This incident took place while I was working for a construction firm in Florida. On a Thursday afternoon, we got a call in office asking us to send our representative for a contract negotiation. I was assigned this task but we soon realized that the next day was the thirteenth of the month. Now in America, Friday the 13th is considered quite unlucky but we couldn’t think of not going, since it was an important contract for us.

Someone suggested that I start my journey on the 12th itself. We tried but couldn’t get a seat on any flight out of our town. Since I personally had no such superstition, I was quite amused by all the commotion. To cut a long story short, I took a morning flight on the 13th ; landed quite safely ; participated in the contract discussion ; and signed the contract on favourable terms. My people, who had made such a fuss about Friday the 13th, were speechless, though happily so.

A superstition is a traditional belief that a certain action or event can cause or foretell an apparently unrelated event. For example, many people around the world believe that if a black cat crosses their path, they will have bad luck. The park I go to for morning walks has a resident black cat. Obviously, she crosses my path every other day but I have found no connection with this to what happens thereafter.

Perhaps a few occurrences spawned such beliefs. But in statistics, probability is always based on large data, not a few incidents. So what should an intelligent person do ? Personally, I neither reject all superstitions as unscientific nor accept them blindly. If I must travel on Friday the 13th , I shall do so ; I just chant God’s name before I commence my journey. After all, God is more powerful than any ill luck. For other decisions like a wedding day, why not stick with dates and times condiered auspicious ? And if a lucky charm boosts our confidence, why not keep it ?