The Day To Be Extra Superstitious

Friday the 13th.  Perhaps for you it's a day to watch Jason slash some dumb beach goers.  Maybe it's a day you take extra caution and watch out for black cats, ladders and never touch a mirror just in case.  Maybe, it's just another Friday.  I'm just happy it's Friday!

There is a scientific term for the irrational fear of Friday the 13th.  It's called triskaidekaphobia.  The history goes back 1000's of years with the number 13 being unlucky and 100's of years for Friday's that landed on the 13th.  

I'm not a big believer in luck in general.  I've had good luck in my life, and bad luck in my life.  I've never found one thing that has given more or less of either.  I've seen people that are very superstitious.  Working in the sports field for years, I can tell you athletes are the most superstitious people in the world.  The stories of not washing things, game day rituals, meals and timing are insane.  To the point of unhealthy.

To me, it's the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon.  Huh?  Yeah, that one. The phenomenon is simple:

The Baader-Meinhof phenomenon is a frequency bias. You notice something new, at least it’s new to you. It could be a word, a breed of dog, a particular style of house, or just about anything. Suddenly, you’re aware of that thing all over the place.

You know, just like you are thinking of buying something and then you see it on your phone.  Of course, if you actually search for it on your phone...the cookies will track you for the rest of your life.  That is for a different day.  But if you think about tacos for a week, you'll see memes, restaurants, ads and TV shows about tacos.  Because that is what you are thinking about.

Well, the same applies to luck and Friday the 13th.  If you believe it is an unlucky day then you will find every reason to believe something bad happened to you today. "Oh no, I spilled my coffee on my pants today!  Has to be Friday the 13th!"  Yeah, but you do that at least once a week.  You are just a clutz.

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