[Scene: A street-side café in Salvador, Brazil. The sun is setting. Lucas and Mateus are sipping iced guaraná, people-watching.]
Lucas:
(scratches his ear)
There it goes again! My ear’s on fire, mano. Someone’s definitely gossiping about me.
Mateus:
You and that ear theory again? Come on, Lucas. Maybe it’s just the sun. Or allergies. Or your cheap shampoo.
Lucas:
Pffft. It’s not the shampoo! Every time this happens, something shady follows. Last week, my ear was burning all afternoon. That night, my cousin told me my ex was telling people I cried during Frozen 2.
Mateus:
Didn’t you actually cry during Frozen 2?
Lucas:
That’s not the point! The point is—how did my ear know?!
Mateus:
It didn’t know. That’s just confirmation bias, meu amigo. You remember the times your ear burned and gossip followed, but what about the other hundred times it got itchy and no one said anything?
Lucas:
Okay, Mr. Science. Then explain this—last year, my left ear was hot all morning. By lunch, my boss called me into his office. Turns out someone told him I was watching football during work hours. Which was only partially true.
Mateus:
Let me guess. Flamengo vs Palmeiras?
Lucas:
Of course! It was the semifinals! But still—the ear warned me. Left ear means bad gossip. Right ear means praise. Everyone knows that.
Mateus:
Lucas, that’s not science. It’s folklore. Passed down like “don’t open umbrellas indoors” or “never put your purse on the floor.” These are cultural stories, not biological truths.
Lucas:
So you’re saying all my ancestors were just making stuff up?
Mateus:
Not making stuff up—trying to make sense of the world before science could explain things. Think about it. An itchy ear could be caused by sweat, infection, or even just a mosquito bite. But since they didn’t have Google or dermatologists, they created meaning. It gave them a sense of control.
Lucas:
So…you’re saying my burning ear is just a rash, not a psychic antenna?
Mateus:
Exactly. But I get why you want it to be more. It’s comforting, in a weird way. Like checking your horoscope. It makes you feel prepared.
Lucas:
Hmm. Okay, what if—I say what if—you’re right? Then why does gossip always seem to find me after my ear goes hot?
Mateus:
Simple: because gossip is always happening. You’re just more tuned in when your ear itches. It primes your brain to look for drama. It’s like when you think about buying a red car and suddenly you see red cars everywhere.
Lucas:
Ah, like that time I dreamt about snakes and suddenly everyone on Instagram was posting about snakes. I thought it was a sign!
Mateus:
That’s your brain playing tricks. It looks for patterns, even when none exist. It’s called apophenia.
Lucas:
Apofa-what?
Mateus:
Apophenia. The tendency to see connections in random data. Like finding shapes in clouds. Or thinking the universe sends messages through itchy body parts.
Lucas:
But clouds do look like stuff! Yesterday I saw one that looked exactly like Neymar doing a bicycle kick.
Mateus:
Okay, bad example. That’s just your overactive imagination—and maybe obsession with Neymar.
Lucas:
Guilty.
Mateus:
Look, Lucas. Believe what you want. But maybe next time your ear burns, don’t assume it’s gossip. Maybe it’s just your body asking for sunscreen or a better moisturizer.
Lucas:
Or maybe it’s you, right now, gossiping to my face that I need lotion.
Mateus:
Busted.
[They both laugh. A vendor passes by, offering roasted corn.]
Lucas:
Alright, Mr. Rational. I’ll make a deal. Next time my ear burns, I’ll try not to jump to conclusions. But if it turns out someone’s talking smack again, you owe me dinner. Feijoada. With extra farofa.
Mateus:
Deal. But if it’s just a mosquito bite, you’re buying.
Lucas:
Fine. But let it be known—I trust my ears more than I trust your science.
Mateus:
And that, my friend, is why you’ll always be the most interesting person at the party.
Lucas:
Exactly. Now pass the guaraná before my other ear starts itching.
[Fade out, with sounds of laughter and street musicians tuning up in the background.]
Science Vs Superstition 
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