Superstitious?

Not me! I have no belief in the supernatural at all. I also don't mess with it.

I think superstitions exist in all societies, and the extent to which people take them up perhaps depends on how generally anxious a person is about good or bad "luck". I do the salt thing (left shoulder) if I remember. Not much else (but read on...). Somebody once told me that if someone says 'bless you' after you sneeze (to drive the bad luck away), you should not thank them because that brings it back again. i foolishly mentioned this to my girlfriend, and now she is hyper aware of the danger that comes from saying 'thank you'. I told my boss about this, meaning it as an example of hyper-superstition, and now she is the same herself. Sometimes these things start as jokes (lots of things do, don't they?) For example my girlfriend, although atheist now, was brought up Catholic (I wasn't) and when we were first together for a joke I used to cross myself every time death was mentioned. Now, 23 years later, I myself feel I have to do it. Even at work. Some people surprise me by doing the same. Something my girlfriend taught me was this: when two people say the same thing at the same time, they should link their little fingers, shut their eyes and make a secret wish which is not to be revealed or it won't come true.

I spit 3x when a cat crosses the road.
I never like 13 around the table.
As a kid we did the same when both said something at the same time.
In the days of smoking - never 3 for one match.
Do not give yellow roses to anyone

I have a book about superstitions and it is fun to read about why it is like that.

In France you don't give chrysanthemums as a gift, or a knife. Wives should never iron their husbands underpants whilst wearing a belt – it will lead to him suffering kidney pain (I have been told this several times by French people). Move into your new French house by bringing the table in first, for good luck. For the same reason women should wear a polka dot dress on New years day.

Give as a present for people moving into a new home. Salt, bread and a coin, so they always will have something to eat and enough money.
Just gave my daughter a pink knife with polka dots. Should she only use it on New Year´s Day?

You can avoid the bad luck from a knife gift by paying the giver 10 French centimes (the bad luck is the 'cutting' of the friendship you have with the giver). She should probably cut bread with the knife on New Year's Day and sprinkle salt on it.

I was raised in a very superstitious environment.

Underneath every baby carriage and on every crib was a red ribbon. Why? To prevent a kunnahurra (curse). If someone said something nice, you had to say kunnahurra to ward off the evil eye.

I could go on. But I'll leave you with this one. My cousin was a sickly baby, and my grandmother was convinced that he was cursed. She went to the neighborhood witch, who confirmed her suspicions. Aside from her muttering and spitting (pooh, pooh, pooh), my cousin had to have a name that suggested that he would live a long time. His middle name (in English) is Old.

I think superstitions are a natural product of the human mind--why that is so, i haven't the foggiest notion. However, there are intelligent, well-educated people who in this electronic age, will voice superstitious ideas about why the computer won't work, or why you can't get in touch with someone by text message, etc. It just seems to be ingrained in the human psyche. Perhaps it is an artifact of some useful human trait, such as pattern thinking carried to an obsessive degree. Humans are curious, and seem to "need" to know, and superstition may fill the gaps. I am not, of course, in the least superstitious. So i'm not about to tell you people the advantages i have in the world as a result of my obsessive habits.

I am always amazed at how many people think that computer "viruses" are just floating around like real ones, and that a computer can become "infected" by accident.

My grandmother, who raised me, would give you a wry look if something did not go well, or as planned, and say: "You didn't hold your mouth right."

It's unlucky to be superstitious.

When a person just passed away a window in the room is should be opened.
The old superstition was to let the soul fly away.
(A nurse would do it to get fresh air)
I like the idea of the spirit or soul is free to escape.

Sort of related: I had DSL which as "always on" and came into my home over coaxial cable. I had a lot of problems at first, until a service technician finally came by on a Saturday, and told me that a damper had been put on the box outside to prevent me from "stealing" the cable television service. I explained to him that i don't watch television, and after a great deal of trouble convincing him that that was true, he removed the damper. I showed him that the coax went directly into the back of my "box," and that it was in no way connected to the fine, 20" television i had, which i only used to play console video games. Every few months, i had to call the company and set up an appointment to get a service tech to come on Saturday, and go through the entire rigamaole again. I finally convinced the ISP to give me a letter to show a service tech if one came by. (It's easy to spot someone prowling around, even though their intent isn't nefarious.) Invariably, they would say, "You don't watch television," as a statement, not a question. It was clear that they didn't believe me, and thought i was lying so that i could "steal" the television signal.

"Everybody watches tee-vee!"

Interesting. The Navajo (Indian tribe) *used to knock a hole in the north side of the hogan for the same reason. North is the direction of evil, by the way. East is the good side, so all hogans have the door facing east.

*They might still do that. Spirits are worrisome around here.

I had a girlfriend whose family was black Jamaican and she told me that when someone dies you have to get a broom and sweep the whole house, ending up sweeping through the open front door. This is to eject the person's soul and send it on its way, otherwise it is stuck in the house and wil haunt it. This is part of a set of beliefs called Obeah. She said she thought it was nonsense, but her mother firmly believed it.

When technicians from my cable supplier, VirginMedia come, they have an Apple tablet and they just call up my account details. Before that they used a cell phone to the service center. In the old days (pre digital) the coax carried all the terrestrial TV signals also and they didn't give a damn if you used them on your TV. When people closed their account they didn't even switch it off. Now it's all digital and they can make you pay.

Not superstitious at all. Never bought a lottery ticket in my life.

Some people are born favored because of genetics and/or social status of their parents that is about as far as it goes.

The rest is all up to random circumstance and predictability.

Black cats, ladders and beginner's luck all play on our fears and at best weaken our constitution toward reality.

It seems subtle and on the verge of comedy but deeper within superstition is a more sinister erosion of perception as to how we can command our own lives.

Speaking of souls. My button came off. My grandmother offered to sew it back on while I was still wearing the blouse. I said sure. Then she gave me some thread to chew on??? She said gum would work, but she didn't have any. Huh?

If something is sewn while it's on you, your soul will get sewn into your body and never be able to escape.

Sigh. Gimme the thread, grandma.

I'm not superstitious at all, nor am I religious at all. I was raised in a family of engineers and now I am a technology strategist. My personal experience would say that a lot of what you are is a result of your childhood environment. Mostly driven by parents and to a lesser extent by neighbors.