17 of 29 - Swathi

15.                 Some astrologers are able to specify your past, but routinely give wrong predictions. How is that?

Answer:  Astrology can be used to plan for “good beginnings”, including time of marriage, time of starting a venture, time & direction of change in life, etc. 

At the same time, most people go to an astrologer when there is a problem / difficulty in their life.  They would like a “quick fix” to their problems.  This is being taken advantage of by some bad apples.  There are half-baked astrologers, who have a knack of finding your difficulty in either their sweet talking or by just reading non-verbal signs (what you dress, who you go with when meeting astrologer, your face which is the window to your mind), etc. 

They usually come up with “all-encompassing” sweeping statements like “you are now going through a rough period”!  If you fall for it, then “Astrology” cannot be blamed – it is both “half-baked astrologer” and the individual who has gone for guidance who are to be blamed! Pariharams are prescribed, certain good periods in future are prescribed, fees paid, everyone somehow is satisfied for the time-being.... Isn't it so?

VRVD
(17 of 29 - Swathi)

16 of 29 - Chiththirai (Chitra)

Now let us come to the "human" element of Astrology.

14.                 Doctor / Nurse notes down a wrong time – does that not make it Astrology totally wrong?

Answer: Yes, if the time is noted incorrectly, then the “paper horoscope” is wrong.  The margin of tolerance in Navamsa chart is 4 minutes, I think (experts can contribute here).  But the “actual” horoscope (your destiny) cannot be wrong!  Hence, whatever “we think is right from the noted horoscope” is now wrong.  That does not mean the event, which is unknown, is not going to happen.

The predictions based on the wrong horoscope will be incorrect.  That is why great leaders say "do not be bogged down by horoscopes", let it not become "horror-scopes".  For example, if the horoscope says you will be a crorepati & you put feet on table and expect the money to drop into your account, it may not – why?  Because, it is possible that the time noted is wrong – and hence you have wasted time.  So, do not take the prediction literally and face disaster. 

In fact, it is quite possible that the horoscope says that you will while-away a lot of time, but the “wrong” horoscope guided you into doing the thing that you were destined for. In similar vein, do not foresee an accident during a “bad” period & live your life in worry!  It is possible that the horoscope is wrong due to wrong time noted in it – and you may not have that accident at all, but end up wasting lot of time.  That is the message from learned people. But it is not against astrology / horoscopes.

VRVD

(16 of 29 - Chiththirai / Chitra)

15 of 29 - Hastham

13.                 So, is there a complete theory?

Answer: Yes, scientists are looking for a “grand unifiend theory” (that they are still searching for).  The issue is that such a thing is in contrast to Godel’s theorem.  Godel’s theorem has been proven that in “any complete” system, there will be “statements” that “cannot” be found to be either true or false!  This theorem is proven, especially when there is “self-reference” (observer being part of the system). 

For example, the statement “Patel, the Indian, says that all Indians are liars”!  This is neither true nor false – if it is true, then him being an Indian is also a liar – hence this statement is false, which leads to the fact that Indians tell the truth.  A paradoxical statement can be found in any system.

With such a proof of “incompleteness” of a complete system, there cannot be a scientific system that can define everything / predict everything.  We have to live with approximations in science too & definitely with Astrology too!

VRVD

(15 of 29 - Hastham)

PS: Brahmam Okatae, Dwaitamum Sukham / Adwaitamum Sukham, Aham Brahmasmi are closer to truth than science... Well, that is just a personal view... inserted here without any rhyme or reason except sudden whim...

14 of 29 - Uthiram (Uttara Palguni)

12.                 How come there are so many scientists who don’t believe in astrology (and even God)?

Answer: History has been replete with scientists who have agreed in their deathbed that there are unknowns & that their “high-headed” arguments are all incomplete.  There is an external “unexplained” influence that science is not able to explain, they agree!  And this perfectly fits into both science’s theory of uncertainty principle & the fact that everything is approximation, including Astrology. Everything is extrapolations and interpolations based on observed facts & figures.

VRVD

(14 of 29 - Uthiram / Uttara Palguni)

13 of 29 - Pooram (Purva Palguni)

11.                 The uncertainty principle is in the order of 10^-34.  That is very small.  Surely then Astrology must be able to predict better if it is considered a science.

Answer: The size of man in the universe must be then measured with respect to the size of universe itself. The Milky way galaxy is approximately 1 x 10²¹ metres.  Man is 2 metres (let us say).  The diameter of “observable” universe is about 8.8 x 10²⁶ metres.  This does not take into account the “unknown”!  So, we are approaching the situation where we are like 1 “error unit” in the universe in magnitude comparison for Uncertainty principle.

So, our astrological predictions for a single individual will have errors to a certain extent – that is we cannot say whether a person will have an accident here, or there or further after!  If we can predict that, then there could be some other error (say accident by nature, or by human or by vehicle or by own carelessness).

The order of uncertainty principle seems to be quite applicable to Astrology too and affects predictions in some scenarios.

VRVD

(13 of 29 - Pooram / Purva Palguni)

12 of 29 - Makham

10.                 So, you agree that Astrology is a prediction & not accurate?

Answer: Yes, it is not difficult to agree that.  Let us look at science. Newton’s theories were thought to be perfect, until they found some problems in “predictions”.  Later Einstein came up with “Theory of Relativitiy” that seems to have better predictions (still it is not 100% accurate – there are some gaps and scientists are trying to find a better approximation)!  Hence, science is for predictions as well! If scientific theories are not able to predict behaviours they are dropped. And still there is no Grand Unified Theory that people are searching for...

With the Schroedinger’s wave equations, “probability” functions are used & they are able to predict only the simplest of atoms – Hydrogen.  Probably Helium atom has been modeled too, but nothing more complex than that, leave alone molecules and then groups of them, then moles of them (6.023 x 10 power 23), etc.!  That is science’s accuracy for you.

Astrology's prediction is closest you can get for the future and to even read the past by someone who is not aware of the events. We will get to other points related to accuracy in later questions.

VRVD

(12 of 29 - Makham)

11 of 29 - Aayilyam (Ashlesha)

9.                You say science is an approximation – how can that be? Isn't it blashphemous?

Answer: People who have studied “modern physics”, “Schroedinger’s wave equation” and “Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle” will agree that if we go into minute details of any item, we have only “probability” and not “certainty”!  The uncertainty principle states that we cannot have the details of position & velocity accurate beyond a limit – one or the other will be having bigger error in value, if the other is closer in accuracy!

In schools, we first learn the Rutherford atomic model – then it is also taught that this theory is wrong. Then we learn Bohr’s atomic model & later find that is also wrong.  Now we have “Schroedinger’s wave equations”.  By now, we have already learnt from our mistakes and don't take things for certainty.  We have started using “probability” functions, instead of exact equations, in Schroedinger's wave equations, Psi functions, etc!  We have fine-tuned our science based on observations.

That is all – science is as good as Astrology (or as bad; depending on how you want to see it).

VRVD

(11 of 29 - Aayilyam / Ashlesha)