Superstition should decline over time. Scrutinies of Geoffrey Dean’s parental tampering claim (3)

Author: Ertel, S., Professor Emeritus
Abstract: According to Dean’s parental tampering hypothesis (PTH) Gauquelin planetary effects of AD 1800 – 1950 are due mainly or entirely to the reporting of wrong birth hours by superstitious parents. Parental superstition is also deemed manifest in various other ways of tampering with birth dates and birth times such as midnight avoidance, or full Moon, lucky number, Christian feast adjustment etc. It is well-known that due to increased population, education, and urbanization, superstition declined in European countries from AD1800 to 1950. I calculated Dean’s eight purported indicators of superstition individually for successive birth cohorts of Gauquelin professionals. If Dean’s hypothesis holds, his indicators of superstition should decline accordingly. An analysis of successive birth cohorts, however, showed that Dean’s purported superstition variables did not decline. Hence they do not indicate superstition. Dean’s parental tampering hypothesis, devoid of validity of its key variables, cannot possibly be right.
Keywords: Dean, parental tampering supersittious parents,Christian feasts
Notes:
Publication: Correlation: Astrological Association research journal in astrology
Issue: Volume 20 Issue 2
Dated: 2002
Pages: Pages 39 – 48