Thanks!

http://www.skeptictank.org/edm.htm

Does Belief In Astrology Cause Insanity?
Does Insanity Cause Belief In Astrology?

The Skeptic Tank is dedicated to undertaking scientific reviews of claims
of the paranormal, and debunking and exposing such notions without
ridicule, adopting the classic philosophic attitudes of David Hume.

I received e-mails a month or so ago asking whether an update to this web
page might be performed since it has been more than 10 years since The
Skeptic Tank started taking an academic, scientific look at astrology as it
relates to the self-expressed and self-exposed mindset of various
unfortunate people who still profess to believe in the profoundly debunked
notions of astrology.

It seemed like a good idea, more so since after a decade of having set the
whole rather distasteful (though somewhat amusing) arena of astrology
belief aside, I think it's reasonable to come back and post some updated
opinions about the state of astrology belief today.

At the same time, looking through the first review of astrology belief and
whether it causes madness or whether madness causes astrology belief, I see
that there's some focus on a particular astrology believer, one who used to
have a fairly wide audience on the Internet at the time yet is no longer
even a marginally significant advocate of astrology lunacy on the Internet
today.

So in September of 2009 I have updated the information that follows, adding
useful links that might prove more informative that the opinions that have
been provided over the past decade. In that decade, a great deal of medical
science has progressed, cures have been found for numerous human ailments,
yet alas, willful occult belief in obvious nonsense remains the primary
bane of human existance.

   "The FBI has been notified under 'Crimes and Criminal
   Procedure 1030.' These are forged posts to make me look
   immature and unstable. As a 20 year counselor (please
   see 'Saturn Opposed Saturn' discourse) this amounts to
   serious defamation." -- Edmond H. Wollmann

The Skeptic Tank has (since 1978) taken an academic look in to a wide
variety of nutty notions harbored by people over the past 30 years, and
after three decades of observation in to the phenomena, it is believed that
the occult notions that people hold may accurately be split in to various
groups:

(o) Harboring harmless, non-destructive beliefs that don't motivate or
cause the believer to physically or financially harm others (example, the
belief that the Earth is hollow and contains aliens from other planets)

(o) Harboring marginally destructive beliefs which usually don't motivate
violent physical harm to others but which seeks to commit financial harm to
others (example, astrology, psychics, water dowsing)

(o) Harboring destructive beliefs which advocate physical or financial harm
to others and yet not actually harboring such beliefs to the degree where
the individual actually acts upon them (example, Glenn Beck)

(o) Harboring destructive beliefs which motivate individuals to commit acts
of physical violence and/or financial harm against others (example,
Heaven's Gate and Scientology.)

The question is, Is it possible that prolong exposure to astrology causes
symptoms that appear very much like profound insanity? Numerous
psychological studies have been performed over the past five decades which
cover the cognitive dissonance which arise from years of attempting to
reconcile (and yet continue to believe) a set of mutually conflictive
beliefs. (An Internet search found 5,520 web pages which mention cognitive
dissonance, interestingly enough.)

(See: Susan Blackmore books on some interesting ways in which the brain
functions, either while in a healthy individual or while an individual is
dying.)

The world has seen that belief in flying saucers causes insanity to be
expressed, reinforced, and acted upon ( Heaven's Gate), and science already
has well quantified the mindset of gamblers who have beliefs that they
could win through acts of periodic pay-outs reinforced which further seats
the mistaken belief, but what about astrology?

It would be interesting to see if belief in astrology for long periods of
time can cause paranoid delusions or expressions of other cognitive
difficulties. Such an academic study might be able to explain astrologers
who express unusual notions such as Mr. Edmond H. Wollmann's unfortunate
public comments. Take a glance at this particular quote provided under the
terms of "Fair Use" directly from one of Mr. Wollmann's many Internet web
pages:

    "It appears he (or those sympathetic to him at these
    businesses) also collaborates with several search engines
    to stop my sites from coming up at all under astrology
    (Lycos is appears (sic) to be trying to as their submission
    pages says that URLs will appear in 7 days and I have
    been submitting mine for 6 months. I have received letters
    from them stating they will list them, and GOTO and Infoseek
    do not bring up my sites when searched).

    Sherilyn (the male transvestite) collaborates to attempt
    to censor my sites fromtheir (sic) search engine services,
    and place his abusive one above mine (in sequence of
    order through keywords allows it to come up first over mine)
    as I have tried to list my sites with some of them for as
    long as 6 months to no avail..." -- Edmond H. Wollmann

If we evaluate the beliefs being stated here, we find that the concept of a
massive conspiracy is being expressed, one so massive that the world's
major Internet search engines are apparently part of the conspiracy, a
conspiracy which apparently keeps Mr. Wollmann's unusual web sites from
being listed on various Internet search engines, a conspiracy which makes
sure that his web sites don't appear first.

The addition of male transvestites being involved might well deserve some
further examination yet academics should have no problem evaluating the
comment themselves by drawing upon psychology theory.

At the time that this academic review of astrology as a means to insanity
was first published, The Skeptic Tank joined the ranks of the conspiracy.
Take a glance at the following message which The Skeptic Tank received from
Mr. Wollmann and note particularly the list of destination e-mail addresses
of individuals who also received Mr. Wollmann's unusual emails.

Typically problem citizens who send seemingly endless disjointed letters
and emails to law enforcement agencies accumulate an information folder
within the agencies that they target, information compiled not about the
intended focus of such people's letters but information compiled about the
letter writers themselves. (A good example of this is the profoundly insane
Scientology crime syndicate creator L. Ron Hubbard who also sent bizarre,
insane rants to the FBI, numerous records of which the FBI has made
available here.)

If the FBI has treated Mr. Wollmann's letters and emails the way they
usually handle problem citizens, it could be expected that the FBI would
have Mr. Wollmann solidly in their "harmless nut database" since a
dedicated effort by citizens to alert "the authorities" about conspiracies,
alien invasions, the end of the world, and no end of profound delusional
notions which routinely acquire a folder.

Law enforcement agencies encourage citizens to send in complaints, emails,
letters, and phone calls since agencies like to keep informed about who
their customers are to better serve the people in their regional
departments. Federal agencies maintain folders so that if there is
actionable behavior on the part of the nut, they have an established
Federal history. (Citizens may request their file from the FBI and other
law enforcement agencies, and citizens may file Freedom of Information Act
requests to acquire copies of their files being held by law enforcement
agencies. Most such agencies usually refuse to comply with such requests in
violation of the law, and law enforcement agencies must be sued to retrieve
one's records which will often be, in any event, heavilly redacted.)

Why this astrology believer is sending his unfortunate letters to someone
in the Netherlands is a mystery. Why he sends himself a copy
(le...@astroconsulting.com), is doubly curious.

    Message-ID:   <36EFD9B7.1...@earthlink.net>
    Date:         Wed, 17 Mar 1999 08:35:03 -0800
    From:         "Edmond H. Wollmann" <arcturi...@earthlink.net>
    Reply-To:     arcturi...@earthlink.net
    Organization: Astrological Consulting/Altair Publications SAN 299-5603
    To:           sec...@corp.earthlink.net,
                  Zenon Panoussis <ora...@xs4all.nl>,
                  le...@astroconsulting.com,
                  postmas...@skeptictank.org
    CC:           "Fredric L. Rice" <fr...@skeptictank.org>,
                  postmas...@fbi.gov,
                  postmas...@ftc.gov,
                  postmas...@aclu.org
    Subject:      The Edmond Wollmann page

    Header below.

    This will be my first legal documentation of threats,
    harassment, and defamation by these criminals and
    scientologists. I ask that you contact their ISPs and
    inform them that we will recieve no further abusive
    mail from this individual or his religious zealot freak
    that is illegally defaming, harassing and maligning me
    on the internet (sic).

Baird