How the number 13 became synonymous with bad luck in the West and how influential its reputation is

The elevator company Otis Elevator Co. Accordingly, for every building with the number “13”, the other six buildings say one is absent. Goes directly to 14.

Many Westerners change their behavior on Friday the 13th, and sure, sometimes bad things happen on that date, but there’s no evidence that they do so disproportionately.

As a sociologist specializing in social psychology and group processes, I am not interested in individual fears and obsessions. What fascinates me is that millions of people share the same misconception and it affects behavior on a large scale. So is the power of 13.

Source of bad reputation of number 13 –“Triskidegaphobia”– Cloudy and speculative.

The historical explanation may be as simple as its coincidental match with the lucky 12.

Joe Nickell investigates claims of the paranormal for the Skeptical Investigations Group, a non-profit organization that scientifically investigates controversial and unusual claims.

He says 12 indicatesMostly “integrity”: the number of months of the year, the gods of Olympus, the signs of the zodiac, and the apostles of Jesus. Thirteen contrasts with this sense of goodness and perfection.

Number 13 can be associated with some famous but unpleasant dinner guests. In Norse mythology, the god Loki was the thirteenth person to come to a feast in Valhalla. There he cheated another guest Baldur must kill the god.

In Christianity, the apostle Judas, who betrayed Jesus, He was the thirteenth guest At the Last Supper.

But the reality is that sociocultural processes can associate bad luck with any number. When circumstances are favorable, a rumor or A superstition creates their own social realityIt snowballs like an urban legend as it rolls down the hill of time.

In Japan, 9 An unlucky number, perhaps synonymous with the Japanese word for “misery”. In Italy, it’s 17. In Chinese, 4 Sounds like “death” and is more actively avoided in daily life than 13 in Western culture, with a willingness to pay more to avoid it in a cell phone number.

Although 666 is considered lucky in China, many Christians around the world associate it with an evil beast described in the biblical book of Revelation. 666 There is even a word for extreme fear: hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia.

There are many different types of specific phobias, and people have them for a variety of psychological reasons. They can arise from direct negative experiences, for example bees become frightened after being stung by someone.

Other risk factors for developing a phobia include being too young, Having family members with phobias, having a highly sensitive personality, and being exposed to others with phobias.

Part of the 13’s reputation may be related to a sense of ignorance or “Sense of disorganization“, is called in psychological literature. In everyday life, 13 is less than 12. There is no 13th month, 13 inch (33.02 cm) rule, or 13 hours (in hours).

In and of itself, the feeling of not knowing doesn’t cause a fear, but psychological studies show that it can be beneficial to us. Family And we deny the non-existent. It facilitates 13 with negative attributes.

People may assign dark attributes to the 13th for the same reason that many believe in “full moon effects.” Beliefs that the full moon affects mental health, crime rates, accidents and other human disasters have been completely discredited.

However, when people seek to confirm their beliefs, they are likely to infer connections between unrelated factors.

For example, getting into a car accident during a full moon or on Friday the 13th makes the event seem even more memorable and meaningful. Once fixed, these beliefs are very difficult to remove.

Then there are the powerful effects of social influences. It takes a city or Twitter to rally fears around a certain innocuous number.

The appearance of any superstition in a social group – the fear of the number 13, walking under stairs, not entering a crack, touching a tree, etc. – is no different than the appearance of a “meme”.

Although the term now refers to images widely shared on the Internet, it was first introduced by biologist Richard Dawkins to help describe how an idea, innovation, fad, or other information spreads among people.

A memory, by definition, is like a Fragment of genetic code– Multiplies itself when interacting with people, with the ability to transform into alternate versions of itself.

Meme 13 is a simple truth related to bad luck. It resonates with people for the reasons mentioned above, and then it spreads throughout the culture. Once purchased, This fake knowledge It gives believers control over the evils associated with it.

Groups concerned with public relations feel the need to succumb to popular superstitions. Perhaps because of the almost tragic mission Apollo 13NASA discontinued the numbering of space shuttle missions, and Shuttle Flight 13 was designated STS-41-G.

In Belgium, complaints from superstitious passengers led Brussels Airlines to redesign its logo in 2006. It is a “b” like image made of 13 dots. The airline added 14. Like many other airlines, The number of rows of his planes skips 13.

Because superstitions are inherently false, they are likely to do evil as well as good; Consider healthcare fraud, for example.

I like to believe that influential companies, maybe even Lyft companies, will do betterWarn the public about the dangers of holding false beliefs Continue to legalize them.

*Barry Markowski He is a teacherin Sociology from the University of South Carolina, USA.

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