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Revision as of 18:58, 21 January 2006 by Fuhghettaboutit (talk | contribs) (followup--->follow up (two words (sometimes hyphenated)))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)The lunar effect is the supposed influence of the moon and its phases on human behaviour.
The origins of this belief are probably prehistoric and one reason for the global ubiquity of moon worship. This is certainly reflected in such phenomena as the harvest moon, and the known lunar-determined mating cycles of some animals.
One theory is that the moon has a perceived relationship to fertility is due to the corresponding human menstrual cycle, which averages 28 days. However, only about 30% of women have a cycle length within two days of the average. Furthermore, the cycle of lunar phases is 29.53 days long, so the cycles would soon get out of synchronization. The only other mammal with a cycle length close to the length of the lunar cycle is the opossum.
The ubiquitous use of electric lighting in modern urban society may have diminished what influence the moon may have once had.
The 'lunar effect' in religion, folklore, and superstition
Human sanity is popularly supposed to be affected by the phases of the moon, which is the origin of the word lunatic.
Werewolves are supposed to be transformed by the full moon.
Upon seeing the new moon some say you should turn over whatever silver you have in your pockets or handbag, which supposedly ensures prosperity for the following month.
Buddhism forbids sports from being played under the light of the full moon .
Prior to the advent of modern techniques, surgeons would supposedly refuse to operate on the full moon because of the increased risk of death of the patient through blood loss.
The 'lunar effect' in the news
It has been alleged that the full moon may have influenced voter behaviour in the US 2000 presidential election .
Police in Toledo, Ohio record that crime rises by five per cent during nights with a full moon .
Police in Kentucky have also blamed temporary rises in crime on the full moon .
A survey in the UK finds that car accidents rise by up to 50 per cent during full moons .
Scientific Research
The claims of a correlation of lunar phases to human behavior do not hold up under scientific scrutiny. Psychologist Ivan Kelly of the University of Saskatchewan reviewed 100 studies claiming that the phase of the moon influenced behavior, and no correlation was found. A study of 4,190 suicides in Sacramento County over a 58-year period showed no correlation to the phase of the moon. Kelly, Ronnie Martins, and Donald Saklofske evaluated twenty-one studies of births related to the phase of the moon and found no correlation.
Psychologist Arnold Lieber of the University of Miami reported a correlation of homicides in Dade County to moon phase, but later analysis of the data - including that by astronomer George Abell - did not support Lieber's conclusions.
In 1959 Walter and Abraham Menaker reported that a study of 500,000 births in New York City showed a 1% increase in births around a full moon. Follow up research did not support this finding.
Astronomer Daniel Caton analyzed 70,000,000 birth records from the National Center for Health Statistics, and no correlation between births and moon phase was found.
References
- Bob Berman, Fooled by the Full Moon - Scientists search for the sober truth behind some loony ideas, Discover, September 2003, page 30.
- George Abell and Barry Singer, Science and the Paranormal - probing the existance of the supernatural, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1981, chapter 5, ISBN 0-684-17820-6.
- George Abell and B. Greenspan, The Moon and the Maternity Ward, Skeptical Inquirer, 4 (1979), page 17. Reprinted in Paranormal Borderlands of Science, edited by Kendrick Frazier, Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-148-7.
- George Abell, review of the book The Alleged Lunar Effect by Arnold Liever, Skeptical Inquirer, Spring 1979, 68-73. Reprinted in Science Confronts the Paranormal, edited by Kendrick Frazier, Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-314-5.
- Ivan Kelly, James Rotton, and Roger Culver, The Moon Was Full and Nothing Happened, Skeptical Inquirer, Winter 1985-86, 129-143. Reprinted in The Hundredth Monkey - and other paradigms of the paranormal, edited by Kendrick Frazier, Prometheus Books.
- Nicholas Sanduleak, The Moon is Acquitted of Murder in Cleveland, Skeptical Inquirer, Spring 1985, 236-242. Reprinted in Science Confronts the Paranormal, edited by Kendrick Frazier, Prometheus Books, ISBN 0-87975-314-5.
See also
External links
- The moon in superstition
- Skeptics of the lunar effect
- Straightdope article about the subject