Full Moon Myths Unveiled
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Among the myths that just won't go away is the one that the full moon exerts effects on people - that crimes increase, babies all decide to emerge, women's menses sycn with it, pysch wards go on hyderdrive, etc, etc, etc.
The table below shows some comments from a recent hub alleging these effects. Unfortunately the author of that hub removes comments that disagree with her, so only comments that support her theory are left.
The author has at least changed an earlier claim
Here is a list of Fun Facts and intriguing effects of a full moon, per my research from "Scientific Magazine.
This has now been changed to read
Although research has not yet validated the 'Lunar Lunacy effect', this is a list of possible effects that have come from proponents of the theory.
The same unsupported claims are still there, though, with references for NONE of them.
Sample Full Moon Myths
thougtforce
| The moon is nearest us in space so why not! I think we are affected in some way and since the gravity from the moon can affect the oceans it also should have an effect on humans. I am not sure if we can blame our behaviour on the moon though:)) Either way, it is an interesting topic and I enjoyed reading,
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Jamie Brock
| My mother used to work as a nurse in a state hospital and I remember her dreading to go to work on nights with a full moon and she always had some pretty wild stories to tell. I've always found this subject interesting and it's even better now with Halloween on the way :)
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Minnetonka Twin
| Happyboomernurse-Thanks for reading my hub on a full moon. I too believe in Lunar Lunacy as I worked for a Crisis Phone Counseling Clinic and our phones rang off the hook during full moons. I think it's such a cool topic
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Jean Bakula
| I write about Astrology and subjects related, and was thinking of writing a hub on this topic. But you did a great job. I also know that police get many more calls for domestic disturbances during full moons. In ancient times, all the women who lived in tribes had their menstrual cycles begin at the Full Moon, and they would go into the woods for a few days (nice girl's time out for a few days)! Loved Moondance too!
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ThePracticalMommy
| When I worked as an aide in a nursing home, I could tell there was a full moon on the rise just by observing the change in behavior exhibited by the residents. When I was a teacher, I also noticed a difference in students' behaviors before a full moon. Even if it is not supported by research, I fully believe the full moon affects the minds of some people. ;) Thanks for sharing this interesting information!
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Minnetonka Twin,
| Here is a list of Fun Facts and intriguing effects of a full moon, per my research from "Scientific Magazine.
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In response to such comments about what effects a full moon might have on humans - these answers all come down to anecdotal evidence - in fact, there are few, if any, scientific studies that show any such effect. Remember too that the only differnece between a full moon and a new or half moon is not the distance from the earth [which does have a global gravitational effect on tides] but how much of the sun's rays are reflected to theearth. and normal solar radiation far exceeds any tiny amount of reflected light from the moon. if there were an effect, we'd expect to see greaster effects not durin g a full moon, but when the moon is closest to the earth. in reaslity, there is no evidence for either casse, just anecdotal urban myths
We're all entitled to our beliefs, but we're NOT all entitled to make up our own facts, and this is yet another example of the anti-science trend in the US in particular.
What DOES seem to produce these tales is that in a police station or trauma center, on a busy night, someone will remark "Wow! we're busy, must be a full moon!." No one bothers to check.[ quick, what's today's phase for the moon? ] Instead people later remember talking about the full moon, and that memory of a GUESS gets reinforced and later 'recalled' as the fact that there was a full moon. . My own admittedly anecdotal surveys confirm this - whever anyone makes a 'must be a full moon' comment not meant as a joke, i ask them if they know what the current phase of the moon is - I have yet to have anyone give me a correct answer.Check http://www.skepdic.com/fullmoon.html for more details on the actual scientific studies.
In terms of gravity's effects, gravitational power drops off as the square of distance. Do the mathand you'll discover the person next to you has a greater gravitational effect on you than the moon. In terms of astrology, your OBGYN has a much greater effect on your newborn than all the 'planets' combined. Yet his/her name never appears in an astrological chart.
As for the original poster's claim of facts found in '"Scientific Magazine."' First, there's no such magazine as "Scientific Magazine."
Instead, you'll find articles like this
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This does not appear to be a valid RSS feed.I'll happily continue this discussion for anyone interested, but please, include supporting refs if possible to an actual scientific study. Anecdotal evidence Loading...
Okay, at one point in history the greatest scientific minds all agreed that Earth was the center of the universe. To suggest anything contrary was considered lunacy.(pun intended). So while we have made Phenomenal scientific breakthroughs, to suggest our scientist now know everything there is to know about the universe, and if there isn't a scientific study around today to back up a common belief it must not be true, is straight arrogance. But thanks for that intellectual insight (and im only being a little sarcastic :)
thanks for your comment -- - no one suggested [arrogantly or otherwise ] that science has all the answers - BUT, despite it's many faults, the scientific process is still the best method we have for increasing knowledge. in this case, as one particular example, there ARE scientific studies that do imply the common beliefs don't hold
the other major advantage science has over dogmatic belief systems like astrology or revealed religions, is that science encourages the falsification of current knowledge as more information becomes available.
Cascoly-I went back in my hub and realized the second time I wrote "Scientific Magazine." It was a misprint on my part as I am human and make mistakes. Whether one believes in lunar lunacy or not, I think what we can agree on, is the subject is intriguing and makes you ponder how much we are affected by nature.
No problem, we all make mistaskes, but what was the source of those 'fun facts'?
She did remove the calim her facts came from a scientitifc magazine, but still provides no sources at all. in addition, my original comment on her hub has been removed.
scottcgruber Level 4 Commenter 3 months ago
Fantastic hub! It's nice to see some critical thinking around here for a change.
"The plural of anecdotes is not data." That's a quote I often use for topics like this that are ruled by confirmation bias and magical thinking.