Superstition is just so much so much claptrap. Mumbo jumbo that has no place in the modern world, so scientists think. Why touch wood or throw spilt salt over your left shoulder when these actions serve no useful purpose? For many people, whatever science might say, there are more things in heaven and earth than we can possibly know, and it's better to be safe than sorry.
Professor Stuart Vyse is a teacher of psychology at the University of Connecticut and wrote a book in 1997 called "Believing in Magic:The Psychology of Superstition".
According to him, people in the USA are getting ever more superstitious, less interested in science education than they are in magic and the supernatural. He says "I think these beliefs are market driven. Mediums are enjoying increased popularity in the US. The paranormal sells and popular images on TV and in film only foster the environment for superstition."
He has a point, when one considers the unprecedented popularity of Harry Potter books about a child wizard or the 'Lord of The Rings' films which feature druids, magic and mythical beings. We are being swamped by countless images and books of things over which we can have no control, and our safety valve is superstition because it gives an illusion of some kind of protection.
It seems that people are drawn more to 'magical' thinking when they are under stress or threat. During the 1994 Gulf war, Professor Giora Keinan of Tel Aviv University found that superstition and magical belief was far stronger in areas where missile attacks occurred than in those where no missiles fell. In another clever experiment, he sat students at a wooden bench and asked identical health related questions.
Those who were more interested in controlling their own lives tended to tap the bench and say 'Touch Wood', being more superstitious than their fellow students. It is a strange fact that many people place unwarranted faith in the performing of ritual acts before doing something important to them. Soccer players will often pull socks on in a specific order and tie bootlaces in a particular way, convinced these things influence their performance on the field.
Stuart Vyse maintains that we are very choosy when looking for evidence in support of our beliefs, remembering only those things that we regard as relevant. In many situations we find ourselves prone to irrational behavior, showing biased judgment and ignoring important information. Superstitious thinking often springs from misunderstanding of probability and random processes.
This is especially true when it comes to gambling. We have an innate belief that the odds are in our favor no matter how long they are in real terms. Gamblers are probably among the most superstitious people you can find, using 'lucky' pens to write out bets or always having some 'lucky' mascot with them. Gambling isn't a rational thing to do but then superstition is hardly rational either.
Most people don't even know why they say 'Touch wood'. It's just something they picked up early in their lives. In olden times, when pagan religions held sway over the populations, certain trees such as oak, ash, hazel, hawthorn and willow were regarded as sacred and thus would confer protective powers to any who touched them. Even though these pagan beliefs are lost in the mists of time their influence is still felt today.
Dr Gerda Reith is a lecturer in sociology at Glasgow University and has a passionate interest in the thought processes that gamblers use. She is convinced that superstition can be a positive force in the lives of those affected by it. As she puts it "It gives you a sense of control by making you think you can work out what is going to happen next and it makes you feel lucky. In that sense it's a very useful way of thinking because the alternative is fatalism - 'Oh, there's nothing I can do about it' - so at least superstition does make people do things."
Just how strong the world resurgence in superstition and magic is was made evident by a report published by professor Steve Smith, historian at Essex University in England. For many years both China and Russia went to great lengths to eliminate popular beliefs in such things, yet today the Chinese are investing lots of money in ancestral temples while sorcery and faith healing are gaining in popularity at weddings,
Tarot cards were once banned in Russia, yet today fortune telling has become very fashionable indeed and there are many reports of a dramatic increase in the incidence of witchcraft. White witches were, for many years regarded with deep suspicion in the west, as evidenced by the witch trials of medieval times, yet in the USA and other western societies today, especially amongst the young, there is a growing interest in it.
You may consider yourself to be a perfectly rational human being, yet you know you have no control over future events in your life, at least not in any real sense. Do you ignore the black cat that crosses your path, or the ladder leaning against the wall on the path in front of you? Consciously you might want to ignore that shiver down your spine, but subconsciously you cannot.
Fate, or Kismet has you at its mercy and that is the most frustrating thing to know. Surely anything, however bizarre, that can give you a bit of an edge is worth it, and that is the basic 'logic' behind all superstition. That fortune-teller is probably no more knowledgeable about your future than you are yourself, yet you place your faith in her ability to 'see' things because you want them to be true.
Rightly or wrongly, we all want to believe that we can determine our own destinies, and anything that can reinforce that belief has to be worthwhile, however ridiculous it really is. We know that in reality we're all hostages to fortune, but superstition helps us believe that we can change that. Touch wood it can.
Politics
Factzone: The truth about Kim Jong Il
Kim Jong Il, the leader of the free world, has decided to move on to more fertile grounds, leaving with us just the memories of 8-color rainbows, singing Korean women and couple of nuclear weapons. But who was this man whose next ambition would have been to get the next Nobel Peace prize? Here are just a few facts you should know about.
more
Top 5 Conspiracy Theories Related to John F. Kennedy's Assassination
26.Aug 2011
Since just after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, conspiracy theories abou...read
ISRAEL KEEPING GHADDAFI AFLOAT
10.Mar 2011
...read
Glen Beck Is NOT the Anti-Christ!
10.Mar 2011
Hurtful and fiery rhetoric is now media’s default setting! This slippery and m...read
Recipe for A REVOLUTION! (10 easy steps - try not to get burned!)
28.Feb 2011
Rebellion is cooking in the air. People are mad as hell, and not going to take...read
Opinion
World governments charged with criminal negligence (in response to Megaupload case)
EARTH (thecheers.org) - Federal authorities of the universe have charged the governments of all the countries in the world as well as the operators actually in power in these countries with operating a criminal enterprise, the Galaxy warriors announced Today.
more
The Great OSCARS 2011 – or so it would seem
5.Mar 2011
So, how exciting......a morning off, the Academy Awards. I wish I could say the...read
Top 7 Expensive Bordellos. Prostitution: Shakedown, Tier Down, and Priced Out
31.Jan 2011
According to a report of the Washington DC-based US Department of State, The Ph...read
The Great Secret and Reason for the JFK Assassination
11.Oct 2010
The great question is why the great secret? On June 4 1963, President Kennedy s...read
Don't Do it! The 3 Worst Times to Get Tattoos
4.Oct 2010
As a general rule, tattoos gotten after 2 am are a bad idea. But in a bigger pi...read
|
Travel
Travel Warning 13 September 2010 - DO NOT TRAVEL TO IRAN
13.Sep 2010
TRAVELWISE has been watching the situation in Iran for some months in relation ...read
more
TRAVELWISE TRAVEL ADVISORY 5th June 2010. DO NOT TRAVEL TO ISRAEL.
5.Jun 2010
Given the recent incident whereby the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, used...read
TRAVELWISE. 16 APRIL 2010. EUROPEAN TRAVEL ALTERNATIVES
16.Apr 2010
Travelwise issues the following advice in relation to cancelled flights to, fro...read
TRAVELWISE 6 APRIL 2010. AUSTRALIAN AIR TRAVEL. THE BEST WAYS TO TRAVEL BY AIR IN AUSTRALIA.
5.Apr 2010
Regular readers might have seen and read the various advisory and no-fly notice...read
TRAVELWISE 2 APRIL 2010. QANTAS.
2.Apr 2010
Some concerns have been raised in relation to some of the maintenance practices...read
No Payoff From the Playoffs
$16.50 will Get Anyone in the Hall Mr McGwire
Stupid Athlete Tricks
Think Big! Think the World's Largest International Trade Show
Top 9 cool laptop accessories for laptop geeks
Twittering: I'm not that interesting
Cheers
|
It seems that people are drawn more to 'magical' thinking when they are under stress or threat.
