Pigeons are Superstitious

Did you know that pigeons are superstitious?

Well, neither did I, but I do now. 

Pigeons can exhibit behaviours that we could consider to be suspicious. They were found to associate random events with specific actions. This was a concept explored by the psychologist B.F.Skinner in the ‘superstitious pigeon’ experiment of 1948. Where random feeding intervals developed behaviours that the pigeons associated with food delivery. You will see pigeons spinning, head bobbing, and standing on one leg, all in pursuit of superstition. 

Now human history of treatment of pigeons is patchy, we domesticated them thousands of years ago, and now they are seen as a pest. I personally LOVE a pigeon. However, this is not my actual point.

My point is that there should be space in our lives to marvel at the wonder of learning a new if not useful fact, can provide us. 

Being a marginalised person truly is an ordeal,  but this doesn’t need to be the only aspect of our lives that we focus on. Instead, I think we deserve, no actually we NEED to see different aspects of life. Learn, see new things, be blown away, hate art, love ‘low brow’ things, and fall in love with life a little bit.

This outlook on life, a sense of detachment from our reality when we can, is a form of resistance. Resistance in the sense that the ruling powers want to wear us down, keep us down and lower our morale. 

This resistance to that devastating approach is vital. It is part of the ecosystem of activism. Seeing and enjoying wonder in our lives helps fuel our energy reserves, provides us with the ability to fight, and sheds new perspectives on the issues we face as marginalised people. 

Life is far from straightforward forward and some of us may find it harder to detach from our realities, but even in small doses, wonder and pleasure-seeking can have a positive impact on our health.

So go forth today and try to learn something new, and see how it makes you feel…