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ASTROGENETICS by Edmund Van Deusen

ASTROGENETICS

By

Pub Date: Sept. 3rd, 1976
Publisher: Doubleday

A murkily conceived and sloppily executed melange of the most superficial--and suspect--aspects of astrology (sun signs) and genetics (Shockley). The author correlates the birth dates of a number of professionals with their careers, then connects the fact that Geminis excel at being lawyers not with the stars, but with the more scientific-sounding explanation of the chemical environment of the womb (and its interaction with the genes) at the time of conception. However, no evidence is offered to support this contention, and Van Deusen's explanation of why neighboring winter months such as Capricorn and Sagittarius vary so profoundly is as filmsy as an astrologer's discussion of how Gerald Ford and Marcel Proust were both born in the same month. Nor does he inform the reader of the number of people chosen for his sample, nor why five of the six sports categories (outfielders, infielders, etc.) have to do with baseball, or four of the six performing arts categories with music. Finally, to say that Capricorns excel at being artists because art is a ""tradition-minded"" profession and allows this conservative sign to express itself within ""safe"" limits is to ignore the avant-garde, just to begin with. Ascendants, descendants, trines, and squares, come back!!!