Scene: A cozy Moscow café near Kitay-Gorod. Snow is melting outside; warm mugs of tea steam between them.
Irina: (laughing) Dima, you won’t believe what happened this morning! I bumped into my old classmate—Katya from university—and I didn’t recognize her at all!
Dmitry: (sipping his tea) You forgot Katya? The one with the bright red hair and obsession with astrology?
Irina: Exactly! I stood there staring at her like she was a stranger. And guess what I told myself?
Dmitry: That you need to schedule a brain scan?
Irina: No, you grump. It means I’m going to be rich soon! You know the saying—if you forget someone’s name or don’t recognize them, wealth is on the way.
Dmitry: Oh Irina… that’s not a sign of money. That’s just your hippocampus taking a coffee break.
Irina: Pffft. You and your science. But think about it! Last month I forgot my dentist’s name mid-appointment, and two days later, I got that unexpected bonus at work.
Dmitry: You got the bonus because your team finished the project two weeks early. Cause and effect, not cosmic memory failure.
Irina: Still, don’t you think it’s strange how often it lines up? I forgot my neighbor’s name last year, and boom—my Etsy shop took off!
Dmitry: Okay, let’s do a little mental experiment. How many names do you forget that don’t lead to sudden cash flow?
Irina: Hmm… well, there was that barista I couldn’t place…
Dmitry: And did your bank account explode after that?
Irina: No, but I did get a free biscotti.
Dmitry: That’s called good customer service, not supernatural payroll.
Irina: But it makes life more fun, Dima. Don’t you think we all need a little magic in the everyday?
Dmitry: I agree—magic in the form of imagination, books, music. But attributing wealth to forgetfulness feels like… giving credit to a sneeze for winning the lottery.
Irina: You have no poetry in your soul.
Dmitry: I have poetry. It’s just not funded by short-term memory loss.
Irina: Fine, Mr. Logic. Then tell me—why do so many people believe these things? Across different cultures, too.
Dmitry: It’s simple: we’re pattern-seeking creatures. It comforts us to connect random events. It’s the same reason gamblers think they’re “due” for a win after a losing streak.
Irina: So you’re saying my brain is just… trying to comfort me?
Dmitry: In a way, yes. Like giving meaning to coincidences. It doesn’t make you silly—it makes you human.
Irina: Hmm. You’re annoyingly reasonable.
Dmitry: And you’re delightfully irrational. That’s why we work.
Irina: Deal. But if I do get rich next week, I’m buying you a very expensive book on neuroscience. With your name engraved. So you never forget me.
Dmitry: Only if it comes with a biscotti.
Science Vs Superstition 
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