The moon is often blamed when things go wrong or appear more chaotic than usual. "It must be a full moon" is a common refrain when these events happen, and it has been this way for quite a long time.
For centuries, it has been socially acceptable to blame the moon for any number of events. The Earth's natural satellite is even blamed when things get crazy at hospital emergency rooms or birth wards.
"Some nurses ascribe the apparent chaos to the moon, but dozens of studies show that the belief is unfounded," researcher Jean-Luc Margot, a UCLA professor of planetary astronomy, said in a statement.
However, Margot's research confirms that the moon does not influence the timing of human births or hospital admissions. His study illustrates how intelligent and otherwise reasonable people develop strong beliefs that, to put it politely, are not aligned with reality.
The absence of a lunar influence on human affairs has been demonstrated in the areas of automobile accidents, hospital admissions, surgery outcomes, cancer survival rates, menstruation, births, birth complications, depression, violent behavior, and even criminal activity, Margot writes. His study was published online by the journal Nursing Research.
Even though a 40-year-old UCLA study demonstrated that the timing of births does not correlate in any way with the lunar cycle, the belief in a lunar effect has persisted. A 2004 study in a nursing journal, for example, suggested that the full moon influenced the number of hospital admissions in a medical unit in Barcelona, Spain.
But Margot identified multiple flaws in the data collection and analysis of the 2004 research. By re-analyzing the data, he showed that the number of admissions was unrelated to the lunar cycle.
"The moon is innocent," Margot said.
Margot cited what scientists refer to as the "confirmation bias" -- people's tendency to interpret information in a way that confirms their beliefs and ignore data that contradict them. When life is hectic on the day of a full moon, many people remember the association because it confirms their belief. But hectic days that do not correspond with a full moon are promptly ignored and forgotten because they do not reinforce the belief.
Margot said the societal costs of flawed beliefs can be enormous.
A willingness to engage in evidence-based reasoning and admit that one's beliefs may be incorrect will produce a more accurate view of the world and result in better decision-making, Margot said.
"Perhaps we can start by correcting our delusions about the moon, and work from there," he said.
