Is It Ever A Good Idea To Heed The Words Of A Soothsayer?

Sometimes, the wrong methods may bring us the right answers

a man with a crystal ball instead of a head sits at a table in front of a fortuneteller, digital art — by DALL·E

Even as a child, I never bought into astrology. Perhaps I would have if my parents had believed in it because I couldn’t have had the wits to see through the nonsense at that early age. After all, I didn’t have a problem with Father Christmas, did I?

In any case, I was peculiar enough a kid to launch a formal inquiry into the matter. I read the horoscope for every sign in different newspapers and magazines. Probably, these are my earliest brushes with a haphazard version of the scientific method. I concluded I had been right in my initial assessment. There was no rhyme or reason to astrology, only a lot of mysterious verbosity sure to confound anybody.

Unsurprisingly, I had a similar opinion on tarot cards. When I was still a young boy, I remember staying up late to see what was on TV at such improper times. In the 1990s, many tarot shows displayed sad people phoning expensive hotlines searching for advice and support. They always sounded desperate and gullible enough to believe the vague mumbo jumbo coming from the diviner. Thus, from an early age, these arcane arts occupied a small portion of my psyche, and I have never paid them much attention.