[Namsan Ttalkbari] Why Writing Your Name in Red Doesn't Cause Death

Weaving Self-Narratives Around Vague Prophecies
It's Not Fortune Tellers or Fake News Deceiving Us, But Ourselves

He wrote his name in red and fell asleep, but woke up fine the next day. Every summer, he sleeps with a fan on, and he is still alive.

Science progresses and information becomes universal. Science has brought the absolute belief of religion down to the ground. The end of superstition seemed only a matter of time. Reality is different. Today's horoscopes, blood type personality theories, tarot, MBTI, and even fandom politics in which certain politicians are unconditionally supported and idolized... It is truly the heyday of superstition.

The United States is one of the countries severely affected by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. In one survey, 35% of Americans said, "I would not get vaccinated even if vaccines were distributed for free." One-third of Americans believe that COVID-19 vaccination causes autism. There is even a president who claims that "global warming is the greatest hoax."

Superstition is harmful to humanity. Especially harmful superstition is religion. Richard Dawkins, a scientist and author of "The Selfish Gene" and "The God Delusion," rewrote the lyrics of John Lennon's song "Imagine" as follows: "Imagine a world without religion. No suicide bombers, no 9/11, no Crusades, no witch hunts, no wars between Israel and Palestine, no whipping of women for showing their skin, imagine that."

Why does superstition not disappear? Do You Believe? I Believe! traces the origins and history of superstition to answer this question.

Superstition was born with humans. Our ancestors lived by gathering and hunting. They had to wander the wilderness in search of food and shelter. They suffered endless threats from wild beasts, rain, lightning, cold, and heat. The anguish over an unpredictable fate and persistent anxiety likely led to prayer.

Believing in superstition does not mean one is less intelligent or unusual. On the contrary, they are ordinary people. Our grandparents who said, "If you step on the threshold, your luck will leave," or "Do not go to a funeral before your wedding"...

Michael Jordan

Modern people sometimes create their own superstitions. The 'jinx' in sports is a representative example. Basketball player Michael Jordan wore his college shorts under his uniform every game. Soccer player David Beckham had a peculiar jinx called 'obsession with matching pairs.' Before a game, if he opened the refrigerator and the number of drinks was odd, he would throw one bottle away to make it even.

Which sport's players have the most jinxes? Baseball. Then, between pitchers and batters, who has more jinxes? In a matchup between one batter and one pitcher, the pitcher has a much higher chance of winning. A batter is considered excellent if he hits a hit 3 times out of 10 at-bats. This means, conversely, he failed 7 times out of 10. Anxiety and uncertainty are much greater.

The question of why women are more religiously inclined than men is related to this. According to government statistics as of 2015, there are 9 million male believers and 12 million female believers. Considering that religion is extremely patriarchal and oppressive to women, this is paradoxical. Here too, inequality of anxiety and uncertainty is hidden. In a patriarchal society, men have jobs, build families, and tend to carve their own fate. On the other hand, women's fate depends on their husbands. Luck is very important. They are more likely to fall into superstition and lean on religion.

Many businessmen and politicians consult fortune-tellers. A chairman of a major conglomerate used physiognomy for hiring new employees. Some politicians consult fortune-tellers before running for office. Because there are many variables in politics and business, they want to rely on superstition.

"If we believe that a certain action or object is connected to some supernatural power and that by following it, good luck will come (or misfortune can be avoided), we feel we can control the future to some extent." People gain stability by relying on superstition.

Prophecies are better the more ambiguous they are. If only the prophet is trusted, humans fit their own stories into the vague prophecy. It does not matter if the prophecy is wrong. If it is right, it is considered remarkable; if wrong, it is fortunate.

Ancient Greek politician Demosthenes said, "The easiest thing in the world is to deceive oneself. We are beings who believe anything we want to believe." It is not fortune-tellers or fake news that deceive us, but ourselves.

As long as humans exist on Earth, superstition will not disappear. Nor should it disappear. Human history often began with indiscriminate beliefs. Philosopher Slavoj ?i?ek called this the "leap of faith." Acting on belief in uncertain situations mostly failed but sometimes succeeded. This often became a choice that transcended historical stages. The heliocentric theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun was once a superstition.

Source: Asia Economy DB

The idea of condemning superstition solely by 'reason' is also dangerous. Science has advanced through falsification. A falsified hypothesis is not much different from superstition. Yesterday's science can become today's superstition, and today's science can become tomorrow's superstition. People say humanity can never return to the pre-COVID-19 era. Humanity cannot return to a world without superstition either. That does not mean it is inevitable to be swayed by superstition.

Mokja (墨子), whose face was rather dark, was traveling north to the state of Qi (齊) when he met a fortune-teller. The fortune-teller said, "Today the black dragon sheds flesh in the north sky. Since your face is dark, do not go north." Mokja ignored this and continued on his way. Sure enough, the bridge leading to Qi was broken. Mokja turned back. Then he met the fortune-teller again. The fortune-teller mocked, "What did I say? Today is not the day for the north."

Mokja replied, "You said since my face is dark, the north is not good today. But when I looked around at the broken bridge, there were others with dark faces like me, and even more with white faces. Yet none of them could cross the bridge. If only I with a dark face had bad luck, why couldn't the white-faced people cross either?"

Even those who do not believe in superstition can be shaken if it is closely related to them. In such times, think of Mokja. The center of the world is not me.

Do You Believe? I Believe! / Written by Ohu / East Asia Publishing / 16,000 KRW