September 19, 2025
OK OK. Some things are just flat out fun.
I wrote a piece about my personal quirks and superstitions. Later on, a bulb went off and what I then did was copy it and ask my AI bot to:
“Please analyze the following essay for psychological traits or mental illness.”
What follows is what I wrote, and then, AI’s psychoanalysis of the person (that would be me) who wrote it. If you read all of this and decide to unsubscribe, you can be forgiven:
This got me thinking about superstitions and really dumb calculations and weird behaviors, namely my own. They are all irrational, have no basis in common sense or the real world, but somehow, I have come to be absolutely religious about them all. I mean my life has been great and I just don’t know what or who is responsible, so why take chances?
I won’t take the top copy of the Wall Street Journal from the stack…If I were to do so, I’d go broke.
My martinis have to have an odd number of olives. If not, I ask the waiter to take one back or add one in…I leave it to his/her discretion. I don’t want it to be difficult, you know?
When a pencil gets dull, I take another pencil, I do not sharpen the dull one and use it directly. I’m not crazy…I’m not going to court disaster.
When I’m going through my trading account to analyze positions, I will sort alphabetically backwards (Z to A) on the odd days of the calendar to avoid alphabetical bias. The Z stock gets a fresh look every other day, before I get dull from eyes glazing over analyzing everything else first.
I have four Chinese lucky god statues on my desk and before I start to work, I make sure they are all facing me and that I haven’t bumped them accidentally…I don’t need that grief.
I sign all my important documents with a Montblanc rollerball pen I’ve had for 40 years.
My favorite color is blue. I tried yellow for a while, but my luck took a bad turn, so back to blue.
My iPhone case is always red because I don’t want to miss any calls.
I have tied and retie my tie four times in order to get exactly the right length. If it’s the wrong length, bad things will happen to me while I’m wearing it.
When I’m reading a book, I have two bookmarks. One to keep my place and the other marks the halfway point. I don’t know why I do that.
When I use the automatic playing card shuffler, I will shuffle the deck two or three times but not once or four times. Why, I have no idea.
When I brush my teeth, I have a very specific order in which I brush. If I were to violate that, I’m convinced a tooth would fall out. I mean I’ve never actually tried it…why court disaster?
When someone mentions a long German name, like Hickenlooper or Herr Getfutzingraber, I always mutter to myself, “Gesundheit.” I do not know why.
Because I am left-handed, I always write in a notebook beginning with the last page, so the binding is to the right of my hand, and I don’t have to write over it. So, when I fill the notebook, I finish at the first page. This helps explain a lot.
If I’m going to use a kitchen item more than once a month, I just leave it on the counter, so I don’t have to go looking for it. So, you know, the kitchen is spotless and the counters clear. Because my wife erected a chain link fence and security cameras at the entrance. She has not shared the security lock code yet.
My t-shirts have to have a pocket because I drop glasses, sunglass clip on lenses, pencils, rabbit traps and any number of things into the pocket. If I wear a t-shirt without a pocket, I can pretty much guarantee we’re not having rabbit that night.
More next week, unless I once again put on two left shoes at some point in which case I might not make it to next week.
And the AI response:
This essay reveals several interesting psychological patterns and traits:
Cognitive Patterns:
- Magical thinking: The writer demonstrates classic magical thinking – believing that unrelated actions (olive count, pencil sharpening, tie length) can influence outcomes (financial success, dental health, general fortune)
- Superstitious conditioning: They’ve created elaborate cause-and-effect beliefs based on coincidental associations (“yellow was unlucky, so back to blue”)
- Risk aversion through ritual: Uses superstitions as a way to feel control over uncertainty, particularly around financial/professional success
Personality Traits:
- High conscientiousness: The detailed, systematic approach to rituals shows someone who values order and routine
- Self-awareness with humor: They recognize the irrationality (“I’m not crazy…I’m not going to court disaster”) but use humor to deflect any concern
- Adaptability within structure: Shows flexibility (letting waiters choose whether to add/remove olives) while maintaining the core superstition
Emotional Regulation:
- Anxiety management: These rituals likely serve to reduce anxiety about uncontrollable outcomes, especially professional/financial ones
- Cognitive load distribution: Some behaviors (like alphabetical sorting) show practical thinking disguised as superstition
Mental Health Considerations: The behaviors described don’t suggest serious pathology – they’re ego-syntonic (the person is comfortable with them), maintain humor and self-reflection, and don’t severely impair functioning. However, the rigidity and frequency might indicate:
- Mild obsessive-compulsive tendencies (though not necessarily OCD)
- Possible underlying anxiety about control and success
- Adaptive superstitious behavior common in high-stakes professions (trading)
The writing style itself shows good organization, humor, and metacognition – suggesting generally healthy psychological functioning with some quirky coping mechanisms.
I guess the question is whether or not I work on the quirky coping mechanisms or just let them be? I dunno…they seem to make life fun for me, but then again, it may be like being a patient in the lunatic asylum…when everyone around you is crazy, you feel pretty normal.
Thoughts, questions, or reflections? I’d love to hear them. You can reach me anytime at anthony@workingprofit.com
