Disclaimer: I am neither an expert in psychology nor in theism; however, being raised by a compellingly religious mother (and having been equally superstitious) gave me a first-hand perspective on how the mind works in both theists and atheists.
When you’re less than a decade old, your mother’s word is your bible; every statement is trusted and acted upon without doubt. She once told my sister, that those with gaps between their fingers in a tightly closed palm have a tendency to spend away their savings. Being nine years old, I was not a financial wizard, but after glancing at my palm and my savings, I wasn’t doubtful that it was true; my savings have always taken a battering ever since I can remember.
Having two whorls on your head made you a special kid in Sri Lanka: I was constantly cautioned by all my relatives (and of course, my mother) to stay away from water as “fate” apparently has a tendency to drown me. If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me, “You have two whorls on your head: you can’t swim can you?”, I wouldn’t have a savings problem. But they were right, I couldn’t swim. I could never swim. The deeper end of a pool was always uncharted territory.
On my 12th birthday, in a pool somewhere in Dampé, Piliyandala, I had a strong determination to cross it without my feet touching the floor. I had always wanted to swim; the fact that I was the only one, in my close social circle who couldn’t, greatly fueled my determination.
Two minutes and a large breath later, I’d swum a quarter of the pool’s width. Further than I had ever traveled across water without walking. With ecstasy inflaming my motivation, I tried again. Accomplishing a slightly higher range, my determination, motivation and of course my enthusiasm, grew by the minute. The fact that I had two whorls on my head completely left my mind.
Now, almost a decade later, I can comfortably lap an Olympic sized pool eight times. I am nothing less than comfortable in deep water. My savings? It’s tough to not come across as a “bragger” if I mention a number – given societal norms – but if my income took a hit, I can comfortably survive for half a year without starving and with a roof over my head.
What changed? I stopped believing in beliefs that didn’t have any rationality in them. The placebo effect was barricading my abilities with confirmation bias greatly fuelling it. Once I stopped regarding superstitions, I managed to disprove almost every one of which were associated with me.
Once a believer believes a certain superstition, he/she would rarely even question, let alone challenge it. Which is exactly what should be done. The placebo effect, confirmation bias, anchoring, bandwagon effect, congruence bias and distinction bias are only a fraction of what takes place in a believer’s mind when he/she is bombarded with superstitions, which consequently make them true. Ironically, superstitions could very much be legitimate, unless you disbelieve them.
As the saying goes: man went to heaven and met God; they both exclaimed “My creator!”.
