On Being Misquoted...
Last night, after watching yet another news report address why posting things about yourself on the internet can have serious backlash regarding employment, I decided to google myself. There's not much out there, and I'm hard to locate unless you add secondary key words like "astronomy" since there exist many other with my name in the world. I didn't find anything new or interesting really, all there is my employment profile, a Davis Wiki page, and stuff regarding me and Astronomy Club. But, then I found something new:
Apparently, I've been quoted in a newspaper article. Now, it's only a student publication, but I was unaware I had ever been quoted in anything. The article is about astrology and is here. It's funny, because the article was published just last December, and I don't remember talking to anyone about astrology around then, especially not someone who was interviewing me. And I know I was misquoted even if I did talk to someone.
Here is the section I am in:
“The first thing you must understand is that astronomy is vastly different than astrology,” said Rachel Peters, a member of the astronomy club and the University of California at Davis. “People unfortunately get the two confused. Astronomy is based on evidence, testable theories, and peer review. Astrology is bunk.”
Peters said that if people knew the basis of astrology, the practice would disappear.
“When I was younger, I didn’t know there was a difference between astronomy and astrology,” Peters said. “But the astrology charts which the signs of the zodiac are based on are horrendously wrong. Any amateur astronomer could point out the errors. If the basis of your practice is wrong, then how can you make accurate predictions?”
Now, I admit that I am wary of astrology, and honestly, much of the astrology today is based on inaccurate astronomy. But for those of you who know me, since when have I ever used the word "bunk" when referring to something other than the setup of a bed? Never, as far as I can remember. I probably did say something about the fact that many people confuse astronomy with astrology, because they do. And I probably said the part on the basis of astronomy. But just not "bunk". And I am definitely sure that I did not say that astrology would disappear if people knew how wonky it can be. Because it won't, and there is astrology out there that does base itself on the correct movement of celestial objects. And, I did know the difference between astrology and astronomy relatively young in my life, as I got my first books on space before I could read and a telescope at 7.
So, I find it funny that in the first published article I appeared in, I was misquoted. Some of those things I probably did say in some form. But it's definitely not exactly what I said and at some points, not even close to anything I ever would say. Unless I was in some sort of stupor. But I'm usually relatively conscious when talking about astronomy to the public.
Apparently, I've been quoted in a newspaper article. Now, it's only a student publication, but I was unaware I had ever been quoted in anything. The article is about astrology and is here. It's funny, because the article was published just last December, and I don't remember talking to anyone about astrology around then, especially not someone who was interviewing me. And I know I was misquoted even if I did talk to someone.
Here is the section I am in:
“The first thing you must understand is that astronomy is vastly different than astrology,” said Rachel Peters, a member of the astronomy club and the University of California at Davis. “People unfortunately get the two confused. Astronomy is based on evidence, testable theories, and peer review. Astrology is bunk.”
Peters said that if people knew the basis of astrology, the practice would disappear.
“When I was younger, I didn’t know there was a difference between astronomy and astrology,” Peters said. “But the astrology charts which the signs of the zodiac are based on are horrendously wrong. Any amateur astronomer could point out the errors. If the basis of your practice is wrong, then how can you make accurate predictions?”
Now, I admit that I am wary of astrology, and honestly, much of the astrology today is based on inaccurate astronomy. But for those of you who know me, since when have I ever used the word "bunk" when referring to something other than the setup of a bed? Never, as far as I can remember. I probably did say something about the fact that many people confuse astronomy with astrology, because they do. And I probably said the part on the basis of astronomy. But just not "bunk". And I am definitely sure that I did not say that astrology would disappear if people knew how wonky it can be. Because it won't, and there is astrology out there that does base itself on the correct movement of celestial objects. And, I did know the difference between astrology and astronomy relatively young in my life, as I got my first books on space before I could read and a telescope at 7.
So, I find it funny that in the first published article I appeared in, I was misquoted. Some of those things I probably did say in some form. But it's definitely not exactly what I said and at some points, not even close to anything I ever would say. Unless I was in some sort of stupor. But I'm usually relatively conscious when talking about astronomy to the public.