Setting: A cozy downtown Toronto coffee shop on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Two friends, Arjun and Liam, are catching up over coffee and pastries. Arjun is practical and logical, while Liam is imaginative and superstitious.
Liam: (stirring his coffee nervously) You’re not gonna believe what happened this morning.
Arjun: If you say Mercury is in retrograde again, I swear I’m walking out.
Liam: Worse! I was heading out for groceries and right outside my apartment—bam!—a black cat darted across my path. Full-on eye contact. I turned around and came straight back inside.
Arjun: (laughs) So you canceled your whole trip… because of a cat?
Liam: Not just a cat, the cat. It was a warning, man. Black cats are bad luck. Everyone knows that.
Arjun: Liam, you live in Toronto. If you avoid errands every time a black cat shows up, you’ll starve by November. They’re everywhere!
Liam: That’s why I carry salt packets in my backpack. You know, to throw over my shoulder. Just in case.
Arjun: (nearly chokes on his muffin) You’re carrying condiment-grade talismans to fend off feline-based bad omens?
Liam: Hey, laugh all you want. Last time I ignored the sign and went ahead anyway, I slipped on the ice, lost my keys, and got a parking ticket.
Arjun: Correlation doesn’t equal causation, my guy. Maybe if you wore proper boots, checked your pockets before locking your car, and didn’t treat fire hydrants like loading zones, you’d have been fine.
Liam: Or… maybe the universe was clearly trying to tell me something. These things aren’t coincidences.
Arjun: But think about it: that black cat didn’t cause your bad day. It was just a random animal doing cat things. It’s like blaming squirrels for your Wi-Fi going out because one ran across a cable line. It’s superstition, not science.
Liam: You scientists are no fun. You can’t measure everything. What about intuition? Vibes? The energy of things?
Arjun: Oh, I’m all for vibes. But blaming cats for cosmic conspiracies feels unfair. Especially to the cats.
Liam: Look, maybe it’s not scientific, but these beliefs have been around for centuries. You think people just made them up for fun?
Arjun: Honestly? Kind of, yeah. In medieval Europe, black cats got a bad rep because of silly fears about witchcraft. People thought they were witches’ familiars. But in Japan, black cats are considered lucky.
Liam: Seriously?
Arjun: Yep. In some cultures, they even attract suitors or bring prosperity. It’s totally cultural. Not universal. That alone should tell you the whole thing is… flexible.
Liam: Okay, that’s mildly comforting. But you can’t deny weird things do happen after I see one.
Arjun: Alright, then let’s do an experiment. Next time you see a black cat, don’t change your plans. Just live your day like normal. We’ll track the outcomes.
Liam: Like a superstition diary?
Arjun: Exactly. We’ll get a spreadsheet going. “Date: May 23rd. Event: Black cat seen near subway station. Outcome: Coffee spilled, but also found $5.”
Liam: That sounds oddly appealing. Can we call it “The Cat-astrophe Log”?
Arjun: Absolutely. And I’ll even throw in a bar graph. Superstition meets science.
Liam: You realize this means I have to face the next black cat instead of fleeing like it’s a four-legged dementor.
Arjun: Yes. Channel your inner Gryffindor. Just don’t throw salt at it.
Liam: No promises.
Arjun: Deal. And if something truly bizarre happens—like you win the lottery or get abducted by aliens—I’ll write a whole research paper titled “The Feline Phenomenon: An Inquiry into Omen-based Decision-Making in Urban Canada.”
Liam: You’re such a nerd.
Arjun: And you’re a magical salt-slinger. We’re even.
[End Scene]
Science Vs Superstition 
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