Are You Superstitious?

[Ernest Lemmingway]

I don't know if this is superstition or not, but I hate people looking into my eyes. Why? Because "the eyes are a window to the soul." And my soul is a very dark, scary place. Where my enemies--even those I just don't like--are tortured and maimed in ways that would make sadists like Mao proud, while women I find attractive are subjected to erotic torture and delights until they're broken, slavishly devoted thralls willing to do anything I want.

 

And those are just the things I feel comfortable mentioning here.

[winny257]

On 5/27/2018 at 12:45 AM, Fifoo said:

Spoiler

"Superstitions are a defense mechanism in the face of uncertainty. Some superstitions are not completely absurd. Many of them are even based on truth: passing under a ladder can indeed be dangerous. They therefore have a real protective function. But above all, there are beliefs that hold us, that are the basis of our identity. Becoming attached to certain superstitions can be a way of paying tribute to one's culture.
I am more wary of rationality at all costs. Believing that one can explain everything, master everything by technique and science is an illusion that makes it even more unfortunate. Leaving the unexpected, the improbable, the chance is much more enchanting."

 

     - Quote by Elsa Godart, psychoanalyst and philosopher.

 

Personally I quite like the approach made by the author. "I have no bowl," "I never have a chance ..." are words that are often heard, this conviction of being cursed, doomed to misfortune and bad luck. This pathological relationship to luck, based on a bad self-image, is the bed of superstition - we believe in the evil eye, we rely on grigris or fetish numbers, we consult the auguries (clairvoyance, numerology ...). But what is luck?

 

Luck is the ability to seize good opportunities, so it is not just a coincidence. It results mainly from the way in which we turn fortuit into opportunity. And it is much more than a simple observation that is offered to us: it is a Way of Life.

 

what you have described is a degree Bulk of caution, this instinct is innate to all living things.
it has nothing to do with Superstition, Superstition is something that does not exist, what people wish for or what them makes afraid that they can not explain.
under one ladder go, is a precautionary instinct, it could fall down a something.
Friday the 13th. or black cats, is a superstition, who on something like that believes becomes soulish and who not believe at this, also comes in the sky.

 

edit: I faith that there is a planet in the universe, where only young crunchy girls live and they scream desperately for men. ?

[winny257]

Ah, I forgot to mention.
this is the worst form of superstition, thousands of innocent people had to die, only because these people were thinking differently and that former system to have rejected!

 

witches combustion

[FauxFurry]

Me? Superstitious? Not a ghost of a chance. I might believe in the Chance that would give up the ghost, though.

 

I do believe in digital back-ups and holograms, though.

 

It serves thew same purpose but it is hard science, especially useful when one needs to back up dying hard drives. When robots have genuine artificial intelligence, I might change my stance, however.

[winny257]

Another shitty superstition.
Cats steal their breath at night!
many cats were hunted mercilessly.
a person puts a motto into the world and millions of people believe this shit! 

that is called superstition. 

[The First Lady of Hats]

I'd probably still be sacrificing virgins to the merciless gods of winter to ensure the sun rises again and melts the snow but it's 2018 and yer've more chance of finding a unicorn than a virgin.

[winny257]

1 hour ago, The First Lady of Hats said:

I'd probably still be sacrificing virgins to the merciless gods of winter to ensure the sun rises again and melts the snow but it's 2018 and yer've more chance of finding a unicorn than a virgin.

if you do not cut into the finger yourself, there are more eternal virgins (male and female) worldwide than you believe, definitely more than unicorns. 

[BAB PEEG]

Nah.

[nonusnomeni]

 

[winny257]

[RaTMan71]

Superstition is a survival mechanism that essentially operates on the idea: 'better safe than sorry'

 

For example:

It's ancient times, you encounter a cave, you are curious and wonder what lies inside the cave.

Before you attempt to go in, I find and warn you: "Don't go into that cave, there are bears in there"

 

Now you might well ask, how do I know that he's telling the truth? One way to do that would be to investigate by going inside the cave to find evidence of bear habitation.

 Here lies a problem - if there are bears in there, you stand a real chance of being killed to death and eaten. Although it may be rational to doubt my claim of bears and to examine it further, in this instance it is not practical to risk verifying the claim because the consequences of me being right are too dangerous.

 

This means that you would have to take my bear hypothesis as a given in order to avoid the risk. This is how many superstitions persist, with the question "What if they really are right? Better to not take any chances."

 

Then of course the belief mutates and grows with time and retelling, a century later people will instead say: "Don't go into the cave, there are Demons in there."

Then a few more decades go by and it becomes "It's time for you, the chosen child, to go to the sacred cave to be sacrificed to the Blood Demon-God-King Ug-Qualtoth for the good of the tribe."

 

And so on and so forth...

[wokking56]

On 5/28/2018 at 4:24 AM, Jazzman said:

In religious superstition everything boils down to a natural explanation, a simple fact or basic assumption.

 

The number thirteen is utterly interesting, 'cause it contradicts the 'harmonious', biblical dozen. It dearly wants to be part of it and yet can't for being a little too late. It is the superfluous, the one that quite obviously lies through the teeth. That's why Saint Paul, the founder of Christianity, as self-proclaimed thirteenth apostle (he had a fuckin' vision) had a god-damned hard time to defend himself against the public accusation of being the Lying Man.

 

Have fun!

 

 

 

Actually the "religious" reason that 13 is an unlucky number boils down to the "last supper". Jesus and his 12 disciples (that's 13 people) broke bread together yet one disciple Judas betrayer Jesus and bad shit happened.

 

As was mentioned earlier a few superstitions are at least good advice (walking under a ladder or opening an umbrella indoors for instance) since they can cause damage and injury. The others however are just nonsense.

[Guest]

I've never been the superstitious type. I think everything happens for either one of three reasons: it was meant to happen, it is the effect of a cause, or it was brought into existence by the sheer force of willpower.

[haanuman]

I have heard of many things from many people and I still don't understand why they exist that much.

 

Such as 

1) Black cat that you mentioned.

2) Never leave at X hours and 45 Minutes.

 

and so on. Personally I don't believe it but the society is blind. It is annoying.

[Di3sIrae]

I must say that i do believe in a lot of things, even supernatural ones, but i am not supersticious. For me, it all goes down to our own intuition. I do believe in luck and bad luck as the randomness of life, for me they are the same thing. So if someone dies after a crown sits in it's roof or something like that, it is because it had to die, not because of the poor bird. Same goes for black cat (i had one). I believe that everything is possible and people can have it's own superstition about anything, not the 'common' ones (that most cited here).

 

They can be simple things sometimes, and most people have them. Some acts that seens to bring "good luck". Like a person that always walk the same road that have a statue. When this person one day walks on a different road, something bad happens. Then in it's mind it creates the notion that passing by said statue can bring luck or protect from bad things. Thus the person will be less willing to use other routes. Of course it was just what had to happen, some may call it destiny or bad luck. it is all the same thing.

 

As with almost everything, if you are fanatic with something, it might be bad for you. Religion, superstition, even if you work up more than you should or are fanatic with a diet. Everything can bring you harm. So it is absolutely ok to have our own superstitions, maybe they are there for a reason for us that we don't understand, just don't fret about things that others said and doesn't have any logical meaning for you.