[Scene: East Coast Park, Singapore. The two friends are sitting on a bench eating ice cream. The moon is bright over the sea.]
Arjun: Wah, look at the moon tonight! So clear, right? Like National Day spotlight.
Wei Ming: Eh! Don’t point at it! Later your ear get cut, then you know.
Arjun: (laughs) Bro, relax. I’m just pointing, not challenging it to a fight.
Wei Ming: I’m serious. My grandma always said, “Don’t point at the moon. The moon goddess will slice your ear.” Last time my cousin pointed, next day got small cut behind his ear.
Arjun: Behind his ear? That’s probably a mosquito bite he scratched too hard.
Wei Ming: You don’t know. These things very real one. My whole family believes it.
Arjun: Okay, but think logically. The moon is about 384,000 kilometers away. How it going to aim specifically at your ear?
Wei Ming: It’s not about distance. It’s about respect. You point at sacred things, you invite bad luck.
Arjun: I get the “respect” part. That makes sense culturally. But physically cutting your ear? There’s no mechanism. No lasers from the moon, no invisible knives.
Wei Ming: You always want scientific explanation. Some things cannot measure with ruler and calculator.
Arjun: True, not everything is measurable. But if it’s a physical injury, there must be a physical cause. Skin doesn’t just slice itself because you extended your index finger.
Wei Ming: Then how you explain my cousin’s ear?
Arjun: Correlation, not causation. If I eat prata and then it rains, doesn’t mean prata causes rain.
Wei Ming: Eh, don’t insult prata.
Arjun: (laughs) Sorry, sorry. My point is—kids get tiny scratches all the time. Fingernails, sharp pillow zippers, even dry skin cracking.
Wei Ming: But why so many elders say the same thing?
Arjun: Probably to stop children from pointing. In some cultures, pointing is rude. Especially at the sky, temples, or important symbols. So they attach a scary consequence. Instant behavior control.
Wei Ming: So you’re saying my grandma invented horror story parenting?
Arjun: Not invented. Passed down. It’s like “Don’t sweep at night or you sweep away your wealth.” It teaches caution, not physics.
Wei Ming: But the moon feels special what. Mid-Autumn Festival, lanterns, mooncakes… It’s not just a rock.
Arjun: Emotionally, yes. Culturally, yes. But scientifically, it is a rock reflecting sunlight. Beautiful rock, though.
Wei Ming: You very heartless leh.
Arjun: I still appreciate it! I just don’t think it’s holding a tiny parang waiting for your ear.
Wei Ming: (laughs despite himself) Okay that image quite funny.
Arjun: Tell you what. I’ll point at the moon now. If tomorrow my ear is fine, you owe me kopi.
Wei Ming: And if your ear got cut?
Arjun: Then I’ll admit the moon has excellent aim.
Wei Ming: Don’t play play. Later really happen.
Arjun: Look—(points dramatically)—HELLO MOON.
Wei Ming: Wah lao eh! Don’t drag me into this.
Arjun: Relax. If anything happens, we’ll check CCTV footage. Scientific method.
Wei Ming: You really trust science that much ah?
Arjun: Not blindly. But science tests ideas. If pointing causes ear cuts, hospitals in Singapore would see a spike every Mid-Autumn Festival.
Wei Ming: That’s true… KK Hospital would be full of ear cases.
Arjun: Exactly. But we don’t see that pattern.
Wei Ming: Still… I won’t point. Just in case.
Arjun: That’s fine. You don’t have to. Beliefs are personal. I just don’t want you living in fear of random celestial body.
Wei Ming: I’m not scared okay. Just… respectful.
Arjun: Fair enough. Respect is good. Fear without evidence? Maybe not necessary.
Wei Ming: You know what? Maybe it’s less about ears and more about humility. Like, don’t point fingers at things bigger than you.
Arjun: Now that’s a philosophical upgrade. I can support that.
Wei Ming: So we agree? You use science, I use tradition. Both can admire the moon.
Arjun: Deal. But if my ear is perfectly fine tomorrow, kopi on you.
Wei Ming: If your ear fine, I buy kopi. If got cut, I bring you to my grandma for apology ceremony.
Arjun: That one I’m actually more afraid of.
Wei Ming: See? Finally you admit fear.
Arjun: Not of the moon. Of your grandma.
Wei Ming: Fair enough.
[They both laugh, sitting quietly as the moon reflects on the water—pointed at or not, unchanged.]
Science Vs Superstition 
Tell Us What You Think