7 Stupid Things You Do for No Logical Reason

The Danish physicist Neils Bhor had a lucky horseshoe nailed above his door. A visitor asked, “You don’t believe in that, do you?”

“No — but they tell me it works whether I believe in it or not.”

Yesterday

I was in the checkout queue at the supermarket when the lady behind me sneezed. Without thinking, I turned and said, “bless you.”

I’d no idea why.

I don’t believe those words will protect her from a cold, the flu or the plague — it’s just something I say, words on automatic pilot.

I think of myself as a logical and rational thinker. I like evidence; facts or information that establishes the truth. Yet, I caught myself saying, “bless you,” out of some primitive superstitious habit.

Which got me thinking

I wondered what other bunkum, balderdash, and baloney we do for no logical reason.

1. Never stop on chapter 13

You will read to chapter 12 or 14, but you’ll never put your book down if you are on chapter thirteen. Your rational brain knows there are no ‘unlucky numbers’ and the number thirteen is no more draped in bad vibes as any other cardinal number.

But you don’t do thirteen, or whatever number it is you think is unlucky.

2. Never walk under a ladder

It’s the third most popular superstition — 49% of people avoid doing it. You can rationalise it all you want; 'someone might drop something on my head'.

In reality, it dates back to medieval times where the ladder symbolised the gallows.

3. It won’t happen to me — touch wood

Knocking on wood is one of the most prevalent superstitions. Surveys show that 86% of people touch wood to avoid tempting fate, we can trace its roots back to Britain’s pagan days, when our ancestors made appeals to tree-dwelling spirits to ward off bad luck.

4. Don’t put shoes on a table

I don’t put my shoes on the table because my wife barks at me if I do. I thought it was a hygiene thing. Turns out our ancestors considered it a bad omen because people used to put a dead man’s shoes on the table to let the family know that person had passed away.

5. Always exit via the door you entered

Some great ill might befall you if you don’t.

This is another my wife introduced me to. If she is not there, I’d happily leave by the window. When we go together, I’ll support her unfounded superstition without a word of complaint.

6. Be the first to say, ‘Jinx’

When you say the same word in unison you race to say, ‘jinx', and thus you pass all the bad luck on to the other person.

I do it too, only because I hate losing. In Italy, they believe you’ll never get married if this happens and the only way to undo this hoodoo is to touch your nose.

7. Throw spilt salt over a shoulder

We all know someone who does this. Illogical as it is, I’ve picked up the habit. I don’t know if I should use my left or right hand or which shoulder I should throw it over, so I cover all the bases — that’s four throws.

You are still a rational thinking human being

You don’t believe you can prevent a disaster from happening by tapping wood or throwing sodium chloride over your shoulder. Yet you do these things — and many others — as a matter of routine. It's something to which you have grown accustomed. You follow these traditions, despite there being no logic or commonsense behind them.

Knowing these superstitions are unfounded doesn’t change the instilled habit. Accept you can’t influence the physical world using mythical magic or fallacious folklore. Yet, these primitive ideas are strangely pervasive — even in our highly educated, scientific world.

You tell actors to, ‘break a leg’, you make a wish when you throw a penny in a fountain, and maybe you carry a rabbit’s foot for luck — not lucky for the rabbit.

Irrationality is in your DNA

Why do you do it? What plausible reason could you come up with for acting so nonsensically?

Is there something holding you back from ceasing these preposterous customs? Is it that you don’t want to tempt fate — why risk it?

Laziness

Reasoning needs work. Thinking requires practice. Why bother coming up with a rational justification not to do it, when it is easier to say ‘bless you’. It’s an agreeable thing to say, people appreciate your concern and it’s a lot quicker than, “Oh, I hope you haven’t got the plague and die.’

It’s all twaddle

So, from now on, make a concerted effort to avoid wasting yoiur time on superstitious nonsense.

Stop reading when you are tired. Take the quickest route under a ladder and stop knocking wood. It’s the logical course for a rational mind.

I hope you liked this article— fingers crossed.