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The Jordan Harbinger Show
The Jordan Harbinger Show

1320: The Moon | Skeptical Sunday

May 03, 2026 • 1h 6m

Summary

⏱️ 10 min read

Overview

Jordan Harbinger and Jessica Wynn dive deep into lunar myths, examining claims that the moon affects human behavior, from crime rates to hospital admissions to menstrual cycles. Using extensive scientific research and large-scale data analysis, they systematically debunk popular beliefs about lunar influence while explaining what the moon actually does—like stabilizing Earth's tilt and creating tides. The episode explores cognitive biases that make these myths persist despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, touching on everything from werewolf folklore to modern moon water trends on social media.

Cognitive Biases: Why Smart People Believe Lunar Myths

The persistence of lunar myths despite overwhelming contradictory evidence reveals how powerfully cognitive biases shape our perception. The priming effect occurs when someone mentions a full moon, putting your brain into pattern-hunting mode where you start actively watching for weirdness. Confirmation bias then kicks in, causing you to notice and remember unusual events while ignoring the countless calm moments. This creates illusory correlation—seeing relationships where none exist. These aren't intelligence failures; they're fundamental features of how human brains process information, especially among night-shift workers who see the moon regularly and work in unpredictable, stressful environments.

  • The priming effect occurs when someone mentions 'it's a full moon,' unconsciously nudging your brain to watch for unusual events
  • Confirmation bias causes people to notice and remember information confirming existing beliefs while ignoring contradictory information
  • Healthcare facilities that staff up for full moons create a self-fulfilling prophecy—more staff means more observations and documented incidents
  • Illusory correlation, coined by psychologists Chapman and Chapman in 1967, explains seeing relationships where none exist
" Priming loads the gun and confirmation bias pulls the trigger. "
" Calm nights don't become stories, but a strange night with a bright full moon gets remembered, repeated, and slowly upgraded to, well, this always happens. "
" I know what I've seen with my own lying eyes always beats statistics every time. "

The Moon's Actual Effects: Tides, Stability, and Planetary Scale Influence

The moon genuinely affects Earth in measurable ways, but not in the mystical sense people imagine. Born from a violent collision with a Mars-sized object called Theia about 4.5 billion years ago, the moon stabilizes Earth's axial tilt at 23 degrees, preventing the wild wobbling that Mars experiences. This stability gives us predictable seasons and makes Earth habitable. The moon creates tides through differential gravity across massive distances—but this same force has essentially zero effect on human-sized objects or bodies.

  • The moon formed from a collision between proto-Earth and a Mars-sized object called Theia approximately 4.5 billion years ago
  • The moon stabilizes Earth's 23-degree axial tilt, preventing extreme climate shifts and making Earth habitable
  • Tidal forces depend on differential gravity across large distances—oceans are affected because they span thousands of miles, but human bodies at 5-6 feet experience no meaningful effect
  • The moon is slowly slowing Earth's rotation by about 2 milliseconds per century through tidal friction, while drifting away about 1.5 inches per year
" The moon's gravity pulls on Earth's oceans, creating two bulges. One on the side facing the moon, and one on the opposite side due to inertia. So the ocean is sloshing in two directions at once. "
" If you're sitting next to someone, their gravitational pull on you is stronger than the moon's tidal effect on you. "
" Even the building you're sitting in right now exerts more gravitational force on you than the moon's tidal effect does. If gravity worked that way, architecture would be controlling our moods. "

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