The Hindu Business Line : Handling uncertainty

A couple of weeks ago, I was caught in a traffic jam. On inquiry, I was told that the gridlock was because it was an auspicious day, and that had brought large number of visitors to a nearby temple. Why are more people visiting places of worship these days than, perhaps, ever before?

During periods of uncertainty, we become very insecure. This insecurity drives us to become religious and superstitious. We typically visit religious places when we are disturbed — financially, emotionally or physically.

Unfulfilled desires

Our wants have increased manifold. The means to achieve these desires have, however, not kept pace. We are faced with soaring price levels and widening rich-poor divide. Crime rates have increased as well. The unfulfilled desires and tough living conditions have led to uncertainty in quality of life. That has, perhaps, driven us to become more religious, explaining the crowd at places of worship.

Visiting these places is not the only way we counter uncertainty. We also tend to indulge in rituals and esoteric science such as astrology and mysticism.

A certain tribal community, for instance, employs standard fishing methods when working in calm waters but engage in elaborate rituals when fishing on high seas. The researchers concluded that the tribal fishermen engaged in such rituals to decrease the unpredictability of high seas.

Economic downturn and superstition

It is the same with economic uncertainty. During the 1920s, Germany was reeling under hyper-inflation. Two contemporary professors conducted a study and found that newspaper articles on superstition were higher during that period. They found a strong correlation between economic downturn and superstition.

More recently, psychologists from the Tel Aviv University conducted a study in Israel during the 1991 Gulf War. Some cities such as Tel Aviv were in greater danger from scud missiles attacks than others such as Jerusalem. They found that the people who lived in cities such as Tel Aviv were more superstitious than others.

It appears from these studies that being superstitious is healthy, as it helps us cope with uncertainty. It is the traffic gridlock that is the problem!

(The author is an investment strategist.)

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