Why do we knock on wood or carry around a rabbit’s foot? It certainly isn’t because these things will prevent us from experiencing a disaster. What they do, however, is make us feel as if they will.
“Don’t Jinx It,” my last column before my usual August break, dealt with superstitious behaviour. (For a real analysis of superstitious behaviour, check out Joe Rochford’s blog). It is the second time I addressed the issue in Métro. The first time was in the pre-blog era when I published Knock on Wood which appears below after Don’t Jinx It. (La version Française se trouve à la fin).
I don’t have much more to add to what I have already written (a testament either to the quality of what I have previously written or to the lack of room in my brain for any creative or interesting new idea). So, rather than repeat myself, I’ll just copy the two relevant columns. Enjoy.
Don’t jinx it!
(Source: La crainte du mauvais sort. Journal Métro, July 27, 2010)
I was talking about buying a second hand car with a friend the other day when she said, “I want to say something but I won’t. I don’t want to jinx things.” With a little coaxing I managed to pry it out of her. It turns out that she has had no trouble at all with her car and she wanted to recommend the same model to me. She was afraid that as soon as she mentioned how reliable her car has been to date she would start experiencing problems.
She is certainly not alone. It is a common fear. Many people get an anxious feeling in the pits of their stomachs whenever they tell others how happy they are and how well things are going. It is as if a little voice in their heads says, “Oh yeah! Just you wait and see, Mister.” This usually prompts them to knock on wood.
The fear of the jinx is a reflection of the natural survival instinct in humans. Bad things can and do happen. Having a sense of control over them helps us manage the anxiety created by this reality, even if the control is purely wishful thinking. In our efforts to avoid harm, our emotions can often tell us to do some pretty crazy things like touch wood or avoid saying certain words.
This is where the more developed rational parts of our brains can help.
Where’s the connection?
For a statement such as “I haven’t had any problems with my car to date,” to actually create problems implies that there is some sort of connection between the statement and the car’s mechanical reliability – that some higher power, for example, hears the statement and screws up the car on purpose. I don’t know about your beliefs but I would sincerely doubt that any being with that kind of power would concern him or herself with the transmission or brakes of this woman’s little Mazda.
Our rational brains know there is no connection between our superstitious statements or gestures and the actual outcome of events. Those who listen to their reason will learn to accept their fates. Those who listen to their emotions will try many things to avoid theirs, but in the end, fate will always prevail. And I haven’t jinxed anything by saying that.
Here is the older column:
Knock on wood (March 6, 2007)
My elderly parents are still alive and my kids are all healthy, knock on wood.
Have you ever wondered why we knock on wood or engage in other superstitious behaviours? Why, for example, some hockey players decide not to change their socks after a win? Or why at some point their loved ones might secretly pray for a loss, and cross their fingers while doing so?
Many things in life are unpleasant or even horrible to imagine. When we think of them it is natural to want to control destiny and do everything in our power to avoid those outcomes. But most misfortunes are unforeseeable and can happen at any moment. Accepting this fact is not something human beings do easily. Instead, we look to do something that can give us a sense of control such as knocking on wood, rubbing a rabbit’s foot, or praying to a piece of raisin bread that bears a striking resemblance to the Virgin Mary.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we had that kind of control over our destinies? Of course it would, but wanting something to be true does not make it so. These behaviours have no real impact on our lives and do not ensure safety. However, given the fact that horrible events do not happen to us every day, they will almost always appear to have worked. We can easily knock on wood hundreds of times without anything bad happening the next day. This spurious connection tells the emotional part of our brain that knocking on wood is a good thing. Even though the rational part of our brain knows that it makes no sense, this constant repetition continually strengthens the emotional connection.
Although superstitious behaviours are for the most part harmless, they illustrate well the frequent battle between reason and emotion. Human beings need both to survive. Emotion protects us from more immediate dangers such as an oncoming bus, while reason protects us from longer-term harm. It is what makes us try to eat properly or to exercise more. In this battle, sometimes our emotions win out and we do irrational things. Let’s just hope we don’t let these odd behaviours overly control our lives, knock on wood.
Voici la version Française de la chronique de 2007:
Toucher du bois
Mes vieux parents sont toujours en vie et mes enfants sont tous en bonne santé… je touche du bois!
Vous êtes-vous déjà demandé pourquoi nous touchons du bois ou adoptons d’autres comportements superstitieux? Pourquoi, par exemple, certains joueurs de hockey décident-ils de ne pas changer de bas après une victoire? Ou pourquoi, certains de leurs proches, à un certain point, vont secrètement prier pour une défaite tout en se croisant les doigts?
Plusieurs événements de la vie sont désagréables, voire horribles à imaginer. Lorsque nous pensons à ceux-ci, il est parfaitement normal que nous souhaitions contrôler notre destinée et faire tout ce que nous pouvons pour éviter qu’ils ne surviennent. Cependant, la plupart des malchances sont imprévisibles et peuvent se produire à tout moment. Les êtres humains ont du mal à accepter ce fait. Nous avons plutôt tendance à rechercher quelque chose qui nous procure un sentiment de contrôle, qu’il s’agisse de toucher du bois, de caresser une patte de lapin ou d’adresser nos prières à une tranche de pain aux raisins qui ressemble étrangement à la Vierge Marie.
Ne serait-il pas agréable d’exercer un tel type de contrôle sur notre destinée? Bien sûr! Mais le fait de souhaiter que quelque chose se produise ne veut pas forcément dire que cet événement va se réaliser. Nos comportements superstitieux n’ont aucune incidence réelle sur nos vies et n’assurent pas notre sécurité. Cependant, puisque nous ne sommes pas tous les jours victimes d’événements horribles, nos superstitions sembleront pratiquement toujours avoir eu l’effet escompté. Nous pouvons ainsi facilement toucher du bois des centaines de fois sans que rien de désagréable ne survienne le lendemain. Ce lien fallacieux transmet, à la partie émotionnelle de notre cerveau, le message que le fait de toucher du bois porte fruit. Même si la partie rationnelle de notre cerveau sait pertinemment que cela n’a aucun sens, cette répétition constante contribue à renforcer continuellement le lien émotionnel.
Bien que les comportements superstitieux soient, pour la plupart, sans danger, ils illustrent bien les fréquents conflits entre la raison et les émotions. Pour survivre, les êtres humains ont besoin autant de la raison que des émotions. Les émotions nous protègent de dangers plus immédiats, comme d’un autobus qui se dirige vers nous lorsque nous traversons la rue, tandis que la raison nous protège de dangers à plus long terme. C’est elle, qui nous incite à mieux nous alimenter ou à faire plus d’exercice. Nos émotions sortent parfois gagnantes de ce conflit et nous posons alors des gestes irrationnels. Espérons tout simplement que nous ne laisserons pas ces comportements étranges occuper trop de place dans nos vies…touchons du bois!
Tagged as Anxiety, jinx, knock on wood, superstition.
Posted in Anxiety, Human nature.
Posted on 11 Aug 2010
