Lucky Charms: Science Shows Those Pre-Game Rituals Do Help

38 chute. But even beyond the heartless murder and the lack of love, nobody knows of a passion to pursue, books do not exist, and life is so structured that it is difficult to see the use in living it. People are shielded from suffering, but there is simply nothing worth suffering for. This idea has been exploited countless times in art and literature—it seems a topic that remains always on the human mind. If we were all handed a magic wand and told to build our own personal utopias, designed to conquer the deepest desires of our souls and satisfy all that we need, it remains doubtful that anybody would be able to do so. Each person’s idyll is distinct, even from one’s closest companions. One could not expect that their dream world would align completely with that of everybody they love. And so, either people are lonely, or they compromise. Yet compromising doesn’t seem to be in the description of a utopia. So, what? We have clones made of our best friends and convince ourselves they’re the real thing? This approach is merely ignorance, and ignorance, however blissful it may be, is not a state in which I would like to exist. There is always a catch. Always. And yet, there are two people, two figures both remarkably famous and infamous, who have supposedly existed in paradise: Adam and Eve. According to the legend, the pair existed happily in the Garden of Eden, simply going about life in a state of peace and contentment, never truly troubled with the burden of being human. And yet, Adam and Eve never experienced any fervent degree of happiness. They simply existed in constant contentment—something quite apart from joy. They were ignorant to knowledge and would never be able to feel the wonder of learning or the satisfaction of producing an idea. They were simply there, wanting for nothing but also knowing of nothing to want. What changed? Simply put, Adam and Eve discovered things that they had not known before, that they had not been allowed to reach: knowledge and passion. It is interesting that a part of what God called sin is what we call joy. What he called paradise is what we call complacency. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were content, but outside of it, they were human. They were in love. Their minds were open to knowledge and growth. But they were also vulnerable in so many ways. Are happiness and freedom contingent upon suffering? If so, is it worth the trade off? Or is it better to exist passively—with no pain but also no golden moments? But as I ponder this further, I find myself wondering what the difference between genuine happiness and the illusion of happiness actually is. If happiness is, in its truest form, a feeling of complete contentment and the living of a life that brings a person a sense of excitement, it is simply an emotion. And if a person is under the impression that they are experiencing said emotion, how is it any different from the reality? Blissful ignorance, certainly, involves a lack of awareness concerning the world and the unpleasantness inherent in existence, but it satisfies the illusion of happiness. Perhaps that is all that is needed— ignorance, illusions, and ultimately, contentment. Surely there is more to joy than that, though. The difference must then be that a person can not know genuine happiness if they have not suffered. One cannot appreciate the sun until they have been cold, or water until their mouth has been dry. It is as a rainbow after a storm; one must see the bad to earn something rare and lovely. It is almost as if life is more enjoyable with pain. It is very possible that we find a sort of glorifying satisfaction in suffering. Or maybe, subconsciously, we appreciate its necessity. It is a muddling paradox. To suffer is to persist—and the power of persistence is invaluable. If we suffer through pain, if we suffer through darkness, if we suffer through sorrow, we are living despite it all.

This certainly does not mean that all levels of suffering are necessary. Famine, abuse, slavery, all the gravest problems that plague our world. If humankind were less nested in the idea of fighting for luxury and domination, perhaps we would move toward defeating these greater sufferings with a more fervent pursuit. Alas, here we are, It is as a rainbow after a storm; one must see the bad to earn something rare and lovely.

living in a country of climbers, fighting to be on top of the gilded mountain we call home. And every time someone lands upon its tiny summit, they cut the ropes that harness in the people clinging on to its scraggly edge. If that person gave up the idea of luxury, they could build a plateau and crush the mountain, thus ending the suffering. But then maybe they would not be quite as happy. By no means should our society recreate “Harrison Bergeron,” but we may be able to find a happy medium.

Suffering will always be a part of human life. There is simply no way around it. There is, though, a nicer way to spin it. To delve, once again, into semantics: the word “suffer” has an extremely negative connotation, naturally, as it indicates pain and displeasure. But to suffer is to endure (which is why we say we do not “suffer fools” and such). To suffer is to persist—and the power of persistence is invaluable. If we suffer through pain, if we suffer through darkness, if we suffer through sorrow, we are living despite it all. We are living with a hope of better things to come, with a subconscious assurance of improvement. As humans, we have an incredible power to hope, but we very rarely notice it. We call ourselves “cynics” and “pessimists,” and yet we continue to hope. If the cynics did not believe, on some level, in something to hope for, they would find very few reasons to stay alive. And yet they live, despite. Our world is far from perfect at the moment. Suffering is happening on a large scale and in a rare fashion. I wrote most of this article before the global outbreak of COVID-19—nonetheless, I think it should certainly be addressed. It is terrifying, and it is tragic. This is the kind of suffering that is not at all necessary or desirable for people to appreciate the better parts of life. However, it is having an effect on the way we see the world. We have suddenly become a more athletic, more creative, more outdoorsy generation. We have suddenly started begging school (school!) to happen because we realize how important it is for our social lives, our mental health, and, yes, our education. The aforementioned idea of isolation has become an incredibly real problem—all of us now know the importance of interaction and communication. Lastly, we are holding out hope. We all are—we all have to, or the consequences will be even more ominous than they already are. Remember, hope is an immensely powerful thing.

It is quite clear, at this point, that a utopia is impossible—at least on a global or national scale. But a utopia, though supposedly a “perfect place,” may not be as desirable as it seems. There is obviously something in life worth living for; otherwise humans would cease to exist. Certainly, we all suffer, but there must be a reason to endure. If we lifted the burdens of knowledge from our shoulders, wrapped our lives in pretense, and relived The Truman Show, perhaps we would not suffer. We could stick mental handicap radios in our ears and stop living for the unknown something. We could satisfy ourselves with complacency and ignorance and sacrifice the pursuit of something more. Or we could suffer, endure, persist, and find perfection somewhere in the mix.

Or perhaps we will simply ask ourselves questions forever and spiral deeper and deeper into the pursuit of blue skies.

Science shows pre-game rituals do help performance – now that’s lucky!

By Emmy Keogh

It was a tough loss. The Porter-Gaud girls’ basketball team had fought hard but came up short in a close match against our rival this past December. Sweaty and exhausted, we poured into the locker room to discuss what we could have done better. Our coach, Kevin Ziman, went through the obvious corrections – fouls from not extending our arms high, unnecessary turnovers, missed free throws. But, also on the list, was something else: the concept of luck. Coach Kevin apologized to us for not wearing the same shirt that he had worn the last time we’d played them and won, and he promised the next time he would. We all understood immediately. day, or else I feel like we’ve already lost. It might not be fashionable, but it is what it is. It’s superstition.

Before you laugh at us, be honest: when was the last time you knocked on wood, or used your “lucky pencil” while taking a math test, or quickly said “jinx” when you said the same word at the same time as your friend? It seems everyone has some sort of ritual to ward away disaster, or a special charm to enhance performance -- even the famous.

2 Many of us in that locker room had our own pre-game rituals to bring ourselves continued good luck. For example, Elise Pearson, The Post and Courier’s AllLowcountry basketball player of the year, might not have gotten to where she is today without her lucky white shoes. As a team, we received matching black Nike basketball shoes, but Elise kept wearing her own lucky footwear and outscored every girl in the region. Kyle Lafayette, the school record holder for triple jump and SCISA’s number one triple and long jumper, has several pre-game rituals for both track and football. On the field for football, he prays and writes “sos” on his wrist tape. For track, he always wears his lucky chain and completes the same warmup every time. As for me, I always wear low socks on game Taylor Swift has a thing about the number 13. In 2009, she said in an interview on MTV: “I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first No. 1 song had a 13-second intro. Every time I’ve won an award I’ve been seated in either the 13th seat, the 13th row, the 13th section or row M, which is the 13th letter.” Supermodel Heidi Klum carries a bag of her baby teeth when she travels. Jennifer Aniston, before she gets on an airplane, walks with her right foot first and then taps the outside of the plane to bring good luck and a safe flight. Tennis star Serena Williams will not change her socks in a tournament, and, before her first serve, bounces the ball exactly five

times. Michael Jordan wore his University of North Carolina shorts under his Chicago Bulls uniform in every game because in 1982 he led UNC to the NCAA Championships and believed his UNC shorts brought him that good luck. activity such as a sports competition led to diminished anxiety and elevated confidence. They found that even those who did not believe in the good luck rituals, but still participated in them, still benefited from them. Additional studies in sport psychology found multiple benefits of pre-performance routines, seeing a

But it’s not just entertainers and athletes who engage in lucky rituals. Even the scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have a ritual of eating peanuts when they are attempting a risky maneuver, such as when the Mars Rover was landing. correlation between the ritual and improved attention, execution, emotional stability and confidence. Clearly, having a lucky charm or doing a pre-game ritual elevates your chances for a better performance.

The question is: are we all crazy? We certainly look ridiculous, and it certainly seems irrational. But do these pre-game rituals and lucky charms actually

contribute to more wins? Is there any connection between the act and the outcome?

In a scientific experiment at the University of Cologne in 2010, people were given either a “lucky golf ball” or an ordinary golf ball, and then they putted ten times. Those who believed they had the lucky golf ball sank two more balls out of ten than those who thought they had a regular ball, yielding a 35% performance improvement. They showed improved motor skills, dexterity and memory. The authors of the study concluded that having “the lucky ball” had boosted the participants’ belief in themselves, leading them to pursue higher goals and persist until they achieved their goals. Research reported in 2013 in Scientific American explained that rituals for good luck that were performed before undertaking a high-pressure

Artwork by Eliza Dieck

So, the next time your coach puts on his winning shirt, thank him… it might just be the extra edge you need to bring home the win.