Setting: Late afternoon in São Paulo. João and Marcos, two long-time friends in their early 30s, are sitting on João’s veranda sipping coffee. A small bem-te-vi (a common Brazilian bird) had flown into João’s house earlier that day, causing a bit of panic.
João: (still visibly shaken) Cara, I swear to you, I felt my heart stop when that bird flew in. You know what that means, right?
Marcos: (smirking over his cup) Yeah. It means you left the window open and the poor guy was probably chasing a mosquito.
João: Don’t joke about this, Marcos. You know the saying—“If a bird enters your house, someone’s going to die.” It’s serious. My aunt Lurdes said the same thing happened before my great-uncle Tadeu passed.
Marcos: João, with all due respect to aunt Lurdes and poor uncle Tadeu, but people die all the time. Correlation isn’t causation. If a bird flying into a house meant someone was going to die, half of Brazil would be in mourning every day.
João: But it’s happened more than once! Remember when Dona Celeste’s parrot escaped and flew into the neighbor’s house? The guy had a heart attack a week later!
Marcos: Dona Celeste’s parrot also screams “Vai Corinthians!” every morning. Maybe the neighbor died of stress.
João: (chuckling despite himself) That bird is obnoxious, I’ll give you that. But still, how do you explain the pattern? It’s not just in Brazil. I saw an article online saying people in Ireland and India believe the same thing.
Marcos: Cultural patterns, sure. It’s a global thing to associate animals with omens. In medieval Europe, black cats were bad luck. Now we keep them as pets and post them on Instagram.
João: But isn’t it strange that across the world, people have the same superstition? Doesn’t that make it more likely there’s some truth to it?
Marcos: Not necessarily. It just means humans are really good at seeing patterns—even when none exist. It’s called apophenia. Our brains are wired to connect dots. It’s useful for surviving in the wild, but not always for understanding the modern world.
João: (narrowing eyes) You’re doing that thing again where you use smart words to make me doubt my ancestors.
Marcos: I’m just saying maybe your ancestors didn’t have Google or ornithologists. João, if a bird flies in, it could be lost, hungry, or sees its reflection in the window. Not a cosmic message from the beyond.
João: Okay, science guy, explain this: my neighbor Davi said his cousin had a bird fly in on the exact day her mother-in-law passed away.
Marcos: João. That’s called confirmation bias. You remember the hits, forget the misses. What about the thousands of days birds fly in and no one dies? Like today. Your mom called just now. She’s fine. Your dog’s napping. I’m here drinking coffee, very much alive.
João: (pausing) For now…
Marcos: (laughing) Okay, okay, let me propose a test. Let’s keep track: every time a bird flies into your house, we note it down. If someone dies within 48 hours, we mark it. After, say, ten incidents, we’ll analyze the data. Deal?
João: Ten? That’s too many. I don’t think my heart can handle that much doom.
Marcos: Or you’ll realize it’s just feathered chaos and not a winged grim reaper.
João: Hmph. Still feels weird. I mean, why birds?
Marcos: Maybe because they come from the sky. We’ve always associated the sky with gods, spirits, and signs. It’s poetic. But not necessarily scientific.
João: So you’re saying I should ignore centuries of tradition?
Marcos: I’m saying honor the tradition, understand where it comes from—but don’t let it control you. Light a candle if it brings you peace, but don’t live in fear because of a bird with bad GPS.
João: (grinning) You know, I like that. “A bird with bad GPS.” You should write that on a T-shirt.
Marcos: I’ll put it right under “Science: Ruining Superstitions Since Forever.”
João: Alright, fine. I’ll try not to panic next time. But if I die in the next two days, you’re gonna feel really bad.
Marcos: If you die, I’ll give your eulogy—and I’ll start it with, “He was right about the bird.”
João: Deal.
Marcos: Deal. Now let’s close your window before another one flies in and ruins your evening again.
[Fade out with the two of them laughing, João half-seriously looking over his shoulder for birds, and Marcos shaking his head with a smile.]
Science Vs Superstition 
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