Today’s prompt from Long and Short Reviews inquires: what superstitions do I have? To my knowledge, I don’t have any besides the strange compulsion to hold down the left shift key when I’m playing Civilization III, and tap it manically if my unit begins losing. Why my brain decided there was a relationship between my tapping a keyboard and the fate of my computer units, I have no idea. I actively resist it when I play Civ 3, and it has gotten weaker over the years. But as far as knocking on wood, avoiding black cats, not walking under ladders, all that sort of thing — it’s never been an issue for me.
WHAT have you finished reading recently? Living in Wonder, Rod Dreher.
WHAT are you reading now? The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt. On the spike in mental illness exhibited by Gen Z. Also re-reading Crunchy Cons by Rod Dreher to see how my take on it has changed after 11 years.
WHAT are you reading next? I’m participating in both SciFiMonth and Nonfiction November, so something along those lines.
Reading Freely 
Seems like it’s become a well worn in idiosyncratic habit. It’s now just a part of what makes you you! 🙂🙂
Hopefully a small part. XD
Oh, that’s funny. Brains can make the most unusual connections sometimes.
Lydia
I would never have called myself a superstitious person – vehemently the opposite, in fact – but about a year ago, I discovered I had gradually become superstitious about journalling, e.g. afraid of writing certain things down. It took some effort to combat this, and I still feel weird about it sometimes. I guess what it is is, you form habits and you see patterns of outcomes, and sometimes, like Lydia says, our sticky brains start connecting dots in silly ways.
What does the author conclude about the “anxious generation”? I’ve tended to think they’re overdiagnosed because schools get extra funding for including students with mental disorders, but some think real cases have increased, possibly due to glyphosate exposure.
Priscilla King
Essentially that the ‘great rewiring’ of youth in the 2010s have broken …..people. I’m still working on the review, but essentially smartphones are narcotics to adults but are especially destructive to the mental health of adolescents who are still in development. More details in review. Overdiagnosed is part of it, but that’s more covered by Schrier’s “Bad Therapy”.