Superstitions

     A number of superstitions exist in society; for several reasons. Before discussing specific superstitions, perhaps it is understandable to cover a major cause of such first. As a species, humans are often curious about why events occur and how things come to be. When faced with the logically inexplicable, human minds tent to create rationales whether they are true or not. Knowing this, the task of identifying the origins of superstitions becomes more feasible.

     One common superstition today is the act of knocking on wood when wishing for a certain future happening. This ritualistic behaviour may have been derived from touching a wooden cross while pledging an oath. This means that past beliefs can be handed down and adopted by society, albeit in different forms and interpretations. In addition to conservatory reasons, there are also scientific explanations for why superstitions exist. 

    In tales, it is not uncommon that unfortunate events will present themselves in groups. This is thanks to the superstition that bad luck comes in threes. There is a psychological phenomenon that aids in the explanation of this superstition, and it is called confirmation bias. Confirmation bias has an effect that makes people interpret occurrences in ways which agree with their beliefs. For example, someone may believe they are having a bad day because of a conflict that had taken place. This person is likely to think that their day is getting worse as more events take place; they would correlate said events with the initial negative conflict and mindset. As a result of this, the person may interpret the happenings throughout the day as unfavourable, even if they would be considered neutral if the person was having a normal day. This causes a snowball effect, and gives the appearance that bad things happen in bunches - in three's, for example.
     Despite evidence debunking superstitions, a handful are still used by society, for different reasons. One is the placebo effect, which generated partly because of confirmation bias. Comfort can be derived from the placebo effect, such as the age-old example of sugar pills relieving physical pain. Although the "medication" has no actual effect on one's condition, the belief of taking a prescribed drug can uplift one's state. Another reason why superstitions exist is due to humans being stubborn and neglecting data. People are said to often uphold their beliefs even when faced with contrary evidence, as acceptance change can cause discomfort. Additionally, some people are fearful of being proved wrong or exposed to other ideologies, and this causes a lack of investigation and drive to learn more. This means that humans take bliss in their current mindsets, and are often not very malleable - allowing superstitions to live on.
    Whether it is about black cats or cracked sidewalks, superstitions survive in society. There are numerous causes for their existence, and just as many studies downplaying them. Despite the evidence against them, superstitions are likely to not be banished from the human race in the near future because of the mindsets that are possessed and their tendencies.

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Many superstitions propose luck-influencing objects and occurrences. The picture above shows several of these - good luck is often represented by horse shoes and four-leaf clovers. In contrast,

bad luck is shown by shattered mirrors, Friday the 13th, walking underneath ladders, and

shattered mirrors. Black cats can portray good or bad luck, depending on culture!