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Thread: Howling at The Moon...

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    Default Howling at The Moon...

    So, I debated this issue with a friend who is convinced that "the moon's cycle causes crazy behavior in people that peaks each time it's full."

    She believes that since both the Earth's surface and human bodies are composed of the same materials in the same proportions (about 80% water and about 20% organic and inorganic matter) the gravity of the Moon produces tides in the oceans and causes biological tides in our bodies which can affect our brains."

    Rather than Googling the topic and smothering her with "scientific data" I thought I'd ask for some SW feedback.

    Does the moon influence human behavior?

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    Default Re: Howling at The Moon...

    Well, I'm not going to answer this directly. I'm going to instead answer this like so:

    The moon is always in orbit around our earth even when it is not a "full" moon.

    Take some time out to ask yourself or your friend, just what is a "full" moon? Is it an observable effect that is primarily related to a change in the gravitational influence on the earth? Or is it an observable effect such that the light of the sun happens to be not blocked? Or some of both?

    The amount of gravitational influence of the moon on the earth can be looked up in charts.

    Now correlate full moons with the gravitational pull and then maybe you have the starting point of a theory.

    Studies don't back the theory:

    http://skepdic.com/fullmoon.html

    But the first question is, are people confusing the light that lands on the moon and is reflected back to the earth (which is what the full moon effect is) with a not well thought out belief that maybe the belief makes sense because the position of the moon influences gravitational forces on us. See if there is no direct correlation, then you can pretty much say without spending more time on it that this is just typical human nature, wanting to believe in mysticism.

    And the answer is:

    "Also, the tidal force of the moon on the earth depends on its distance from earth, not its phase. Whereas the synodic period is 29.53 days, it takes 27.5 days for the moon to move in its elliptical orbit from perigee to perigee (or apogee to apogee). Perigee (when the moon is closest to earth) "can occur at any phase of the synodic cycle" (Kelly et al. 1990: 989). Higher tides do occur at new and full moons, but not because the moon's gravitational pull is stronger at those times. Rather, the tides are higher then because "the sun, earth, and moon are in a line and the tidal force of the sun joins that of the moon at those times to produce higher tides" (ibid.: 989)."




    By the way, you might find this interesting with regards to gravitational pull and it's effect on our brains (also from the sight linked above);

    "Misconceptions about such things as the moon's effect on tides have contributed to lunar mythology. Many people seem to think that since the moon affects the ocean's tides, it must be so powerful that it affects the human body as well. The lunar force is actually a very weak tidal force. A mother holding her child "will exert 12 million times as much tidal force on her child as the moon" (Kelly et al., 1996: 25). Astronomer George O. Abell claims that a mosquito would exert more gravitational pull on your arm than the moon would (Abell 1979). Despite these physical facts, there is still widespread belief that the moon can cause earthquakes.* It doesn't; nor does the sun, which exerts much less tidal force on the earth than the moon."

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    Default Re: Howling at The Moon...

    p.s. I should have added, I did have a patient once who obsessed about starring up at the moon at night, and seemed to particularly obsess over full moons. Then again I had hundreds of others that did not. Just because one mentally ill and damaged person has a moon obsession though is hardly much in the way of proof (given that I had patients that obsessed over all kinds of things like tv-guides, their clothes, bugs, etc.,) I guess eventually given a big enough population, and given that the moon is kind of cool to view when it's full, someone somewhere is going to obsess over it.

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    Default Re: Howling at The Moon...

    Biologically, no. That's nonsense.

    Psychologically, if you truly believe that it does, then you will act as if it does.

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    Default Re: Howling at The Moon...

    I noticed when I was in Houston the full moon had a weird effect on custy..All the freaks would come out. I used to avoid working those days..Until I realized being a freak isn't necessarily a bad thing...I just had to look for the ones with a larger bank roll ! LOL
    My new love...is me !

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    Default Re: Howling at The Moon...

    Quote Originally Posted by Budai View Post
    So, I debated this issue with a friend who is convinced that "the moon's cycle causes crazy behavior in people that peaks each time it's full."

    She believes that since both the Earth's surface and human bodies are composed of the same materials in the same proportions (about 80% water and about 20% organic and inorganic matter) the gravity of the Moon produces tides in the oceans and causes biological tides in our bodies which can affect our brains."
    Thanks for your input, SWers. However, I broke down and Googled my rebuttal anyway, like a damn data junkie.

    What I discovered on is that:

    --The lunar force is actually a very weak tidal force.

    --A mother holding her child "will exert 12 million times as much tidal force on her child as the moon" (Kelly et al., 1996: 25).

    --Astronomer George O. Abell claims that a mosquito would exert more gravitational pull on your arm than the moon would (Abell 1979).

    --It is claimed by many that the earth and the human body both are 80% water. This is false. Eighty percent of the surface of the earth is water. Furthermore, the moon only affects unbounded bodies of water, while the water in the human body is bounded.

    --Lunar myths are frequently presented in films and works of fiction. "With the constant media repetition of an association between the full moon and human behavior it is not surprising that such beliefs are widespread in the general public" (Kelly et al. 1996).


    --Many lunar myths are rooted in folklore. An ancient Assyrian/Babylonian fragment stated that "A woman is fertile according to the moon." Such notions have been turned into widespread misconceptions about fertility and birthrates.

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