Students will be expected to post their first initial discussion board posting by Wednesday of each week. Discussion posts will be graded and late submissions will be assigned a late penalty in accordance with the late penalty policy found in the syllabus. NOTE: All submission posting times are based on midnight Central Time.

Students are expected to post their responses to peers by Sunday. NOTE: All submission posting times are based on midnight Central Time.

Library Research Assignment

Astrology and Scientific Method

Astrology claims that a person's personality talents, daily activities, mate choice, and many other of aspects his or her life are associated with his or her birthday. This influence is supposedly due to positions of the sun, moon, and planets against the background of the visual star patterns (constellations) at the time and place of birth, and some mysterious force or influence between them. Those "positions" are their locations in the sky relative to one of twelve constellations arrayed along the ecliptic throughout the year. Those twelve constellations are designated as the signs of the Zodiac. Many followers of astrology have claimed it as a science, yet, for several reasons, it is best termed a pseudoscience.

Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 400-500 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas:

Why would the positions of celestial objects at the moment of our birth have an effect on our characters, lives, or destinies?

Summarize the scientific method and it's importance to invention and innovation. How does astrology fail to conform to the scientific method?

In light of your research on astrology on this topic, how would you interpret this line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (1599): "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves...'' (Act 1, Scene 2).