Tonight some friends and I performed a little ritual to honor my impending journey into Calculus. We placed one of my big fat calculus books next to a laptop computer and put a candle, safely contained in glass, on top of the math book. Lighting the candle, we took turns reciting blessings from different religious traditions (Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, Islamic, Neo-Pagan) over the sacred objects. This is not just for superstition or good luck. I would like to continue to bring a spiritual dimension to my math and science studies. I usually hesitate to mention spirituality here at ELECTRON BLUE because I don't want to alienate my Atheist readers. But both art and mathematics have been enriched by spirituality and religion as long as they have existed, which is all of human history. Symbolic actions with light, fire, and fragrance connect the world of abstraction with the world of the senses. This would make sense whether it is in a religious context or not.

If the Red Sox lose the World Series, it will be my fault

And now from thoughtful ritual to gross superstition. Boston is one of the greatest sports towns in the United States, and it is also one of the most superstitious. The Red Sox, with their long history of catastrophe and sudden turns of fate, invite the worst superstitions. Deranged Boston fans, of which I am one, lose complete track of causality during the baseball season, let alone the postseason. They actually believe that their actions in the workplace or in front of the TV, not even present at the ballpark, influence the plays and the outcome of the game. Not only are there special garments to wear, such as my 18-year-old "victory shirt" commemorating the 1986 American League championship, but there are special objects to venerate, such as a Pedro Martinez bobblehead doll or a stained-glass roundel featuring the Boston "B." (This last item is in my collection.)

They won the first game of the World Series. One down, six to go. Did they win because I did NOT watch the game on TV? If I watch the game on TV the next night, will they lose? If I talk about the game at work, will that jinx it? One cannot talk about winning, that is definitely bad juju. So if I ignore the game entirely until it is over and I see it on the news, will that be good luck? What if I follow it by Internet updates but no live action? What will disturb fate the least? The question is, what will disturb ME the least. There's no solution for that.

Posted at 2:30 am | link