And the moon sinks low in Scorpio

[venta]

This is something I've been meaning to experiment with for ages, but never got round to. I've just been reminded of it, because someone posted on a thread elsewhere with the assumption that "birthdays are randomly distributed" - which I've always assumed they're not. For a start, there's always a bit of a clump of birthdays round February/March, which I've always blamed on people having early summer holidays in June.

Now, I'm assuming that unlike, say, musical taste, incidence of birthdays among my friends list will at least be representative of the population as a whole. If not, then we're into the suggestion that being born in a particular month predisposes you to particular behaviours and that smacks of astrology, so I don't like it.

(Yes, I know there are other non-astrological factors which might be relevant, but let's give it a whirl, shall we?)



You're getting no tickyboxes for this, dammit, it's radio or nothing. I refuse to allow people to be born in more than one month.

[Poll #424559]

Comments

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

It does? What differences does it normally make?

(You'd think I'd know this sort of thing...)

Though it's still related to seasonal factors, such as the cut-off date after which you go into the next year's class :)

[venta.livejournal.com]

Yup, that was the main one I was thinking about.

Y'see, I was always the absolute youngest I could be to be in my class - born Aug 31st. You many consider this explains a lot :)

[kneeshooter]

Although I was born in November - I was moved up a year at age (something small) so was always the youngest in my class all the way through.

Not sure what that's supposed to mean mind...

[verlaine.livejournal.com]

Heehee, all your readers are earth signs!

[venta.livejournal.com]

Trust an Inferno GM to notice that :)

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

Only if the term 'earth signs' has been redefined recently to include Libra, Scorpio and Saggitarius.

Which it may have been. I wouldn't put anything past those Virgoans.

November?

[wimble.livejournal.com]

There's bugger all else to do in those cold winter evenings!

Re: November?

[venta.livejournal.com]

Well, February is a famously boring month, yes!

Re: November?

[lnr]

And it's about 9 months after Valentines day.

Peaks in my friends are in October and May, according to:

http://www.livejournal.com/birthdays.bml

though the most popular single say is apparently January 13th.

[al-fruitbat.livejournal.com]

If not, then we're into the suggestion that being born in a particular month predisposes you to particular behaviours and that smacks of astrology, so I don't like it.

Er... being born in a particular time of year emphatically does predispose you to particular behaviours, doesn't it? I thought it was the only reasonable explanation for Astrology there was going...

Admittedly, in the last 50 years or so the most obvious yearly variation of diet in the western world has rather homogenised, since nowadays you can bring up kids on pizza, sunny delight and chips all year round, but things like day length, external temperature and so on must still have quite a developmental effect. Or at least, I've always thought so...

[wimble.livejournal.com]

Depends on whether your explanation for the disposition is "was fundementally influenced by very weak gravity fields at the instant of birth, but at no other time (either previously or subsequently)", or other more "realistic" social and environmental influences, such as the oldest/youngest in class; seasonal dietary effects or simply getting fed up with their birthday always being on Christmas Day!

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

the only reasonable explanation for Astrology

Does astrology require a reasonable explanation? For example, does it make any verifiable claims about birthday-dependent personality characteristcs?

things like day length, external temperature and so on must still have quite a developmental effect.

Do you mean that it's entirely plausible that they would have an effect, or that you'd be extremely surprised if there weren't any (observable) effects?

reasonable explanation for Astrology

[ewx.livejournal.com]

"People will believe any old rubbish"

[sushidog.livejournal.com]

Apparently people born in the winter months are slightly (but significantly) more likely to suffer from schizophrenia and various depressive illnesses.

[beckyc.livejournal.com]

Well, I know quite a lot of people with the same birthday as me (September 29th). Nine months after Xmas/New year. Hmm.

[bateleur.livejournal.com]

It's [not] amazing what people get up to when they're drunk enough !

[venta.livejournal.com]

there's always a bit of a clump of birthdays round February/March

I think all the Pisceans are deliberately avoiding filling in this poll just to make me look stupid. Bastards.

[al-fruitbat.livejournal.com]

[waves cheerfully]

Some more data points...

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

Birth month	Number	Projected conception month
January	8	April
February	6	May
March	11	June
April	8	July
May	9	August
June	7	September
July	5	October
August	5	November
September	9	December
October	5	January
November	6	February
December	3	March

And yes, this does leave out the roleplaying characters' birthdays :)

My friends seem to follow the opposite trends to yours, which is odd as some of them are the same people.

Re: Some more data points...

[venta.livejournal.com]

Er, what's the "number" ? Is it the number of people born in that month on your LJ friends list ?

It should be noted that the trends displayed on the poll above and the trends displayed on the list-of-birthdays generated by LJ for my friends list are not the same.

[stegzy.livejournal.com]

I always feel sorry for those born on the 29th February. Whay with only having a birthday every 4 years anorl...

[venta.livejournal.com]

Indeed :)

Though you've reminded me that actually the distribution of birthdays wouldn't be expected to be the same in each month - the chance of being born in, say, August isn't 1/12, it's 31/365 or 31/366, depending.

Dammit, leap years are going to make this more awkward than I was expecting.

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

I think being ealry makes a difference, too. I mean, I think people often get married in June, and so there are lots of march birthdays, ut they wouldn't show up if you have a lot of friends ho were five or six weeks premature.

[broadmeadow.livejournal.com]

Does that really happen much [people starting a family the moment they are wed, that is]? I would be quite surprised: even if you assume the traditional "get married _then_ have family" premise, a newly married couple is likely to be thinking of buying a house and so on before starting a family. But even if it did happen that way, I would have thought that the fact that it usually takes several months "trying" to conceive would be a far bigger factor than premature births.

Useful page

[ringbark.livejournal.com]

You should visit http://www.livejournal.com/birthdays.bml and look carefully at what that page tells you. Allow for those with two journals, those who are not real people and those you added to your friends list as a result of their birthdays.