Since this is Friday the 13th, when some $800 million of business will be lost and some 17 million people affected by fear, I figured I'd ask a question: what's the difference between being a creature of habit and being superstitious? Is taking comfort in routine really any different than carrying a good luck charm?
If you know me at all, you know that I'm not remotely superstitious. If fact, I abhor any kind of superstition to the point that I don't even accept the existence of luck. I'll go out of my way to walk under ladders, break mirrors, spill salt, etc., etc., just to spite the notion that those things matter at all.
Playing cards convinced me that luck doesn't exist. I've seen that one card out of 52 turn over when you need it but I've also seen the 51 times that it didn't. Runs of "bad luck" and "good luck" even out over time according to mathematical laws. Anybody who seems lucky just hasn't played long enough.
But that doesn't stop me from taking comfort in a number of silly routines I do each day. I'm really bad about doing the same things over and over again if I find them to work once. The same meals, same clothes, same routines, etc. Is that a superstition or just pragmatism?
The distinction is in the definition of superstition: "an… unjustified belief in supernatural causation leading to certain consequences…" The key is whether you have an unjustified belief in a cause and effect relationship between two unrelated events. Getting a good night's sleep before a big exam may be a routine but it isn't a superstition because the two things have a legitimate connection. Your lucky socks, however, are not a legitimate factor.
As I understand it, apart from God's intervention, the world operates according to a basic set of rules. Cause and effect is a pretty straightforward thing and many events are truly just random. So each time you flip a coin there's a fifty-fifty chance of getting heads, completely independent of whether or not you're wearing your lucky socks. And it doesn't matter if you've just flipped 10 heads in a row, the next flip is 50/50.
And though I believe God answers prayer, I don't subscribe to the idea of a capricious tit-for-tat kind of God who is constantly punishing or rewarding my behavior moment to moment. It's not very Biblical or reasonable.
4 comments:
I completely disagree! Superstition is REAL. Having something that you feel works and repeating it so that you think you will get the same result is a Superstition.
I'm not sure if I follow what you mean by "you feel works…" Are you talking about the power(?) of positive thinking or are you being facetious?
Facetious but, I do feel that superstitions can draw a very thin line between whether it is lucky or it just makes you feel better. For example if I feel more confident wearing a specific outfit then I'll wear it and it seems to portray that. I realize that it isn't a lucky pair of pants but if I feel good and confident in them then good things usually happen. Hopefully that isn't as clear as mud.
Jared,
Speaking of superstitions, when is the Fantasy football draft this year?
Chad Walker
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