Of course she was good luck, here is her yearbook picture...
Posted on 10/22/2008 9:52:17 AM PDT by PJ-Comix
Superstition has obvious survival value. We correlate favorable outcomes with events or conditions and unfavorable outcomes with other events or conditions. Since we are rarely in a position to uncover “root cause” the mental association of success with behavior is a short cut that has proven effective.
In the case you cite, person recollection (anecdotal data) is notoriously unreliable. Maybe there was something to it, maybe you were more relaxed not feeling guilty about crossing up the ugly chick, or maybe you are simply the beneficiary of selective recall.
Or maybe it's divine intervention.
After going hitless for a while, White Sox outfielder Minnie Minoso figured his bad luck resulted from his uniform. So still in cleats, he showered with it on. After he got three hits the next day, eight of his teammates joined him fully clothed in the shower.
Pagan says yes.
Pagan also hints at intelligent design. LOL
Pagan also says there is indeed a rational explanation for your test results, at least, but at a loss to explain the appearances.
Why? Um, pagan?...Hello?
I’m Irish, Scots and Welsh. [and Danish]
I have a superstition for *everything*.
[at least I came by it honestly]
We have a friend who is wildly superstitious about Friday the 13th.
He also knows the one about “rubbing a red head for luck”.
If I was unfortunate enough that we were riding with him on one of those ‘awful days’, I came home with a sore scalp because every time we came to a stop light or got off the bikes, he’d rub my head like crazy.
You were feeling better, and in a more charitable mood, when you first began to notice this “effect.” This was due to your being prepared for your upcoming test(s). On the days when you were feeling bad, and in an uncharitable mood, you knew you were not prepared, and were stressed out because of it. Over time, you began to associate your success on tests to the effect, rather than the cause. But, since you believed you’d do well, you did. It had nothing to do with the girl. It was all mental on your part.
Non sequitur *ping*
: )
I think it was Diahann Carroll (wow, I spelled her correctly the first time!)who recalled that back when she was beginning her career on Broadway, she’d bring her baby with her to rehearsals, and her co-workers would rush to rub the baby’s head - it was considered good luck to do it to a black baby. Is it still, cause I see a few of them on my public transport commutes?
BTW, I also avoid the number 13. Whenever I see a pump 13 at a gas station I make sure not to use it.
Somewhat...and I don't know why.
Yes?
Paul Auster, who has been criticized for clumsy plot turns in his novels (like unbelieveable coincidences to move the plots forward), defends himself in one of his non-fiction works, which tend to be better than his novels, by citing numerous coincidences and lucky encounters in his own life.
I believe that there is something mysterious out there ruling these things.
Of course she was good luck, here is her yearbook picture...
That's called confirmation bias(^). which is the tendency to interpret information in a way that confirms your preconceptions and at the same time avoids interpretations which might contradict prior beliefs.
Are you superstitious? And why?
Not very. I try very hard to root out any superstitions I might have, confront them, and rid myself of them. I vastly prefer rational thought.
Pluralitas non est ponenda sine necessitate
LOL!
I hit him with my Toyota.
Yeesh
With years of therapy and powerful drugs there is hope for your.....let me reread your post....sorry, This sounds like a case of Humpty-Dumpty Mind Syndrome and Dr. Imanut says it can’t be put back together again.
Call it a silly superstition but it allowed me to breeze through my senior year of high school.
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