Observation lang for me, and I did talk to my friends about it today.
There are two concepts we talked about; one is Superstition and two is regimen.
Superstition--excessive belief in fear or magic, especially foreign or fantastical ideas, regarded as 'Old Wives' Tale' etc. Now a coleague of mine, Vince, a member of the AMSA-Surgical Chapter, brought up another point of view--regarding the differences between Superstition and Regimen.
He pointed out that when we go into the Surgical Lab or in the hospital floor, and we tend to observe this in the Surgeons as well as Surgical Interns, they tend to have a regimen when in the surgical floor or in the surgical anatom lab. Some of us have a technique in suturing, a technique in opening a body, a technique in how we arrange our tools, a technique in how we make a Y-incission, a technique in how we even wash our surgical tools (And Yes, this is true--because I myself have a way of cleaning my scalpels and cranial saw). Vince also pointed out that he even observes how some of us---when we're finished surgical lab--after 4-5 hours in lab, we even have a way, a technique, a regimen, an established custom in how we wash our hands. A method in how we soap our fingers, clean the inter-phalangial spaces, rinse with water, soap up again, rinse with water, etc. And I do get what he's trying to say.
It isn't superstition, but its a regimented process that has been established after months, or even years of doing the same thing, over and over again. Because, naturally, we tend to stick with what works. Well most of us---we're not referring to pathological cases, hehehehe.
Superstition, if observed in that point, can influence how people act. Either it be knocking on wood, starting to be scared and start ushering when its dark and night time because a person believes in spirits and harmful ghosts etc. Its all superstition.
The main difference here, is that though the actions are influenced in these two cases (reference towards regimen and superstition). The other former is based on a scientific and idea that is backed by knowledge, and legimated; the other is based on fear, on fear of the uknown, on imagination).
Lorenzo.
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=21041.0