Daniel: Arjun, I need your opinion. I found a beautiful apartment in Tiong Bahru. Great location, huge windows, even a nice view.
Arjun: That sounds promising. What’s the problem?
Daniel: The bedroom.
Arjun: Haunted?
Daniel: Worse.
Arjun: Worse than haunted?
Daniel: There’s a beam directly above where the bed would go.
Arjun: Ah. The terrifying structural beam.
Daniel: Don’t laugh. You know what that means.
Arjun: That your ceiling has excellent engineering?
Daniel: It means your luck and health can get “pressed” down. You’re not supposed to sleep under a beam.
Arjun: Says who?
Daniel: Feng shui tradition. My grandmother always warned us about it. She said if you sleep under a beam, you’ll feel pressure, become unhealthy, and your luck will gradually disappear.
Arjun: Gradually disappear?
Daniel: Yes.
Arjun: Does it leave a forwarding address?
Daniel: Very funny.
Arjun: Okay, okay. I know people take this seriously. But let’s separate two things: whether a beam can make you uncomfortable, and whether it can actually affect your luck or health through some invisible force.
Daniel: Why assume there’s no force just because science hasn’t measured it?
Arjun: Because that’s how evidence works. If someone claims a physical effect exists, we’d expect some measurable evidence for it.
Daniel: But traditional beliefs have existed for hundreds of years. Surely people didn’t believe this for no reason.
Arjun: Not necessarily. Traditions often begin with practical observations and then acquire supernatural explanations.
Daniel: Give me an example.
Arjun: Imagine you’re sleeping under a massive low beam. The ceiling feels oppressive. The beam blocks visual space. You might subconsciously feel that something heavy is hanging over you.
Daniel: Exactly! That’s why it affects you.
Arjun: Wait. That’s different. Your brain reacting to the environment is perfectly plausible. Saying the beam literally suppresses your luck isn’t supported by evidence.
Daniel: But I’ve actually experienced it.
Arjun: What happened?
Daniel: In my old flat, my bed was under a beam. For several months I kept getting headaches and felt tired. Then I moved the bed.
Arjun: And?
Daniel: I felt better.
Arjun: Did you change anything else?
Daniel: Not really.
Arjun: Sleeping position? Mattress? Air-conditioning? Work schedule? Stress? Caffeine? How many hours you slept?
Daniel: I was working late at that time.
Arjun: There we go.
Daniel: Maybe. But I still think the beam contributed.
Arjun: It could have contributed psychologically or physically if it affected your comfort. But that’s not the same as saying the beam was draining your health.
Daniel: You scientists always want everything measured.
Arjun: Yes. That’s generally considered one of our better habits.
Daniel: Suppose two identical bedrooms existed. One had a beam over the bed and the other didn’t. What would happen?
Arjun: Good question. We’d randomly assign people to the rooms, control other factors, measure sleep quality, stress, blood pressure, health outcomes, and follow them over time.
Daniel: And if the beam room had worse results?
Arjun: Then I’d take the claim seriously and investigate further.
Daniel: Really?
Arjun: Absolutely. Science isn’t about defending a conclusion. It’s about testing one.
Daniel: So if the data showed beams were harmful, you’d stop sleeping under one?
Arjun: Immediately.
Daniel: Even if you couldn’t explain why?
Arjun: Yes. First establish that the effect is real. Then investigate the mechanism.
Daniel: Hmm.
Arjun: But there’s another problem with these beliefs.
Daniel: What?
Arjun: Confirmation bias.
Daniel: You’re going to blame my brain now?
Arjun: A little.
Daniel: Typical.
Arjun: Think about it. Suppose you sleep under a beam and have a terrible week. You remember it and think, “See? The beam caused it.”
Daniel: Reasonable.
Arjun: But suppose you sleep under the beam for six months and nothing happens. You probably don’t tell your friends, “Great news! The beam didn’t destroy my luck today.”
Daniel: Fair point.
Arjun: Exactly. We naturally remember events that confirm what we already believe.
Daniel: But traditional beliefs aren’t always superstition. Some feng shui recommendations actually make sense.
Arjun: I agree.
Daniel: For example, not putting the bed directly in front of a door can make the room feel more secure.
Arjun: Yes. Or keeping a bedroom uncluttered can improve comfort. Natural light, ventilation, temperature, noise levels—all of those genuinely affect sleep and well-being.
Daniel: So you’re saying some traditional rules may contain practical wisdom, even if the explanation is wrong?
Arjun: Exactly.
Daniel: Like saying, “Don’t sleep under a beam because it presses down your luck” might actually have originated because people felt uncomfortable beneath heavy structures.
Arjun: That’s one plausible explanation. We can’t know the exact historical origin without evidence, but it’s certainly more compatible with what we know about perception and sleep.
Daniel: My grandmother would say you’re overthinking it.
Arjun: Your grandmother probably wouldn’t enjoy a two-hour lecture on cognitive bias either.
Daniel: Definitely not. She once told me not to cut my nails at night because it would bring bad luck.
Arjun: Before electric lighting, that might have been sensible advice.
Daniel: Why?
Arjun: Poor lighting. Sharp tools. Higher chance of cutting yourself.
Daniel: So my grandmother was secretly doing risk management.
Arjun: Exactly.
Daniel: What about the beam, then? Would you personally sleep under it?
Arjun: If it was structurally safe and didn’t interfere with my comfort, yes.
Daniel: And if I sleep under it?
Arjun: If it bothers you psychologically, move the bed.
Daniel: Even though you think the superstition is nonsense?
Arjun: Yes. You don’t need a supernatural explanation to justify making yourself comfortable.
Daniel: That’s actually a good point.
Arjun: If moving the bed costs nothing and makes you sleep better, move it. Just don’t conclude that the universe is punishing you because of the ceiling.
Daniel: What if I move the bed and suddenly get promoted?
Arjun: Then I’ll help you move every piece of furniture in your house.
Daniel: Deal.
Arjun: But if you get promoted after leaving the beam, don’t forget that your performance, timing, workplace, and decisions might have had something to do with it.
Daniel: You really know how to ruin a magical moment.
Arjun: Someone has to.
Daniel: Still, I’m not sleeping under that beam.
Arjun: Fine.
Daniel: And I’m putting a plant there instead.
Arjun: Why?
Daniel: Better energy.
Arjun: As long as the plant has good lighting and you don’t expect it to pay your mortgage.
Daniel: No promises.
Arjun: Come on. Let’s go see the apartment.
Daniel: I’ll come.
Arjun: And if there’s a beam?
Daniel: We negotiate with the landlord.
Arjun: Finally. A scientifically supported solution.
Daniel: Don’t push your luck.
Arjun: See? Now you’re the one talking about luck.
Science Vs Superstition 
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