Jason: Hey, I found the perfect birthday gift for Daniel. A beautiful automatic watch. Classic design, leather strap, looks expensive without actually destroying my bank account.
Kevin: Wait. You’re buying him a watch?
Jason: Yes. Why are you looking at me like I’ve just announced I’m moving to Mars?
Kevin: Jason, you can’t give someone a clock or a watch as a gift! Have you forgotten what that means in Chinese culture?
Jason: Oh, here we go. Let me guess. The watch will stop ticking, and Daniel’s life will stop ticking with it?
Kevin: Don’t joke about this! In Chinese tradition, giving a clock is associated with attending someone’s funeral or marking the end of their life. The phrase song zhong sounds like the expression for seeing someone off at the end of their life. It’s considered seriously unlucky.
Jason: I know the tradition. I’ve heard it since childhood. But tell me something: is the watch dangerous, or is the meaning we’ve attached to it dangerous?
Kevin: Very clever. But traditions exist for a reason. My grandmother always said never to give clocks as gifts. She wouldn’t even let anyone bring one into the house as a birthday present.
Jason: Fair enough. But did she ever explain how a watch could cause someone’s death?
Kevin: Not everything needs a scientific explanation. Some things are about respect, cultural meaning, and avoiding bad luck. Why invite trouble when you can simply choose another gift?
Jason: That’s a reasonable argument if you’re talking about respecting someone’s feelings. But it’s different from believing the gift actually brings bad luck.
Kevin: Easy for you to say. You don’t have to deal with my auntie if something goes wrong!
Jason: Your auntie sounds more dangerous than the watch.
Kevin: Much more dangerous. She once gave my cousin a twenty-minute lecture because he wore black to a family celebration.
Jason: See? That’s a real consequence. A lecture from your auntie. We have evidence for that.
Kevin: Laugh all you want. When I was twelve, my uncle gave my grandfather a beautiful wall clock for his birthday. Six months later, my grandfather was hospitalised. Everyone in the family remembered that clock.
Jason: I’m sorry about your grandfather. That must have been frightening for your family. But what happened to the clock?
Kevin: It’s still in my aunt’s storage room. Nobody wants it.
Jason: So your grandfather became ill six months after receiving the clock, and the family connected the two events. But did the clock cause his illness?
Kevin: Obviously, I can’t prove that.
Jason: Exactly. People receive thousands of gifts, experience hundreds of ordinary events, and eventually something unfortunate happens. If we remember the gift that came before the tragedy but ignore all the gifts that didn’t lead to anything bad, we can start seeing a connection that isn’t really there.
Kevin: You’re talking about coincidence.
Jason: Yes, and confirmation bias, too. We remember the examples that fit our beliefs and overlook the ones that don’t.
Kevin: Fine, Professor. But what about people who genuinely believe these things? Are you saying they’re all foolish?
Jason: Not at all. Humans naturally look for patterns, especially when we’re worried about people we love. And traditions can have deep emotional significance. I’m questioning whether the belief predicts real-world harm, not whether the culture deserves respect.
Kevin: Then explain this. My colleague gave his girlfriend a watch for their anniversary. They broke up three months later. She even told him the watch was a bad omen.
Jason: Did the watch cause the breakup, or did they have relationship problems?
Kevin: Apparently, they were arguing for weeks.
Jason: There you go. The arguments were evidence of trouble in the relationship. The watch was just an object that happened to be part of the story.
Kevin: Unless the universe was sending them a message.
Jason: If the universe is sending messages through watches, it really needs to improve its communication skills. Why not send an email?
Kevin: Imagine getting a notification: “Dear Kevin, your relationship is ending. Please update your software.”
Jason: I’d accept that. At least the universe would finally be transparent about its terms and conditions.
Kevin: All right, all right. But suppose you give Daniel the watch, and he gets upset. Wouldn’t that make you a terrible friend?
Jason: Now that’s a much stronger argument. If Daniel believes the gift is unlucky, giving it to him without considering his feelings would be thoughtless. I’d rather make him happy than win an argument about superstition.
Kevin: So you’re admitting I have a point.
Jason: Of course. I just think the point is about consideration, not supernatural danger. If Daniel dislikes watches because of this tradition, I’ll choose something else. But I won’t believe that a watch has the power to shorten his life.
Kevin: My grandmother would say that even if you don’t believe in bad luck, you shouldn’t tempt fate.
Jason: And I’d ask her whether she uses a smartphone.
Kevin: What does that have to do with anything?
Jason: Smartphones display the time. Smartwatches display the time. Computers display the time. Hong Kong’s MTR stations display the time. Are we all surrounded by tiny funeral invitations?
Kevin: Don’t be ridiculous. Giving someone a clock is different from checking the time on your phone.
Jason: I agree that the cultural meaning is different. That’s precisely my point. The symbolism comes from how people interpret the act, not from some measurable property of the clock itself.
Kevin: You make it sound so simple.
Jason: The belief is culturally specific, but the reasoning is universal. If we want to know whether something causes harm, we look for reliable evidence, not just stories about events that happened afterward.
Kevin: Has anyone actually studied whether receiving a watch causes bad luck?
Jason: You wouldn’t even need a special study to recognise the problem with that claim. There’s no credible scientific evidence that giving someone a clock or watch causes illness, death, or misfortune. And a personal anecdote can’t establish that causal connection.
Kevin: So, if I gave you a watch tomorrow, you’d happily accept it?
Jason: Absolutely. Provided it isn’t one of those enormous gold watches that makes me look like a nightclub owner from the 1980s.
Kevin: What if I gave you a clock shaped like a skull?
Jason: That’s not superstition. That’s just terrible interior design.
Kevin: Fine. I think I’m beginning to understand your argument. The tradition has meaning because people give it meaning. But that doesn’t mean the object itself has some mysterious power.
Jason: Exactly. And you don’t have to abandon the tradition to accept that distinction. You can choose not to give clocks because you value the custom or want to avoid upsetting someone. You just don’t have to believe that ignoring it will bring death.
Kevin: Hmm. Maybe I’ll give Daniel a nice fountain pen instead.
Jason: Great choice. Although, given how badly he writes, perhaps the pen will bring grammatical misfortune.
Kevin: Stop it! I’m trying to become a rational person here.
Jason: Take your time. Rationality is a journey, not a birthday present.
Kevin: Speaking of presents, when’s your birthday?
Jason: Next month.
Kevin: Perfect. I’m buying you a clock.
Jason: Wonderful. Make sure it has an alarm.
Kevin: Why?
Jason: So it can wake me up if your superstitions ever start making sense.
Kevin: You’re impossible, Jason.
Jason: And yet, somehow, still alive. Even after all those watches I’ve received.
Kevin: Don’t say that too loudly. My grandmother might hear you from Kowloon.
Jason: Then we’d better order another coffee. We may need the extra time to explain confirmation bias to her.
Kevin: I’ll order it. But I’m not paying for your coffee if the clock brings bad luck.
Jason: Deal. If anything terrible happens, we’ll blame the coffee machine. It’s much more suspicious.
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