1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren bog Obam here. Every culture has its 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: own superstitions, or magical thinking, as some psychologists call it. 4 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: Superstitious beliefs go back as far as human history, and 5 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:21,600 Speaker 1: they still exist today, from sports stars who perform certain 6 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: rituals before games to people who won't walk under a 7 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: ladder or who always knock on wood for luck. Many 8 00:00:28,040 --> 00:00:30,600 Speaker 1: of us even do these things without thinking. That's how 9 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: ingrained in our behaviors superstitions are. If superstitions go back 10 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,680 Speaker 1: so far in history and remain so common, is it 11 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,880 Speaker 1: possible that humans evolved to think this way. Some scientists 12 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:46,880 Speaker 1: and psychologists say yes, we are indeed wired for magical thinking. 13 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:51,840 Speaker 1: Superstitious thinking is the result of falsely linking a cause 14 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:55,520 Speaker 1: to an effect. Using the sports example, if a baseball 15 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: player hits a home run during a playoff game and 16 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:01,000 Speaker 1: happened to not shave that day, he may decide his 17 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,120 Speaker 1: unshaven face brought him luck and refused to shave for 18 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:06,720 Speaker 1: the rest of the series. In reality, it was his 19 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,119 Speaker 1: skill as a ballplayer and a little bit of chance 20 00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: that brought him that home run. But he's not going 21 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,759 Speaker 1: to take any risks, and the comfort of believing that 22 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:18,320 Speaker 1: he may have some control over his destiny may actually 23 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:23,959 Speaker 1: improve his performance. But back to evolution. In prehistoric times, 24 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: humans had to be constantly alert for predators. The sound 25 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 1: of wrestling in the grass, for example, might signify an 26 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: animal or enemy preparing to strike. On the other hand, 27 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: it could just be a breeze. However, for self preservation, 28 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: this human had to decide quickly the cost of being 29 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: right or wrong about the origin of the wrestling Airing 30 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:46,280 Speaker 1: on the side of caution could save their life, and 31 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: if they were right and it was a dangerous predator, 32 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 1: chances are that human would flee without weighing the chances 33 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 1: when they heard wrestling any time after that. Further, if 34 00:01:56,440 --> 00:01:59,400 Speaker 1: multiple signals preceded the arrival of a predator, such as 35 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: a full moon, our prehistoric friend might also make the 36 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,400 Speaker 1: false association that a rustling sound during a full moon 37 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: definitely meant a dangerous animal was in the vicinity from 38 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: a very real threat, a superstition is born. Our brains 39 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 1: connect the dots in a situation, whether or not it's logical, 40 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: and we adapt our behavior accordingly. Even other animals besides 41 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:25,800 Speaker 1: humans are superstitious. Evolutionary biologist Kevin Foster uses pigeons as 42 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: an example. You might notice that if you clap your 43 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,600 Speaker 1: hands at a nearby pigeon, it'll quickly fly away, even 44 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,840 Speaker 1: though pigeons are pretty smart. No really, they are smart 45 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:37,919 Speaker 1: enough anyway to tell the difference between the sound of 46 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: a gunshot, which would mean near certain death, and a 47 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,640 Speaker 1: hand clap, which is harmless. The pigeon will flee the 48 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:47,799 Speaker 1: scene just in case. The pigeon evolved, just like our ancestors, 49 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:50,400 Speaker 1: to be better safe than sorry, And if you think 50 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,520 Speaker 1: about it, the theory of natural selection favors these early 51 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:59,120 Speaker 1: superstitious creatures humans and animals alike. Sometimes, however, superstitions can 52 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: contribute towards eyes. A two thousand three studies showed that 53 00:03:02,560 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: road fatalities in South Africa were ten times more frequent 54 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 1: than in the United States. Much of this is blamed 55 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: on a superstitious belief that accidents result from witchcraft or 56 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: that certain medicines can prevent car crashes. The more superstitious 57 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: the driver, the higher the accident rate. This goes to 58 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:22,640 Speaker 1: show that, like the fight or flight response triggered by stress, 59 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: are ingrained tendencies for superstitious beliefs can be just as 60 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: likely to work to our detriment as to our benefit. 61 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Deborah Ranca and produced by 62 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio's 63 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. For more on this and lots of 64 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:44,040 Speaker 1: other evolving topics, visit our home planet, how Stuff Works 65 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: dot com, and for more podcasts. For my heart Radio, 66 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 67 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.