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| Image courtesy of WikiCommons |
Greetings Garden Dwellers!
Welcome back to Out of Standard, where I will set before you a challenge to defy the conventions of a particular theme. I will call upon you to write out of the standard and find new places in the everyday. It is in that spirit in which I present August’s challenge...
PIGEON SUPERSTITION
For today’s prompt we are looking to a psychologist who spent most of his adult life proving there is no out of standard, famed behaviorist B.F. Skinner, and one of his examinations on the pigeon. Skinner placed a series of hungry pigeons in a cage attached to an automatic mechanism that delivered food to the pigeons at regular intervals with no reference whatsoever to the bird's behavior.
When a timer releases a seed automatically every 20 seconds, the pigeon wonders, what did I do to deserve this? If it was flapping its wings at the time, it will continue to flap, convinced that its actions have the decisive influence on what happens. We call this "pigeon superstition".
For today’s challenge, I call upon you to sharpen your pencils, rewet the inkwell, and use Skinner’s study of superstition in the pigeon to inspire a new poem. Extra credit will be awarded for using the phrase Pigeon Superstition directly.
KEEP IN MIND
Like every challenge, your poem must by newly written for this challenge and not one which you have previously written which conveniently fits the theme.
So go now, my muddy buddies, and bring us back something shiny and new.
12 comments:
Wonderful challenge indeed. Greetings!
This is a great challenge, Izy. Thanks for always encouraging us to think outside the box.
Ozzie, I'm glad you didn't make this one too hard. Of course I'm not superstitious except some will say so by my actions. I avoid the black cat crossing before me, broken mirrors, or being beneath an outstretched ladder. Hmm, there might be a few more that folks don't mention to me. I might could gin up a verse about all this.
Thinking cap on.. hope ideas will pop up in my dreams...
Very clever, Izzy. I do not know if I have time right now but will think about this. K.
Just watched Susie Clevenger's video "Velcro" on Facebook, and the words "Pigeon Superstition" fit the tune perfectly! ("I look good in velcro"/ "Pigeon Superstition", both 6 syllables!)
Leaving now!
How about "Pigeon superstition / writing on the wall . . ."
Love the prompt...I had never heard of pigeon superstition.
Loved the pigeon superstition, and I tried to relate it to the butterfly effect.
Sorry mine read as 2, it is only 1. I was going to do one that fit the prompt more, but mine is really out of standard I guess! k.
Yes, MZ, pigeon superstition / writing on the wall! I was listening to Stevie Wonder as I pecked, pecked, pecked. Thanks for the prompt once again Real Toads Community and Izy.
Thank you, Izzy!
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