# What silly thing do you sorta believe in, despite knowing better?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-thing-do-you-sorta-believe-in-despite-knowing-better/516851>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [November 8, 2009, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-thing-do-you-sorta-believe-in-despite-knowing-better/516851 "2009-11-08T23:10:38Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-thing-do-you-sorta-believe-in-despite-knowing-better/516851/41 "2009-11-10T01:16:06Z")

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> [@Kobal2](#):
>
> That honor/honesty/doing the right thing matters. I know better, but I can’t help myself. It’s just not cool to cheat your way through life, even though… well, you win a lot more. And you enjoy yourself more. And you get more toys. And more girls. And people like you a lot more. And everybody else is doing it anyway.
> 
> It’s very puzzling to me to both _know_ this (i.e. that I can do whatever the hell I want, and there are no consequences whatsoever, beyond the material ones should I be both dishonest AND stupid) but not being able to believe in it. I think a part of me still thinks there’s going to be a big prize at the end for not being a dick, or a scoreboard… something.

Wow! This is how I feel almost all the time.

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**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2009, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-silly-thing-do-you-sorta-believe-in-despite-knowing-better/516851/42 "2009-11-10T01:34:25Z")

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I do a lot of superstitious things, like throwing spilled salt over my shoulder, not because I believe in the superstition, but because I think there’s a value in participating in cultural rituals.

Then I have some things that I like to believe in in a wistful thinking sort of way. Like the Loch Ness Monster. I know there isn’t really a Loch Ness Monster, but HOW FREAKIN’ COOL would it be if there was? I keep that belief safe within my heart, the way some people feel about Santa Claus. I know it sounds like I’m pretending to believe it, but it’s more than that.

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