Seven Years of Bad Luck

Eight moves and the set of two matching mirrors survived. One unfortunate rainy day with a miss judged toss of my towel and I break one. If I was superstitious I may start wondering if I'm in for seven years of bad luck, or would it be three and a half since it was only half of a set pair. No matter. Though many superstitions have a time and a place, most all do not play a significant role in modern society. Those few superstitions that seem to be true have more to do with self fulfilling prophecy than actual truth.

Beginner's luck has everything to do with a novice having lower levels of anxiety about winning. A beginner actually having luck is just a case of confirmation bias. Confirmation bias is a psychological phenomenon in which people are more likely to remember events that confirm their world view (e.g. remember the time as a beginner they won at gambling, and forget the three times as a beginner they lost).

How about black cats crossing ones path? There is no evidence that a domestic animal such as a cat crossing ones path will bring bad luck regardless of its color. This clearly dates back to when it was common practice to fear witches and their familiars, which were most commonly depicted as domestic creatures such as a cat.

Bad luck comes in threes or deaths come in threes. Can anybody say confirmation bias. When one or two unfortunate things happen almost invariable people look for the pattern look for the third. Which brings me to my broken mirror. Though the superstition of seven years of bad luck for breaking a mirror has its intriguing origins. The instances or patterns of bad luck that some people may claim have more to do with confirmation bias than actual bad luck. the Idea behind the breaking of the mirror stems from the ancient belief that ones reflection holds a piece of the persons soul. If a mirror or image became distorted it would subsequently distort the soul of the individual. So breaking a mirror, breaks ones soul or health, a distinctly unlucky thing to do. Thank goodness I'm not superstitious.