Why are we superstitious?

[Fininho]

I mean, all of us, in modern times?*
Is it perhaps genetic?
...
[* Can you honestly say that you are not superstitious one way or another, honest, honest, honest?]

[LegendarySandwich]

I think it's too assuming to say that everyone is superstitious. Granted, most of us probably are, at least subconsciously, but I don't think everyone has to be. As for why we are, I think it could be because of things we heard or were taught early on and never let go of (at least not on a subconscious level).

[Matt]

It's natural to be superstitious.  It's been shown that if you stick a squirrel in a box and feed it a food pellet at random intervals it will eventually settle on a pattern of activity that it thinks will get it food, even though it does nothing.  Humans have the ability to overcome this, but most people don't take the time to examine what they do and remove aspects which are useless.  There's also that feeling that something bad will happen if one doesn't do what the superstition says, and often people prefer to do what is "safe", since there's not a whole lot of gain in testing their superstition.

[LegendarySandwich]

It's natural to be superstitious.  It's been shown that if you stick a squirrel in a box and feed it a food pellet at random intervals it will eventually settle on a pattern of activity that it thinks will get it food, even though it does nothing.  Humans have the ability to overcome this, but most people don't take the time to examine what they do and remove aspects which are useless.  There's also that feeling that something bad will happen if one doesn't do what the superstition says, and often people prefer to do what is "safe", since there's not a whole lot of gain in testing their superstition.

This makes sense. I think we should do what's in our ability to overcome superstitious behavior, although it may be hard to quit or even identify which of the actions we do are useless.

[Fininho]

Good posts, so far. Hope the 13th will not be too bad...!

[Will]

It's what we had before we developed a teachable understanding of empirical evidence. For a while, it was useful in trying to use intuition to pick out patterns, but now it's like an appendix: when it's sitting there not doing anything it doesn't matter, but when it's agitated it can burst and create an infection.

[Asmodean]

Superstitious behaviour is, boiled down to its basics, recognising patterns where there are none. It's a side effect of recognising patterns where there actually are such one time too many.

[Tank]

Superstitious behaviour is, boiled down to its basics, recognising patterns where there are none. It's a side effect of recognising patterns where there actually are such one time too many.

I think this is part of it but I think there is also the aspect of pattern recognition and our ability to understand cause and effect and deduce effect from cause under most circumstances. So when we can see an effect but not the cause we substitute superstition for knowledge as we can't bear not knowing.

So what makes the sun rise? No idea! Goddidit!!

[Islador]

We're superstitious because our mind has a habit of assuming that correlation = causation. We can somewhat overide this impulse if we really think about things but for the most part people are quite content to believe whatever their mind tells them to believe because it often identifies actual instances of causation which aid survival. Where it doesn't critical thinking could highlight where the system has misfired but other things such as a desire to fit into ones social group often overide critical thinking.

In my experience people generally don't like those who question things and especially so when the person doing the questioning is onto something.

[Thumpalumpacus]

[* Can you honestly say that you are not superstitious one way or another, honest, honest, honest?]

Yes, yes, yes.  Speak for yourself, and not me, kthx.

[Gawen]

I mean, all of us, in modern times?*
Is it perhaps genetic?
...
[* Can you honestly say that you are not superstitious one way or another, honest, honest, honest?]

There's not a superstitious bone in my body.

[The Magic Pudding]

There's not a superstitious bone in my body.

Of course, only chickens (and birds I suppose) have wishbones, unless Beth Orton lied to me.

They got a wish bone
Where their back bone should have grown