As I think of the word "superstition", a few words come to mind: omens, myths, beliefs, customs, traditions, and even religion. In ancient Egypt, the bodies of important people were mummifies. As part of their religious beliefs, their organs were removed and stored in Canopic Jars. In ancient Greece, the custom of hospitality was greatly practiced because it was believed that gods adopted human forms and interacted with the people.
There is a good chance that just about everyone you know, and probably you too, practices some sort of superstition of some sort. A sports athlete who never changes his "lucky pair of socks", a health conscious phonetic who eats "an apple a day to keep the doctor away", even the math wiz kid who uses the same pencil during each flawless exam taken are all examples of superstitions.
Superstition, like most human behavior, can be explained psychologically and medically. Most have simply just been passed through the generations. Studies have shown that men are typically less superstitious than woman, as well as younger people tend to be more superstitious than the old. What do you think? My intent in these next few blogs is to dig a little deeper into the root of superstation and try to understand the orgins, beliefs, and backgrounds of some of the most common superstations we all typically practice or know.
Works sited:
"superstition." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 28 October 2008
2 comments:
Fed, This was exactly what I was looking for. What a great introduction! I would like to see which studies you mention here that say that men are less superstitious than women? Has it been repeated in other similar studies?
Fed,
I am somewhat superstitious and can't wait to read more of your blog. How do we develop these phobias. I remember as a child if I swept one of my parents foot with the broom, they would spit on it. Yeah, I know sounds weird. We also never washed clothes on holidays and I still don't! We believed that if you did, someone in the family would die that year. I have the slightest ideal where this theory came from. I'm really looking forward to gaining some understanding through your blog.
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