“Break a mirror and risk 7 years of bad luck” was something that I read in one of the many The Adventures of Tintin comic book series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Tintin) during my younger days.
I remember vividly when I showed the comic to my father and asked him “Why seven years, not more or less”?. He replied that it was an old belief by the Westerners.
Growing up, I discovered that for most of the superstitions, when I asked around, nobody knew the reason for such beliefs. Superstition is defined as (http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=superstition) :
S: (n) superstition, superstitious notion (an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear)
For a more elaborate definition on superstition, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition
As superstition is defined as an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear, since knowledge was limited to the wealthy or nobility since ancient times, it makes sense that with the literacy rates increasing, the number of superstitions would slowly vanish. The main reason why superstitions would not vanish is because adults continue to emphasize it to their young. Some of the more common ones include (http://www.oldsuperstitions.com/) :
* An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
* All wishes on shooting stars come true.
* Friday the 13th.
* Walking under a ladder.
* 4 leaf clover / horseshoe
The list goes on and on.
It is human nature to blame, justify and give excuses as it is comparatively easier, and safer, than to investigate the actual reason. For an example, Friday the 13th is nothing more than an observation that a series of natural and man-made disasters taking place on Friday the 13th. It doesn’t make sense to me because every single day, there is a disaster, be it natural or man-made. I believe that births are a celebration of life and every single day thousands of new babies are born across the globe. This being the case, how can Friday the 13th be classified as a ‘bad’ day?
The 4 leaf clover / horseshoe are ancient beliefs symbolizing good luck – but how much research has been conducted on it to prove that they really do bring good luck? The truth about superstition is that if you believe in them, they will become manifest in your subconscious mind and the law of attraction will attract the necessary forces in the universe to make your belief come true. But where do you draw the line? Do you believe in all of them or only in the ones that you choose that you want to believe in? For me, I choose to believe in facts, not fiction. The corrective action would be for parents to stop disseminating such false beliefs to their children. I came across the following saying:
There is no cure for stupidity but there is a remedy for ignorance; it is called learning.
Superstition is a way of the past – in this era of Knowledge Economy, there is no room for ignorance.
I remember vividly when I showed the comic to my father and asked him “Why seven years, not more or less”?. He replied that it was an old belief by the Westerners.
Growing up, I discovered that for most of the superstitions, when I asked around, nobody knew the reason for such beliefs. Superstition is defined as (http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=superstition) :
S: (n) superstition, superstitious notion (an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear)
For a more elaborate definition on superstition, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition
As superstition is defined as an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear, since knowledge was limited to the wealthy or nobility since ancient times, it makes sense that with the literacy rates increasing, the number of superstitions would slowly vanish. The main reason why superstitions would not vanish is because adults continue to emphasize it to their young. Some of the more common ones include (http://www.oldsuperstitions.com/) :
* An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
* All wishes on shooting stars come true.
* Friday the 13th.
* Walking under a ladder.
* 4 leaf clover / horseshoe
The list goes on and on.
It is human nature to blame, justify and give excuses as it is comparatively easier, and safer, than to investigate the actual reason. For an example, Friday the 13th is nothing more than an observation that a series of natural and man-made disasters taking place on Friday the 13th. It doesn’t make sense to me because every single day, there is a disaster, be it natural or man-made. I believe that births are a celebration of life and every single day thousands of new babies are born across the globe. This being the case, how can Friday the 13th be classified as a ‘bad’ day?
The 4 leaf clover / horseshoe are ancient beliefs symbolizing good luck – but how much research has been conducted on it to prove that they really do bring good luck? The truth about superstition is that if you believe in them, they will become manifest in your subconscious mind and the law of attraction will attract the necessary forces in the universe to make your belief come true. But where do you draw the line? Do you believe in all of them or only in the ones that you choose that you want to believe in? For me, I choose to believe in facts, not fiction. The corrective action would be for parents to stop disseminating such false beliefs to their children. I came across the following saying:
There is no cure for stupidity but there is a remedy for ignorance; it is called learning.
Superstition is a way of the past – in this era of Knowledge Economy, there is no room for ignorance.
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