Didn't You Notice? {Yu Yu Hakusho Fanfic} Update: Chapter 9!

Who's your favorite Reikai Tentai?

Hiei	30.7%	[ 247 ]
Kurama	44.4%	[ 357 ]
Yusuke	15.7%	[ 126 ]
Kuwabara	9.2%	[ 74 ]
Total Votes:			[ 804 ]

[Miyu~the-spirit-summoner]

MidnightRising

Ah, that's right. You also believe that the random placement of stars in the sky when a child is born has some sort of physiological and psychological effect on them.

It's true!
Google search astrological birth charts, type in your birthdate, birth time, and the place you were born, and you'll see!

[MidnightRising]

I have, actually. I also adjusted the days, months, and year to see the changes.

Horoscopes work by implementing something called the Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy. Let me explain:

Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were both assassinated by a man with three names, 15 letters long: John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. Neither killer would make it to the trial. Both men were shot on a friday, sitting next to their wives. Lincoln was in the Ford Theatre, while Kennedy was in Lincoln made by Ford. What are the odds?

Imagine a Texan going out every morning to shoot his gun at the side of his barn. He does this for months. After a while, clusters of bullets are going to appear. It just happens. Then, the next morning, he takes a bucket of paint and paints a bullseye on one of the larger clusters. To all outside viewers who stumble on this it looks like he's a pretty good shot.

Now, back to the story above. I told you points that completely matched up, no matter how random. But there are thousands of points that I just didn't mention. When you look at two different events, especially when they're tragic, you tend to only see the similarities.

You see, we're born looking for patterns. We try to see clusters where chance events have built up, and that's exactly what horoscopes prey on.

They generalize, make vague remarks, and rely on you to give them meaning. If they get something wrong, you just say "Well that's wrong, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS RIGHT!" Read up on the Forer Effect if you don't believe me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forer_effect

When you desire meaning, when you want things to line up, you see patterns everywhere. Order makes it easier to be a person, to navigate this sloppy world. Picking out clusters of coincidence is a predictable malfunction of a normal human mind, don't feel bad.

[Miyu~the-spirit-summoner]

MidnightRising

I have, actually. I also adjusted the days, months, and year to see the changes.

Horoscopes work by implementing something called the Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy. Let me explain:

Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy were both assassinated by a man with three names, 15 letters long: John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. Neither killer would make it to the trial. Both men were shot on a friday, sitting next to their wives. Lincoln was in the Ford Theatre, while Kennedy was in Lincoln made by Ford. What are the odds?

Imagine a Texan going out every morning to shoot his gun at the side of his barn. He does this for months. After a while, clusters of bullets are going to appear. It just happens. Then, the next morning, he takes a bucket of paint and paints a bullseye on one of the larger clusters. To all outside viewers who stumble on this it looks like he's a pretty good shot.

Now, back to the story above. I told you points that completely matched up, no matter how random. But there are thousands of points that I just didn't mention. When you look at two different events, especially when they're tragic, you tend to only see the similarities.

You see, we're born looking for patterns. We try to see clusters where chance events have built up, and that's exactly what horoscopes prey on.

They generalize, make vague remarks, and rely on you to give them meaning. If they get something wrong, you just say "Well that's wrong, BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS RIGHT!" Read up on the Forer Effect if you don't believe me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forer_effect

When you desire meaning, when you want things to line up, you see patterns everywhere. Order makes it easier to be a person, to navigate this sloppy world. Picking out clusters of coincidence is a predictable malfunction of a normal human mind, don't feel bad.

First: Nice research, but don't you think that horoscope and astrological birth charts are way too detailed to be put together by someone just looking for common patterns? I know there are people who waste their life pursuing things that aren't real, but come on, don't lump horoscopes in with something that extreme. Horoscopes have been studied and researched for years, and I doubt it was through observing "coincidences".

And second, even if it was fake, what's wrong with having fun with it? Geez, let go of reality and just look at it for what it is: a reading.

[MidnightRising]

No, not at all. The reader gives it meaning (once again, check out the Forer effect). And I'd LOVE to see some peer reviewed studies of horoscopes, since all the actual research I've seen has always been pointing to it being irrational nonsense. Please, link me to something. I'd love to read it.

Having fun with it is totally fine. But only if you recognize what you're reading is totally bullshit. I've read plenty of Ancient Greek books, Norse, Hindu, the works of Confucius, the Qu'ran, the Bible, etc. I read them because they're entertaining works of fiction. But I understand that there's legitimately NO reason I should believe a single word of them.

[Miyu~the-spirit-summoner]

MidnightRising

No, not at all. The reader gives it meaning (once again, check out the Forer effect). And I'd LOVE to see some peer reviewed studies of horoscopes, since all the actual research I've seen has always been pointing to it being irrational nonsense. Please, link me to something. I'd love to read it.

Having fun with it is totally fine. But only if you recognize what you're reading is totally bullshit. I've read plenty of Ancient Greek books, Norse, Hindu, the works of Confucius, the Qu'ran, the Bible, etc. I read them because they're entertaining works of fiction. But I understand that there's legitimately NO reason I should believe a single word of them.

I don't have any links at this time. Any link I would have given you is pretty much gone, seeing how websites come and go.

Personally, all of the things you have listed as "fiction" seem to be too interesting to be fiction.
And even if it was fiction, it had to have been based on something that really happened; otherwise, the "fiction" wouldn't have that 'intriguing' feeling even in this modern day and age.
Hence, my motto, "If your imagination can make it up, then it's real".

[MidnightRising]

Well chances are any real scientific journal is going to keep it up there, and really nothing is ever deleted from the internet. If you get a chance, please try to find one.

Everything is intriguing if you think about it. Plato and his aether is intriguing, even though that's obviously imaginary. And what about when two things directly contradict each other? Such as God springing the universe out in six days, the Hindu belief that the universe hatched from a giant egg, and the Norse that it was sprung from a giant tree.

Also, I've always had a problem with the quote. Reality is reality. That's why we have a "Fiction" and "Non-fiction" section in libraries.

[Miyu~the-spirit-summoner]

MidnightRising

Well chances are any real scientific journal is going to keep it up there, and really nothing is ever deleted from the internet. If you get a chance, please try to find one.

Everything is intriguing if you think about it. Plato and his aether is intriguing, even though that's obviously imaginary. And what about when two things directly contradict each other? Such as God springing the universe out in six days, the Hindu belief that the universe hatched from a giant egg, and the Norse that it was sprung from a giant tree.

Also, I've always had a problem with the quote. Reality is reality. That's why we have a "Fiction" and "Non-fiction" section in libraries.

Well think about it for a minute.
Anything that has ever been written in fiction (or any sort of sightings of a mythical creature) have all been inspired by something that has been seen or experienced in this reality, right?
Take Slender Man, for example. There have been people claiming that they have seen Slender Man (and don't counter argue about him springing from a photoshoping contest. This is an example, remember). But who's to say that Slender Man really looks like the creature everyone has been going nuts over on the internet? He may not be a tall, skinny man who wears a suit and has no face. BUT, he might be a creature that looks like one. Big Foot, too; and the Loch Ness monster.

....Anyway, my point is, everything that we "imagine" or "make up" is always inspired by reality.
Hence the motto, "If your imagination can make it up, then it's real."

[MidnightRising]

The quote is backwards, then.

"If it's real, then the imagination turn it into something else."

All those examples you gave were reality expanded upon by imagination. Whereas the quote implies imagination solidifying into something real.

[Yuko6754]

How much would I be interrupting if I just dropped in to say hi?

[MidnightRising]

Hello Yuko! How are you?

[Yuko6754]

Pretty good, actually. Though I'm more relieved than anything. After this Saturday I'll have finally finished my first year at college. With things finally winding down, I thought I would try to get back on here a bit more.

How have you guys been?

[MidnightRising]

Bickering, arguing, becoming friends, and then back to bickering and arguing.

You know, standard stuff.

I've decided to minor in math because I'm stuck at my college for a couple years (advisor flat out forgot to tell me about a 3 semester course!) and then go join an NGO.

Any idea about your major?

[Miyu~the-spirit-summoner]

Konbanwa, Yuko~! heart
Glad to hear from you~!

To Midnight-kun: It can work either way, really.

[MidnightRising]

p -> q is not logically equivalent to q -> p. This is called the converse error.

Truth table:

p -> q is equivalent to ~p v q. q -> p is equivalent to ~q v p

EDIT: Truth tables don't appear well on Gaia. Just do a websearch for converse error for an example.

~p v q and ~q v p are not equivalent.

Or, simple counter example:

I can imagine a six hundred eyeballed, 3 legged dragon.

A six hundred eyeballed, 3 legged dragon does not exist.

Therefore, not true.

[Miyu~the-spirit-summoner]

MidnightRising

p -> q is not logically equivalent to q -> p. This is called the converse error.

Truth table:

p -> q is equivalent to ~p v q. q -> p is equivalent to ~q v p

EDIT: Truth tables don't appear well on Gaia. Just do a websearch for converse error for an example.

~p v q and ~q v p are not equivalent.

Or, simple counter example:

I can imagine a six hundred eyeballed, 3 legged dragon.

A six hundred eyeballed, 3 legged dragon does not exist.

Therefore, not true.

We're talking about the imagination slipping into reality.
You can't use logic, it doesn't work that way.
There are a lot of things in this world that logic can't explain.