Stop blaming the moon: Intelligent people can develop strong entirely incorrect beliefs

[progressoid]

It must be a full moon" is a common refrain when things appear more hectic than usual.

The moon is even blamed when things get crazy at hospital emergency rooms or birth wards. "Some nurses ascribe the apparent chaos to the moon, but dozens of studies show that the belief is unfounded," said Jean-Luc Margot, a UCLA professor of planetary astronomy.

Of course, the moon does not influence the timing of human births or hospital admissions, according to new research by Margot that confirms what scientists have known for decades. The study illustrates how intelligent and otherwise reasonable people develop strong beliefs that, to put it politely, are not aligned with reality.

The absence of a lunar influence on human affairs has been demonstrated in the areas of automobile accidents, hospital admissions, surgery outcomes, cancer survival rates, menstruation, births, birth complications, depression, violent behavior, and even criminal activity, Margot writes. His study was published online by the journal Nursing Research.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/03/150330163029.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily+%28Latest+Science+News+--+ScienceDaily%29

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. I wasn't expecting to be mooned on DU tonight!

[SoLeftIAmRight]

2. The full moon has a very powerful effect on...

Me. I stand in my backyard and stare way too long.

[PADemD]

3. Full Moon Affect - Spring Tides

If the moon can affect the tides of the ocean, a very large body of water, wouldn't the moon affect humans whose bodies are 65 per cent water?

[longship]

4. You yourself highlighted the difference.

"A large body of water!"

Tidal forces are differential force of gravity, like on one side of Earth as opposed to the opposite side. The Earth is rather large, so the difference is large enough to effect the oceans, and the land.

People are small, not Earth-sized, so no tidal effects. And it has nothing specifically to do with water, other than it is a liquid.

This myth is debunked.

[nxylas]

5. Do people actually believe it, though?

I sometimes use the phrase "must be a full moon", but only as a figure of speech.

[progressoid]

6. Oh yeah.

I know a couple people who believe it. One is a nurse. She swears her clinic gets the weirdest cases during a full moon.

[eppur_se_muova]

7. Full moons used to mean safer nighttime travel, and hence a good time for meetings ...

nights with no moon were good times for burglars (still are) and highwaymen.

Perhaps full moons were once considered the proper time to hold bacchanals and other pagan rites. That would have given full moons an association with 'lunatic' behavior.

[NickB79]

8. This was on full display on DU during the "bomb the moon" threads

It. Was. Epic.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6712126

http://sync.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6728139