Music of the Day, 13 September 2024

tasty music with a side of psychology

When I made the varsity track team my freshman year of high school, I almost immediately displayed how out of step I was with nearly everyone else. I snatched the jersey I wanted from the pile our coach offered, concerned that others would want it too … but that was not the case. Some team members looked at me askance, as if I was a little off.

Perhaps I am. I was intent on securing number 13.¹

I’d grown up hearing all the common superstitions of the time. Unlucky Friday the 13th was one of the bigger ones, perhaps because of its relative rarity or lack of logic.² I didn’t care much about most of them: we had a large stray black cat adopt us early in my childhood, and I adored that cat; and even more, I adored Dave Concepción, who wore 13 for my beloved Cincinnati Reds.³

I don’t believe in luck. I also don’t believe in that phrase from the Terminator movie franchise: “no fate but what we make.” Our minds seek patterns in the chaos, and tidy explanations where none really exist.⁴ Somewhat related, neuropsychology has advanced enough to reveal how the placebo effect—and its counterpart, the nocebo effect—can affect us.

These effects are much more than the wide understanding of using a placebo (a neutral substance used as a control to compare drugs’ and/or dosages’ efficacy) in medical research. The placebo effect is simply this: the belief that something will help one makes that outcome more likely. And the nocebo effect is almost as straightforward: the belief that something will have no effect, or will hurt one, makes that outcome more likely. Obviously, that isn’t a causal relationship, but these effects can be powerful… especially when one applies the idea to our neuroplasticity.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk. And with that as context, I present today’s MotD:

It’s been too long since I’ve listened to Morphine. I hit the jackpot when this song started playing in my mind this morning, and will cash in once I’m done with my work.

1. I read that it’s Taylor Swift’s favorite number, which is probably reducing the silly superstition. Good riddance to bad rubbish!

2. there is good reason to not walk under a ladder, FFS!

3. yep, there’s another hall of fame I’m mad at

4. I try to resist that, but it’s “a symptom of life” for most humans