I would not want to live in a place where a *murderer* might be more likely to return.

I would not want to live in a *neighbourhood* where a murder was committed, but only to the extent that it was part of a trend of other violent crime in the area.

I wouldn’t want to live in a neighborhood where someone was recently murdered, especially if it was unsolved or drug/theft related.

If you needed a heart transplant, would you not willingly receive the organ from a once-convicted rapist?

I don’t think they tell patients before a transplant the circumstances behind a donor organ. In any event, I could care less as long as it’s healthy and disease free.

Have you ever slept next to a teddy bear?

Hasn’t everyone? I sleep with a few body pillows but I hardly ever talk to them.

Would you want to hold a pen that was once owned by Einstein?

Not really.

Do you wear a certain article of clothing on every “big” date?

No, but I do have my “nicest suit” which I wear on interviews. It replaced my previous nicest suit when it was no longer my nicest suit and I’m sure it will be replaced by a newer nicer suit in the very near future.

I lived next door to a house where I later found out the husband had set his wife on fire in the kitchen…they were both of Indian descent and I never knew the details, but it seemed like some sort of honor killing. Did I believe her ghost was running around? No. Did I like being reminded of it on occasion when I thought about the house? No. Living in a house where a murder took place would not be my first choice…not because of ghosts or superstition, but because I would always think of the sad event when I was in that spot.

I sleep with a stuffed mnkey…or a pillow…or anything I can hold up against me and under my chin. It’s a habit thing, not a superstitious thing. I sleep with amonkey rather than a pillow because I bought one at Build a Bear with my niece many years ago.

If I needed and organ to live, I’d take one from any legal source.

* Do you wear a certain article of clothing on every “big” date?

Cute underwear.
Is that unreasonable? XD

After realizing that I was an atheist, I stopped doing a lot of superstitious things….I don’t even cross my fingers anymore. I find myself to be more disappointed after crossing my fingers and not getting the desired outcome than if I shrug and say “whatever happens, I can’t control it.” (In situations where I really have no control… i.e. raffles, the weather, my favorite contestant losing on Top Chef…etc.)

* Would you not want to live in a house in which someone once got murdered?

I wouldn’t mind living there unless it somehow made it harder to sell the house again.

* If you needed a heart transplant, would you not willingly receive the organ from a once-convicted rapist?

I’d take it and have no second thoughts about it. He hardly became a rapist because of his heart.

* Have you ever slept next to a teddy bear?

Yea, as a kid. In fact I still have a teddy bear. I’ve had it since I was 2 so these days it has a spot on a shelve in my bed room. It holds a certain sentimental value and is a reminder of a more innocent time in my life. I’d hardly call that superstitious.

* Would you want to hold a pen that was once owned by Einstein?

Sure. Not because it would do me any good or make me smarter. But for the same reason I like going to Rome and Athens and walk around in the ruins. It brings me “closer” for want of a better word.

* Do you wear a certain article of clothing on every “big” date?

Well, I have some shirts that a girl said looked good on me so I tend to wear them at times. Not because they are magic but hell, if they look good on me I might as well wear them.

As has been mentioned by others there is a difference between superstition and irrational behaviour. I have plenty of silly things I do even though I know they are irrational.

I press the call button on an elevator even though it does infact not tell the elevator that I’m in a hurry and make it come faster. I do the same at traffic lights.

I ask my computer to hurry up or stop messing with me even though I know that it does no hurry up and it does not crash on purpose just to annoy me.

There is a huge difference between doing silly things despite knowing better and believing a black cat crossing the road causes bad luck. In the case of the computer and elevator it’s pretty common to imbue objects with human traits I think. It probably makes it easier to relate to them. I believe a lot of things can be attributed to various coping mechanisms. We do stuff like that to build a framework to relate to the world from. It’s not superstition as far as I see it.

Ah well, time to sleep.

Edit: I also say stuff like ‘God only knows where my keys are.’ without it making me religious. I don’t think that go only knows but it’s a way of relating to the world. It may feel like I’m incredibly unlucky as well and I may say so even though I very well know that there is no deity or demon out to get me.

We imbue the world with human traits. We “want” it to have a sense of purpose even if we know it doesen’t.

To those of you who are complaining that the first two answers should be “No” for the superstitious response, I would direct your attention to the presence of a “NOT” in each one.

Pony — That’s my fault. I forgot to include those “Nots” initially. I added them in after I noticed the problem.

The “yes” to every question makes no sense

Yes, I agree. One might as well have had “Have you ever fantasized before?” as one of the questions.

I think its important to understand that it is the reason behind our actions and routines which are superstitious, not the actions themselves.

I think so, too.

I think atheists have things we’re superstitious about without realizing it. That’s what Hood believes, too, and that’s what he’s trying to explain in the book.

It seems to me that even atheists engage in activities that have been traditionally associated with superstition. I mean, I say “Come on, come on, come on” whenever my computer takes too long to do something, and yet I don’t actually believe the computer can understand me that way.

I’m sure plenty of self-described atheists are superstitious in some sense, I just don’t think that the list you gave necessarily means superstition.

Yes, exactly.

Frankly, these questions smack of something a theist would say: “Oh yeah, Mr. Rationality-Pants Atheist? You make fun of my irrationality… but… but… You would want to hold a pen that was once owned by Einstein?! You’re just as irrational! See?”