What is superstitiousness?

You think it’s “seeing a black cat, thinking it’s a bad omen”. You think it’s stupid.

It’s only as stupid as your own collection of cognitive biases.

This one is called Post hoc ergo propter hoc. The Post hoc fallacy. Correlation does not imply causation.

But you don’t realise it.

You are so desperate to find the pattern, to find the method — that you are drawing absurd conclusions.

A wrong conclusion is a wrong conclusion. It doesn’t matter how ridiculous it sounds. Be it walking under a ladder, or a black fucking cat. You make millions of such snap judgements, instant-conclusions every day. You can as well be scared of a black cat.

 

You are 100% superstitious anytime you are certain.

There is no certainty.

You can at best be quite certain. But never completely certain.

And 99% of your certainty in life is just complete nonsense. Just an utter superstition.

Get real by admitting to your ignorance. Know that you know nothing. It’s not about some false modesty. It’s about not being fucking stupid. Not going about talking nonsense.

You know nothing. That is the reality.

Understanding it is the beginning of wisdom.