prillalar | Signs point to yes.

I am superstitious. It was buying codeine yesterday that made me realise it, drugstore brand acetaminophen with codeine.

Background is: I'm an atheist, pride myself on being coldly rational, read Sagan and Shermer, don't hold with astrology or psychics or alien abduction.

But when I was buying Gravol and codeine for my headache, I realised that while I was planning to take the Gravol, the codeine was just to have and if I had it, I wouldn't need to take it. I don't have to shake the bottle so it rattles, or anything, but I have to have it with me.

I'm a gamer (D&D, etc) and I have some game-related superstitions as well. I will not let anyone touch my dice and if someone does, I can no longer use that die. And our group has this thing where it's bad luck for a player to roll on the battle map. (It's just fine for the DM to do so.) We're divided on whether putting your character sheet or a book on top and rolling on that will block the bad luck.

And then there's the Magic 8-Ball. I picked it up a few years ago when I was doing tech support as kind of a joke. "Will you be able to fix my email?" "Let's see -- *shakeshakeshake* -- 'Reply hazy, try again.'"

I have it at my current work place now and we're much more serious about consulting it. We don't use it too often, since that would cheapen it. And we don't ask unless we really want to know. The unanswered question:

Does the Magic 8-Ball predict the future or does it create the future?

But the 8-Ball is more than that to me. I'm an atheist now but I was raised a Christian and it wasn't until I was an adult that my beliefs changed. There are a lot of things that are still ingrained and one of them is prayer. If you've been brought up to pray for things -- all the time -- it's hard to stop that, especially in stressful situations.

So, in order to help myself get out of the habit, I decided to substitute the Magic 8-Ball for God in those situations. If I found myself saying in my head, "please don't let x happen," I would tack on "O Magic 8-Ball." If someone sneezed, and I said "bless you," it was the blessings of the Magic 8-Ball I was imparting.

This worked in one sense in that those little prayers come up much less often. But now I fear and respect the Magic 8-Ball. When the 8-Ball was going through a phase when it would never give us a straight answer (I think one of my co-workers has no fate whatsoever), I asked my partner what I should do. He suggested putting it in the closet for a while, to punish it.

I was horrified. And a tiny bit scared. Instead, we left it alone for a while, so it could rest. It seemed happy with that.

Last December, as a favour, I went to my partner's church to see their Christmas musical. I was sitting in the pew and singing a carol and into my mind floated the thought: I hope the Magic 8-Ball isn't angry with me for being here.

So, there it is: I am a follower of the Magic 8-Ball. As gods go, it's not very demanding and it will answer your questions when you ask.

I'm just glad Sagan will never know.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I misread psychics as "physics" - I was trying to figure out what atheism and physics had to do with reading Carl Sagan?

am an utter t00b.

Also I bowl in the Carl Sagan memorial bowling league. He was one of the original members in the sixties when he lived here in Cambridge.

We don't actually call it the CS memorial league - that is just the way I think of it in my head. I aslo wonder if he bowled in turtlenecks...

Really, what is it about gaming that brings out the superstition in all of us? Our DM has a set of orange dice that we all *know* is unlucky (the d20 rolls 3's with *far* above average regularity), and yet he continues to use them, claiming it gives the players an advantage. Drop a die on the floor as you're rolling it? "That's bad luck," we all chorus, and usually it is. Zach has a die he says he's "training" to roll high by keeping it on the 20 side whenever he's not using it. Alex has "high" dice and "low" dice. I choose which of my three d20's to use by randomly reaching into my bag, because the one I grab must be "lucky." Hell, we're even deciding things on coin flips these days.

BUT... we are not under the protection and guidance of the Magic 8 Ball. Wish we were. *g*

.m

Yeah, my partner trains his dice too. And I have a special d20 that I only use for combat rolls. And...and..and... *g*

It's funny how when a die rolls oddly, like you mention, we attribute it to luck, rather than wondering if it's rolling true.

And now I'm thinking about Bob and Dave and Brian at Gary Jackson's funeral...

Too funny. I'm an atheist, and I still say "God bless you" when someone sneezes, although I'm aware it makes no sense. Usually I say it in German, just to make it a little less obvious but it's still ridiculous. Except that what else would one say?

I'm not exactly an atheist, but I'm close, and I don't say "god bless you" when someone sneezes. I'm aware that not saying it can be considered rude, but I find the whole thing ridiculous. The theory is that when you sneeze, your soul is vulnerable to satan. I might as well be saying "unicorns bless you!" for all the good it would do. *g*

The nice thing about the German gesundheit is that it doesn't actually mean "god bless you" so you can still be polite without bringing god into it.

I might as well be saying "unicorns bless you!" for all the good it would do.

Well, if it's the Invisible Pink Unicorn (peace be unto her) then it might help.

I think the 8 Ball knows all and sees all, and that by telling you what will happen, it changes how it will happen.

But then I kiss my fingers and pass the kiss to the ceiling when I drive through yellow lights, because I was told that if you do that and make a wish and you run three yellow lights in a row, your wish will come true.

So.

Now that's one I've never heard. I recommend wishing not to be in a car accident.

Signs point to yes.

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fortune teller, fortune teller...

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