Researchers in Europe -- supposedly a bastion of scientific knowledge compared to the U.S. and all its creationist beliefs -- were surprised to find out that 53 percent of people surveyed thought astrology was "rather scientific." Only 39 percent said it "wasn't at all scientific."
Were Europeans less science-oriented than previously thought? Not exactly. They just weren't very good at language.
According to British sociologist Nick Allum, who spoke at the AAAS meeting yesterday, researchers tried another survey in 25 European countries. When they used the word "horoscopes" instead of "astrology" -- which is easily confused with "astronomy" -- only about six percent called it "scientific."
This makes me wonder: Are "astronomy" and "astrology" similar words in languages other than English?
