subject being studied by serious scientists ..."
Dr. J. Hastings, Harvard
"... utter, unadulterated fraud ..."
Prof. C. Pittendrigh, Stanford
"... a mythology ..."
N. I. M. H.
"... another dynamite performance by Streep and Redford ..."
Gene Shalit, The Today Show
rpjday