Are you superstitious? If you are how superstitious are you? Good? Bad? Indifferent?
 

I've been meaning to start a thread on this. Sorry, but I didn't do a search on this topic.:( If there is one about it, who cares because this is a new one.

I just got of the phone with my mom who happens to be very superstitious. During phone conversations with her I always ask her is she still walking "around" the poles rather than splitting them?:rolleyes:

Are you superstitious? If so how superstitious are you? What's your opinion about it?

I know I'm contradicting myself here, but though I don't believe in superstitions, despite my best efforts, I do think I have a certain tendency to accept superstitious beliefs, and almost indefinitely do hold some beliefs I'm sure. Though I'm not completely aware of them, I totally would try to expunge them if I recognized them as superstitious.

My opinions on superstitious beliefs are kind of harsh. I mean, seriously, how can we as human beings be rational when we persist in believing in superstitions? To me, having superstitious beliefs, is like having an extra arm that's never used for anything but to just pretty much get in the way.

There's people who believe in ESP, dreams, knocking on wood, not standing on a grave, broken mirrors, not opening umbrellas inside, black cats not crossing paths, ect. ect.:rolleyes: and I 'm sure it's got to be common across many different cultures too.

Many superstitions actually are common sense - you don't want to walk under a ladder because you may knock it over, or something can fall (a can of paint, etc.) on your head. They are very rational - and even ones that don't seem to make much sense (sports players who have "lucky" underwear, shoes, etc.) actually are rational in the sense that they see a causal relationship (trying to recreate all the elements of a successful game.) When they become divorced from their origins they then appear irrational.

It is a fine line, too, between a superstition and a religious or cultural belief. Look at the superstitions that still persist in weddings - in the south, the bride is not supposed to practice going down the aisle at the rehearsal, for example. Throwing rice is a fertility superstition - and it goes on and on. Most people are, I think, somewhat superstitious. For all of our rationality, there is a part of us that wants to feel we have some control over the seeming chaos of our existence.

most superstitions i think can be explained, for exmaple, friday the 13th is unlucky because if you were a knight templar, or one of their supporters, you would have been burnt at the stake in October, 13something, or some such date. Getting burned alive would count as having bad luck, in my opinion anyway. Also, the thing about mirrors is because people used to believe that the soul of the person stayed in the mirror, so if you broke it, it could take up to seven years for the soul to return, and they get scarred and lost rather easily.

I have no idea why passing someone the salt directly is bad luck (or maybe just bad manners from a different culture)

I have to admit that I am EXTREMELY superstitious. When my kids are/were playing sports, I have certain rituals, like putting my purse in the same place on the bleachers, sitting in certain areas, wearing certain outfits, etc.

I KNOW it's crazy, but it is somehow reassuring to me, as I get extremely nervous before their games. I guess it makes me feel like I have some control over the outcome (when I know that rationally, I don't!!!).

Funny thing though, my kids always ask before they leave if I've got the right stuff on:rolleyes:

I'm creating "superstition monsters":o

More superstitions that have some logical explanation:

If you kill a spider in the house, it will rain. Well, when do spiders come in the house? When it gets cloudy before it rains.. they are coming in to get out of the weather that's coming, you kill them and voila.. if you a kill a spider in the house, it will rain!

If a bird comes into the house, someone in the house will die. Birds commonly carry diseases, even more so in the "olden" days. My ex-husband got encephalitis from a dead bird when he was 5. So yes, before we had antibiotics, you could get sick from a bird and someone would die.

Just a couple that I could think of off hand that actually make a little sense.

I've never heard of passing the salt as a superstition. What if someone across the table wants the salt. Is he/she supposed to get it themselves?:confused: It wouldn't suprise me if it is superstitious though.:rolleyes:

I just think the two issues of humanity's apparent irrationality and superstitions only appear in my mind as problematic because I guess I'm viewing superstition as traditionally opposed to rationality. I don't mean that it's rational to believe in auras or to carry a certain object or to wear certain clothing, but I just think the relationship between reason and superstition is more complex than mere opposition. I do think we're all superstitious to an extent, but at the same time I think superstitious beliefs are simply the very opposite of reason. I myself try to reject superstitious beliefs when they become exposed, because to me it becomes somewhat a pattern of irrationality.

I think that almost any religious belief can be seen as superstition... so yes, I would say that almost all people are superstitious.

I think seeing something as superstitious and actually doing the act of it are two totally different things.

I don't believe in superstitions, but I still do certain things out of fun. Like making a wish if you see a shooting star, if the numbers on the clock line up (e.g., 5:55), etc. But only the wish related ones because they're fun. They don't really work, but they're fun. I've walked under a ladder before (I was careful), I've broken several mirrors (I'm clumsy), had black cats cross my path, etc. and nothing horrible's ever happened to me. :shrug:

Remember back when people used to send chain letters? Back before we had internet and could just do forwards instead? :cool:

I always make a wish at 11:11! I am so corny. :o

I've become more superstitious this summer. I work for a professional baseball team and baseball players are notoriously superstitious, which has rubbed off on me.

I work in the production aspect of the team (working camera and video board) and I now have certain rituals I do for every game.

I've also become a little superstition for a few players, because every time I work a the camera in center field, they tend to hit a lot of home-runs out there! It's mildly entertaining.

I'm mildly superstitious. If I walk up to cross a street and the light is already red, I won't cross. I wait until I have a full red light to cross. This stems from almost getting hit one too many times.

I also used to hate having pictures of friends/family in my room because I felt they were watching me. This lasted through high school but sometimes I still feel it.

I never heard of not passing the salt, but I do throw salt over my left shoulder if I spill it. I knock on wood all the time, I wish on stars and I usually stay at home on Friday the 13th, just because I've had a couple spectacularly crappy Friday the 13ths.

As for the not stepping on graves, the house where I grew up is next to a cemetery & we used to play flashlight tag and go for walks there, so that one pretty much does nothing for me.

Before I eat an apple, I twist the stem while saying the alphabet. The letter at which the stem comes off is the initial of my future husband.

Come onnnnnnn G!

Not walking under a ladder stemmed from a Christian superstition....it was believed that if you walked under a ladder, you were splitting the Holy Trinity and therefore no better than the devil.



I kiss my hand and hit the ceiling of my car when I drive under a yellow light, I make wishes at 11:11, I knock on wood (or wood paneling) so I don't jinx good luck, I don't pick up pennies that are tail-up, if I spill salt I pick some up and toss it over my shoulder, I make a wish on the first star I see at night, if someone's taking an important test I tell them to "break a pencil lead" for good luck instead of "break a leg", before I got married I would take a piece of groom's cake home from weddings and put it under my pillow, I've never bought a Claddagh ring for myself, If your ear's ringing someone's talking about you, and if you nose itches someone's thinking about you, if my necklace clasp comes around to the front I kiss it and make a wish, I make wishes on my eyelashes, I didn't let Joel see me the day of our wedding until I was walking down to aisle towards him, I say "God Bless You" when people sneeze....

Wow, I didn't think I was superstitious at all until I started making my list.

I used to be superstitious with sports stuff, like using the same bat/batting gloves/etc. all the time if I was on a hitting streak. In my daily life though, not so much.

This just reminded me of a HORRIBLE time when some bullies from school got a hold of my diary. :( They read all about my Friday the 13th which happened to be horribly embarassing. I had almost forgotten about that!!

I don't step on gravestones because I feel like it's rude. It's like stepping on someone's head! Silly, but I don't think anything bad will happen if I do. And I read in a Babysitters' Club book that you should hold your breath when passing a graveyard or else you'll inhale a spirit. I still do that but really just to see if I can hold my breath that long (I usually can't). :rolleyes:

ETA: Oooh, I did just think of one. It's a HUGE superstition at my job that you NEVER EVER EVER say "It's been quiet all day/night." It's like saying "Macbeth" at a theater. That totally jinxes it and the patients all start acting up after that. Whenever someone does (usually the new person), we all groan and say "Dangit, she said the q-word!!!" Sometimes things stay okay, but tooooo many times I've seen that one actually come true.

Omg, I did that once, and I was like "Noooo!" My drama friends made me go outside, turn around three times, and curse. (I think that was it.)

I used to either lift my feet up off the floor or touch a screw in the car when driving past a graveyard. I still hold my breath going through tunnels, but I just do that because it's fun to see how long I can do it.

I tap the dashboard when I see a police car. A guy I dated briefly said it was good luck. Whatever, not like I'm a delinquent!

Hmm...I'll add more if I think of them.

My mom said you're supposed to lift your feet when you go over railroad tracks

We used to do this with soda tabs.

wtf. so do i...

and FWIW, i always look at my phone at 7:22pm. not exactly superstition, but sometimes its hard to shake habits.

ETA: ALL of my LSs believe in that "split the pole" thing. i think theyre crazy. and one of them yells "bread and butter" when you sweep over someone's foot. i guess spitting on the broom is too unsanitary, so yelling out things that go together makes perfect sense.

My dad is convinced that eating certain meals before games will help his team win. If it makes him happy and optimistic, then they are probably at least a little more likely to win (he's the coach) :) So I suppose it's like sugar pills - superstitions can make themselves come true.

As a sidenote, I don't see why on earth anyone would step on a grave ... that's pretty much just wrong, superstition or no :eek:

I'm trying to figure out how a ladder - with two parts, or four if you count each leg - represents the Holy TRINITY . . . hmmmmm . . . do you know from which country this came from? I'm interested.

I am not superstitious at all. The only rational superstition is the one about not walking below a ladder- which is more of a safety precaution than of a superstition. When I see a black cat I say "here kitty kitty"- ok, so I do that when I see any kind of cat.

http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t...dom/ladder.jpg

A-ha!

My boss does this kind of crap all the time. After I'd been at this job about 3 months, he says "I haven't had a server crash in over a year!" and BAM, a server crashed that day. Now, when he starts to say something like that, I stop him "Shhhh, don't jinx us!"

to Rashid (and Winnibug, as i posted in the wrong thread): make a wish!

I don't consider myself superstitious at all, but one thing I never do is turn my back to the ocean.

We've got a lot of local superstitions here: don't whistle at night (you'll attract ghosts); don't cut your nails at night (it's bad luck); putting jars of water on your lawn/yard will prevent dogs/cats pooping on your property; a huge black moth in or outside of your house means a deceased loved one has come to visit; never point in a cemetery (it's bad luck); if a young kid bends down and looks between his legs that means mom and dad will be expecting a new one soon...the list is endless.

My most favorite one, though, is the one about chopsticks in your rice. Never, ever stick your chopsticks upright in your rice bowl. It's bad luck, or as the Japanese call it, bachi.

This is very interesting. I haven't read all of the posts yet, but there was a Gallup poll that was taken in 2005 that showed 41% of Americans profess belief in ESP. A similar study conducted in 2006 in Poland by the Public Opinion Research Center showed that 30% of Polish citizens claim that star signs affect a person's character. There was also an earlier European study that was done in the UK that said 74% of respondents claimed they knock on wood for good luck. I saw this on the History Channel. They were also talking about how it's related to some kind of evolutionary theory, adaptive traits and stuff like that. There was more, I just can't remember all of it. But I really don't think that different kinds of superstitions need to be explained using just one evolutionary mechanism, it just may be that different kinds of superstititions have different evolutionary explanations, and only some of them may be adaptive. Really though, Who the hell knows?:rolleyes:

After watching this, it kind of changed my opinion on this subject slightly. I think that phenomena such as superstition kind of forces us to look at reason from a more consistently scientific point of view. While I think it can be the opposite of reason, on the other hand I also think that it can be looked at as being naturalized similarly to reason. Another possibility that I found to be more persuasive than what the show was saying, was the fact that it could actually be a by-product. What I mean by this is it may not even have any adaptive value in itself, it may just be linked to a trait which may be adaptive. But then again, I may be looking into this too hard.:o:(

Oh, and it was also talking about how superstition may be related to cognitive illusions too. It was really good, I enjoyed it. I had been waiting all week long to watch it. It was very interesting. I TiVo'd it.:p