Superstitions: Their Origins and Their Power to Influence

Aug 3, 2011
Joyin Chou

superstitions - Doug

Not only do superstitious beliefs have a tremendous power to influence people's lives, research findings suggest there may even be some truth to them

Superstitions around Numbers

Since time immemorial, our lives have been been intricately intertwined with numbers. While they clearly play an important role in helping us to conceptualise time, and quantify and denote the value of things, there is also a more imperceptible side of our relationship with numbers which lies in people's belief about their cosmic importance and their power to influence various aspects of our lives. There are many superstitions involving numbers. In the Western culture, 7 is generally deemed as lucky while 13 is unlucky, and 666 is thought to be the mark of the devil. In the eastern culture, 4 is considered unlucky while 6 and 8 are considered lucky.

Roots and Origins of Superstitions

Although taken at face value, these superstitious beliefs seem quite nonsensical, if we trace their roots, we’d find that there is in fact an explanation for them, with western superstitions usually based on historical and religious events. For example, the number seven is composed of four and three, which, among the Pythagoreans, were considered to be lucky numbers. Furthermore, according to Christian beliefs, there are seven days in Creation, seven graces, seven deadly sins, and seven divisions in the Lord's Prayer. Among the Hebrews, every seventh year was a sabbatical where fields were left untilled and all agricultural labours were suspended while Muslims believe that Allah (the Arabic word for God) created seven heavens. Unlucky 13, on the other hand, is associated with irregularity since it transgresses 12 which is thought to be a number symbolising wholeness as reflected by examples such as the twelve gods of Olympus, twelve tribes of Israel ,and twelve Apostles of Jesus, where the 13th disciple, Judas, who joined the table led to the detriment of Jesus. It has also been suggested that Friday 13 is considered an especially unlucky day because according to Christian scriptures Jesus was crucified on a Friday. In contrast, the roots of Eastern superstitious beliefs about numbers are relatively straightforward, revolving around the pronunciation of the words for number 4, 6 and 8. Four is considered unlucky as the word is a homonym for the word 'die' in Chinese while eight is thought to be lucky as it is a homonym for the word 'prosper,' and 'six' is a homonym for the word 'smooth.'

The Power of Superstitions

Though the scientifically minded may be dismissive of superstitions, in actual fact, they have tremendous power in influencing how people lead their lives ranging from people’s choice of lottery tickets, telephone numbers, number plates to where they live. In the Chinese culture, people avoid the number 4 to such an extent that many buildings such as hospitals don't have a 4th floor and people prefer not to live in number 4 residences. Similarly, in western culture, many buildings in the US such as hotels and office buildings don't have a 13th floor or even a room number 13. In fact, people's fear of number 13 is so great that there is a special term for it, 'triskaidekaphobia,' which literally means 'fear of the number 13.' Similarly, there is also a term for people afraid specifically of Friday the 13th, called 'friggatriskaidekaphobia.' According to the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina, an estimated 17 to 21 million people in the United States are affected by a fear of this day, with some people being so paralyzed by this fear that they avoid their normal routines in doing business, taking flights or even getting out of bed. It's been estimated that [US]$800 or $900 million is lost in business on this day.

Fact or Superstition?

While, by definition, the term superstitions implies an irrational belief that is held despite evidence pointing to the contrary, there has been evidence suggesting that people might actually be wise to avoid these so-called unlucky days. In a study conducted in the British Medical Journal in 1993, comparing the ratio of traffic accidents between Friday the 6th and Friday the 13th, it was found that there was a significant increase in traffic-related accidents on Friday the 13th. Similarly, in a study investigating deaths on days designated to be unlucky in the eastern culture, led by David Phillips of University of California-San Diego in 1998, it was found that deaths caused by heart attacks among U.S. residents of Chinese and Japanese descent spiked by an increase of 13percent on the fourth of the month. The trend was even more pronounced in California where there is a dense population of Chinese. Here, Cardiac deaths among Japanese and Chinese residents spiked by 27 percent on the fourth of the month.

Although the evidence pointing to more accidents on these days suggests there might be some truth to these beliefs, the fact that the incidence of deaths spike on different days for western and eastern cultures suggests that these results may be due to the power of suggestion. However, the evidence is certainly compelling and whether these beliefs are fact or superstition remains highly debatable among many.