[Phys-L] Re: Elevators

[clement at HAL-PC.ORG (John M Clement)]

Do they ever omit room 213 or how about 1313?  Now I am wondering how
the 13 aversion ever came about.  There were probably other numbers
which were considered bad at other periods of time.  Also is this
number bad in all cultures, but just in Western countries?  Of course
it is silly, but people develop phobias generally because of an
experience.  This could be either cultural or physical.

An interesting phobia is fear of buttons.  I know a child who
developed it after sleeping on his stomach.  The buttons on his
pajamas hurt him.  I also know an adult who had this phobia all of her
life.  She admits it is not rational, but she can not buy clothing
with prominent buttons.  I also know of a child who developed a
temporary phobia to watches as the result of an illness.  The number
13 phobia is just another example of the many phobias that can develop
in individuals.  The 13 phobia is considered respectable, but the
button phobia is considered weird.  Do you know anyone who admits to
having a button phobia?  I know two such people.

This phenomenon is one where someone makes a connection between
unrelated events and then thinks of them as being causally related.
 Educators do this all the time when they insist without proof that
certain things are beneficial to students.  My favorite examples are
the lecture system and standard demonstrations.

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

John M. Clement
Houston, TX

On Wed, 15 Dec 2004 08:47:12 -0600
  "Espinosa, James" <JEspinosa@MAIL.TWU.EDU> wrote:
> With regard to elevators lacking a button for the 13the floor, even
> though there may be 20 floors in the building, I always tell my
> students
> when I discuss pseudoscience with them about a common example of a
> superstition: a fancy hotel in Dallas, called the Anatole, does not
> have
> a 13th floor if you use the elevator, but if you go outside the
> building
> and count there is a 13th floor.  I also remember a motel in Gila
> Bend
> that had rooms attached to each other in a row, but the room with
> the
> number 13 was missing, the rooms went from 12 to 14.  So the
> superstition can also go horizontally.
>
> James Espinosa