Setting: A cold spring afternoon in a quiet Russian neighborhood. Two friends, Misha (superstitious) and Andrei (rational), are walking home from the grocery store, each carrying a bag of groceries and chatting.
Misha:
(suddenly stumbles) Ah, blyin! My left foot! I knew I shouldn’t have taken that shortcut past the old bakery. This is a sign.
Andrei:
(catching his arm) You okay? You didn’t twist anything, right?
Misha:
No, no. I’m fine physically. But I tripped with my left leg. And I was born on the 15th. An odd day! That means—ugh—bad luck is coming unless you slap my hand.
Andrei:
(sighing, amused) Not this again. You really believe that? Fine.
(lightly slaps Misha’s hand) There. Happy?
Misha:
Yes. Much better. The curse is broken. Thank you, comrade.
Andrei:
Misha, you’re a grown man with a mortgage. You seriously believe the Universe is out to get you because your foot placement doesn’t match your birthday?
Misha:
Don’t mock it, Andrei. My babushka swore by this rule. Once she ignored it—tripped on her right foot on the 8th—and three days later, the roof started leaking and her cat disappeared.
Andrei:
(grinning) Correlation doesn’t mean causation, my friend. Maybe the cat just didn’t like living with a woman who thought tripping predicted the weather.
Misha:
You laugh, but strange things do happen. One time, I forgot to follow the ritual, and that very night, my radiator exploded. Water everywhere. You were there!
Andrei:
Yes, and you also forgot to bleed the radiator for months. That’s plumbing negligence, not cosmic punishment.
Misha:
But what about Yuri? He was born on the 4th, tripped on his right foot, didn’t do the slap, and the next morning, he lost his job.
Andrei:
Yuri showed up late three times in a week and told his boss that the coffee machine had “bad energy.” He wasn’t fired for tripping wrong; he was fired for being Yuri.
Misha:
(laughing) Okay, fair. But don’t you think these traditions help? They give structure, keep you alert. Like psychological armor.
Andrei:
I agree they feel comforting. Humans love patterns—even when they’re imaginary. But wouldn’t it be more empowering to understand why things happen instead of fearing invisible punishments?
Misha:
Maybe. But when you grow up in a household where your mother salts your shoes before exams and your uncle won’t whistle indoors because it “summons bankruptcy,” it sticks with you.
Andrei:
True. Culture’s strong. I still knock wood even though I know trees don’t control fate. But I do it more out of habit, not belief.
Misha:
So you admit it—you’re not totally immune!
Andrei:
Touché. But I treat it like crossing myself near a church. A gesture of respect, not a pact with fate.
Misha:
(pauses, then smiles) I guess I like believing that my actions influence the invisible. It makes the world less chaotic.
Andrei:
Fair enough. Just promise me this—next time you trip, don’t panic. Blame gravity, not the calendar.
Misha:
Deal. But you’re still slapping my hand. Science or no science.
Andrei:
(laughs) Fine. I’ll be your rational hand-slapper. But I’m charging five rubles per superstition starting next week.
Science Vs Superstition 
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