https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger GNED 1512 - Assignment 2 Ashley Alladin en-us 2016-11-17 02:12:41 UTC 2023-03-29 18:06:22 UTC hello@padlet.com ashleyalladin https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/138294161 This is a picture of common superstitions known to most people.

Analysis
People tend to believe in superstitions because they play on our emotions and there is also no real scientific proof to prove or disprove that they are real. People tend to believe in superstitions because of simplicity. It's much easier to just believe that superstitions are real instead of finding scientific proof to prove or disprove superstitions.]]> 2016-11-17 02:16:52 UTC https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/138294161 ashleyalladin https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/138294771 This is a picture explaining a common superstition known to Korea.

Analysis
Many people in Korea believe that leaving the fan on inside a closed room while you sleep will kill you. This falls into the "Reasons for Belief" we have discussed in the course under "Simplicity". It is easier for people to believe in this superstition and instead sleep without the fan on, for example, then to back it up with scientific proof with reported cases of this actually happening not only in Korea, but around the world.]]> 2016-11-17 02:23:23 UTC https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/138294771 ashleyalladin https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139934771 This is a quote from famous American comedian and television star, Groucho Marx.
Analysis
I chose this picture because it kind of is a play on superstitions being a pseudoscience. A black cat crossing your path does not always mean bad luck, the cat could simply just be walking somewhere. We don't really have much information on whether superstitions are real or not.

]]> 2016-11-25 19:23:51 UTC https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139934771 ashleyalladin https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935336 GNED 1512 - Assignment 2 

Ashley Alladin

]]> 2016-11-25 19:32:48 UTC https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935336 ashleyalladin https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935421 This is a video containing 10 of the top superstitions known to most people.

Analysis
This video discusses 10 of the most common superstitions. The pseudoscience red flag, "Appeal to Authority" is used a lot throughout this video. While providing us with examples of superstition, this video uses TV and movie clips. For the average person watching a video like this, they make believe that because it happened to their favorite character in a show/movie, it must be true. Also, the pseudoscience red flag, "Ancient Wisdom", is present in this clip. A lot of the superstitions discussed came from ancient times, such as black cats and spilling salt, have been around for many years. Thus, because it has been around for so long, people tend to believe it is true.

]]> 2016-11-25 19:34:21 UTC https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935421 ashleyalladin https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935623 This is video containing 5 superstition facts.

Analysis
This video discusses 5 superstition facts. Number 4 is titled, "With Great Power comes Great Superstition". The pseudoscience red flag, "Appeal to Authority", is present in this fact because they discuss how back in the day Napoleon Bonaparte regularly consulted with a clairvoyant because he was a very superstitious individual. In the modern world, individuals such as Michael Jordan, Patrick Watt and Tiger Woods have their own superstitions as well. Michael Jordan always wore the same pair of red shorts because he believes they brought him good luck. Tiger Woods would wear a red shirt during a Sunday round because he believed it was good luck. When people see that their idols or celebrities believe in these superstitions, it is more likely for them to believe in it as well because someone in an authority position or that they look up to believes in them, so then they believe that it must be real. People believe in superstitions based on their Perception/Observation. For example, Michael Jordan only wore that pair of red shorts because he believed that they brought him good luck. There is no scientific proof that this was in fact true, but because the majority of the time he wore them, he would win a game, he was convinced that they were a good luck charm. Number 2 is titled, "Black Cats used to Bring Good Luck. This superstition discusses how back in the day some people used to believe that black cats were actually good luck. But based on Ancient Wisdom, from what we know about witchcraft and black cats, usually black cats are perceived to bring you bad luck for instance if one happens to cross your path. 

]]> 2016-11-25 19:37:42 UTC https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935623 ashleyalladin https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935913 This video discusses whether or not superstitions are real and if there is scientific proof that they are real or not.

Analysis
This video was created by a Youtube channel that claims they provide medical news, health information and fitness tips as general knowledge for the community. In this video in particular, they discuss whether or not superstitions are real. This physician speaking in the video, based on experiments he has done and his experiences, he believes that superstitions are created from the "fear" component in our brains and that there is in fact scientific proof that superstitions are real. I found there to be a lot of red herrings in this video. I find that he does not answer the questions directly or goes off topic within his answer. To me, this contributes to proving that superstitions are a pseudoscience because not even physicians/scientists can find scientific reasoning as to whether or not superstitions are real or just made up based on our every day fears.

]]> 2016-11-25 19:42:57 UTC https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935913 ashleyalladin https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935930 Analysis
This website discusses why people believe in superstitions. People tend to believe in superstitions because they do not like ambiguity in their life, they worry about life or they have a strong need for control. The word superstition is designated to the beliefs that result from ignorance and the fear of the unknown. People believe in superstitions because of unexplained. We can't explain why people are superstitious and why they exist but it gives people something to believe in and ponder upon. This website suggests that superstitions can be classified as religious, cultural or personal. Quite a few superstitions belong to certain cultures or religions which have been carried over throughout many decades. This article also states that a lot of the time, superstitions arise out of stress. We are always looking for reasons as to why misfortunes happen to us or reasons for our mistakes. People use this emotional connection to relate their problems or misfortunes to superstitions and blame it on those. These emotions blur our rational thinking as to the real reason why something bad may have happened. Also, I believe that a lot of people believe in superstitions not because of a scientific reason, but because of confirmation bias. People will tend to remember the events that happen that coincide with their beliefs. Therefore, they will be more likely to remember times when their superstition was validated as opposed to times where it wasn't.

]]> 2016-11-25 19:43:11 UTC https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935930 ashleyalladin https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935957 Analysis
This website discusses superstitions and their origins. Superstitions date back to early man's time and have been passed on from generation to generation. I found that majority of this article is based upon Ancient Wisdom. A lot of superstitions were created back in 18th and 19th century and have been passed on and also different meanings have become associated with them. For example, in Ancient Egypt, all cats, including black cats, were regarded as protecting humans from injury and death. Also, it is customary in England and Ireland that black cats bring good luck. But on the other end of the spectrum, during the Middle Ages, black cats were seen as evil and bad luck and companions to witches that should be destroyed. The majority of the superstitions on this website were created in Ancient times when we were not very knowledgeable in science and did not have the technology we have today to prove or disprove superstitions. But because of proof by verbosity, where we have all this evidence of superstitions being true over the course of centuries, people become more inclined to just believe it than challenge it because it has been right all these years so why bother changing it now.

]]> 2016-11-25 19:43:38 UTC https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935957 ashleyalladin https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935965 Analysis
This article discusses why we believe in superstitions even though we already know that they are not true. This article states that from research done at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, our brain is unable to reverse our irrational thinking. Our brains either go towards intuition or rationality. The article states that in "special situations" or brains will acquiesces and succumb to superstitions and believing them. Based upon Appeal to Authority and Ideological Support, the average person who may come across this article and decide to read it will believe that everything being said in the article is true. Meanwhile, there is no concrete scientific proof in the article or anywhere for that matter that proves to us that superstitions are real and not just a pseudoscience. People believe in superstitions because of simplicity. It's easier for them to just believe that breaking a mirror will cause them 7 years of bad luck when meanwhile they will probably forget about that ever happening during those 7 years and may have some of the best years of their life. People who are not aware of pseudoscience and what is are more likely to believe in things such as superstitions, or ghosts or mediums because they do not realize there is no scientific evidence to support that these entities and events are actually real.]]> 2016-11-25 19:43:48 UTC https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139935965 ashleyalladin https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139936236 2016-11-25 19:48:43 UTC https://padlet.com/ashleyalladin/2nky5jv6mger/wish/139936236