The next time someone sneezes, don’t bless them. Take this instead.
[Note: I plagiarized this post. From myself. Over two years ago I “started” a blog and gave up a day later. But that first post was OK, so here it is, with slight modifications.]
It’s the 21st century: science has successfully explained almost every aspect of the physical world (except that missing sock), and new successes are appearing every day. We have computers, cell phones, hand-held GPS devices, the Wii, velcro, and 8-track tape players. And instant pudding.
So why do people still cross their fingers for luck? Why is anyone still tossing spilled salt over their shoulder? Why do athletes still wear their “lucky” shorts? (See this for a list of the saddest athletes you’ve ever heard of.)
It boggles the mind.
Let this post be a rallying call to everyone that still has a shred of intellectual integrity. Let’s all agree to cast out the pernicious demon of superstition from our lives. Let’s all agree that there’s no such thing as your lucky number, that breaking a mirror won’t have any harmful effects (unless you break it with your bare hand), that Friday the 13th is nothing more than a bad movie franchise, and that crossing your fingers has about as much effect on the universe as taking a dump and wishing it were pancakes.
The next time you say “tomorrow’s going to be a good day”, refrain from knocking on wood. Just don’t do it. I mean, come on. It’s silly. Don’t do it.
Please.
Don’t do it.
And let’s not tolerate such bizarre, 13th century behavior in others: if someone is wearing their lucky Cubs jersey before the big game, call them on it. Say, “Hey Bob, you think wearing that will help? That’s ridiculous and frankly embarrassing. If you want to wear the jersey to support your team, then fine. But please, don’t tell me that wearing that shirt will have any effect on the outcome of the game.” And speaking of the Cubs, let’s all say it together: there is no such thing as a curse. The Cubs just haven’t been all that good in the past 100 years or so.
To bring the world into the 21st century, to promote a scientific and rational mindset, to remain skeptical in the face of irrational and pseudo-scientific claims—to do all these things requires your help. It all starts with you.
Seriously, you.
You can fire off a cannon shot in the superstition culture wars by just not being superstitious yourself. Continue the fight by making fun of people who are superstitious. (Shame: it’s a powerful weapon.) Start peer-pressuring people into being a little more rational. It’ll be good for them. They need to grow up. They can handle it; you know they can.
If not, there’s always clomipramine.
I don’t mind the entertainment value of some superstitions but I agree that no serious decisions should be made based on it. The Cubs likely benefit from being the lovable losers. They sell out games even though they haven’t won a World Series in over 100 years. The curse is probably more of a marketing thing at this point, though I’m sure a lot of people believe it is a curse. Baseball probably has more superstitions than any other sport. Most infielders will jump over the chalk on the first and third base lines when they come on the field.
A couple of years ago I ate a Luna bar on a break late in a poker tournament. I didn’t notice until later that it was branded as a women’s bar. I won the tournament. Since then I’ve played that up on twitter. I don’t always have one when I play and I know it isn’t “lucky” but it is fun to pretend that sometimes.
A noble idea, the application of which can necessarily be countered by the intersection of two groups of people who will inevitably continue to exist: those with limited intellectual capacity and those who prey upon them by perpetuating myths/superstitions/falsehoods for control/dominance/power. There are vast and mightly forces (organized religion, political parties, entertainment industry to name a few) with a vested interest in crushing the utopian aspirations of the academic elite….
Drat, you and your pragmatic reasoning…
It is interesting that you had started a blog with this one – as one of my first (German) websites on science was triggered by similar intentions. I was intrigued by “vitalized water” and “free energy” – or better: I was intrigued by the sociology of related communities in so-called alternative physics. Those seem to exist as a parallel universe. If found and find it very hard to reach common grounds with “alternative scientists” or their admirers – what science is or should be, what the scientific method is etc.
I intend not to make fun of it as it seems (anecdotal evidence) that often intelligent and perfectly “normal” people who have proved their intellectual capabilities in other disciplines fall for “pseudoscience”.
Sean Carroll has written a great Alternative-Science Respectability Checklist that might serve as a template in discussions: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2007/06/19/the-alternative-science-respectability-checklist/
Do you have a lot of those I-refuted-Einstein-papers in your mail?
Occasionally. I do collect such gems. Also, there are usually talks about how “special relativity is nonsense” at any American Physical Society meeting.