[Scene: A cozy coffee shop in London. Two friends, Emma and Raj, are sitting by the window with steaming mugs of coffee.]
Emma: (tapping the wooden table twice) There! Now everything should go smoothly today.
Raj: (raising an eyebrow) Did you just knock on the table?
Emma: Yep. Knock on wood—classic good luck move. I don’t want to jinx my big client meeting later.
Raj: (laughing) Emma, seriously? You’re too smart to believe that knocking on wood changes anything.
Emma: Don’t mock it, Raj! It works. Every time I’ve done it before an important event, things went well. Exams, job interviews—you name it.
Raj: Or maybe you just remember the times it worked and conveniently forget when it didn’t. That’s called confirmation bias.
Emma: Oh, Mr. Scientist is here to ruin my fun again! Look, last year, before that huge presentation, I knocked on wood, and everything went perfectly. Coincidence? I think not.
Raj: Emma, come on. You also rehearsed for a week and drank enough coffee to power half of London. The knocking didn’t make your slides better.
Emma: Still, why risk it? It’s harmless. And don’t you dare say something like, “The wood doesn’t care.”
Raj: (grinning) But it doesn’t! It’s just cellulose and lignin. No magical powers hidden in the grain.
Emma: You sound like a chemistry textbook. But you know what? Superstitions make life fun. They give us a sense of control when things feel uncertain.
Raj: Fair point. Humans like patterns—we see meaning in randomness. That’s why people think a black cat crossing the road ruins their day or that walking under a ladder invites disaster.
Emma: Exactly! There’s history behind it too. Ancient people believed spirits lived in trees. Knocking was like asking them for protection.
Raj: Sure, but that was thousands of years ago, before we had weather apps and Wi-Fi. Do you still think an oak table has a hotline to the spirit world?
Emma: (laughing) Not exactly, but it feels comforting, you know? Like a little mental safety blanket.
Raj: Okay, I’ll give you that—psychology plays a role. But if you rely on it too much, you might think success depends on tapping furniture instead of your skills.
Emma: True, but I’m not saying knocking replaces hard work. It’s just a… ritual. Like your weird habit of organizing your Spotify playlists by mood.
Raj: Hey! That’s different. That’s efficiency, not superstition.
Emma: Efficiency? “Rainy Day Existential Crisis” is not efficiency, Raj.
Raj: (laughing) Alright, fair. But seriously, if you want luck, create it. Prepare, plan, work hard—that’s the real magic.
Emma: Fine, fine. But just for today, let me keep my wooden lifeline. And if my meeting goes well, you owe me coffee next time.
Raj: Deal. But if it doesn’t, we’re starting a new tradition: knocking on laptops.
Emma: (laughing) Done. But only if it’s a MacBook—gotta keep the spirits classy.
Science Vs Superstition 
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