This is apropos of nothing except that (a) I really don’t want to write about nuclear war with North Korea, and (b) Ross Douthat happened to point to it as part of an argument that other countries are stupid too. Anyway, here are the results of a 2011 study about the beliefs of Europeans:

Apparently 43 percent of Europeans think astrology is pretty scientific, though only 14 percent think horoscopes are pretty scientific. Astrology handily beats out economics, which some people—*cough* Paul Romer *cough*—would consider a pretty sophisticated take on modern macro. And in a huge upset, medicine beat out physics.

Also: Finland had the least belief in astrology as scientific. They also invented Linux and the Molotov cocktail. Pretty pragmatic, those Finns.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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