Beyond going though superstitious actions, people also tend to use commonly connect superstitions to numbers. Doing so often has a huge impact on society at large. Take for instance, the number four in American culture and the number four in Chinese society.The number thirteen has a negative connotation in America and the number four has a negative view among the Chinese. The article “Friday the Thirteenth: ‘Part VII’- A Note,” by Robert Kolb and Ricardo Rodriguez pursues the effect of the infamous Friday the Thirteenth date on market profit returns. The authors found that sales on any Friday the Thirteenth was significantly lower than any other day of the week. This is unusual because Fridays are typically the most profitable day of the week.
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In fact, superstitions are valuable. Specifically, people in the past used to rely on superstition for survival just as much as they relied on their physical strength. In her article “ 8 Superstition,” Emma Young, who has— a degree in psychology from the University of Durham, explores my previous statement. She explicitly points out that people often try to find order in their everyday lives. By finding order and looking for patterns, Young points out that people were able to live more efficiently than they would have without patterns. These connections eventually evolved into the superstitions that people regularly rely on, but as the author realizes, making a false connection is better than missing a real one. She even observes that many religions likely came from superstition and connections because most religions encourage support and community among its members. What Young essentially proposes is that superstitions are the product of …show more content…
In the past, they were once used for actually survival, but now it seems like they exist to either create weird situations or help make people more confident. Up to this point, superstitions have seemed pretty positive as a matter of fact, but that is not always the case. After all, the article “Born Into Bad Luck,” is an example of negative superstitions hindering an entire society. The article pertains to Japanese women born in the year 1966, which is considered an extremely unlucky year. The article reports that researchers from Osaka University and Japan's Gender Equality Bureau found that women who were born in 1966 were more likely to be divorce, be less educated, and make less money than other women near their age. While researchers sadly did not pursue the reason for this misfortune, the fact that such an entire generation was hurt by a curse-like superstition is a strong indicator how harmful superstitions can actually be. To me, it sounds like the girls born in 1966 are suffering from the opposite of what allows Alcoholics Anonymous members to be so successful. The girls were pressured into failure, which just goes to show how huge of an effect superstition can have. This sad phenomena also points out a major problem though considering a single superstition has harmed an entire
In fact, superstitions are valuable. Specifically, people in the past used to rely on superstition for survival just as much as they relied on their physical strength. In her article “ 8 Superstition,” Emma Young, who has— a degree in psychology from the University of Durham, explores my previous statement. She explicitly points out that people often try to find order in their everyday lives. By finding order and looking for patterns, Young points out that people were able to live more efficiently than they would have without patterns. These connections eventually evolved into the superstitions that people regularly rely on, but as the author realizes, making a false connection is better than missing a real one. She even observes that many religions likely came from superstition and connections because most religions encourage support and community among its members. What Young essentially proposes is that superstitions are the product of …show more content…
In the past, they were once used for actually survival, but now it seems like they exist to either create weird situations or help make people more confident. Up to this point, superstitions have seemed pretty positive as a matter of fact, but that is not always the case. After all, the article “Born Into Bad Luck,” is an example of negative superstitions hindering an entire society. The article pertains to Japanese women born in the year 1966, which is considered an extremely unlucky year. The article reports that researchers from Osaka University and Japan's Gender Equality Bureau found that women who were born in 1966 were more likely to be divorce, be less educated, and make less money than other women near their age. While researchers sadly did not pursue the reason for this misfortune, the fact that such an entire generation was hurt by a curse-like superstition is a strong indicator how harmful superstitions can actually be. To me, it sounds like the girls born in 1966 are suffering from the opposite of what allows Alcoholics Anonymous members to be so successful. The girls were pressured into failure, which just goes to show how huge of an effect superstition can have. This sad phenomena also points out a major problem though considering a single superstition has harmed an entire