The more chance elements within an activity and the more common and important that activity is within a society, the more superstitions are likely to be associated with it. If this happens repeatedly, the association will gain strength and is more likely to be believed. Determining the cause of an event was especially difficult for pre-scientific societies and can still be a problem for complex subject matter or those events that seem so unfair and difficult to comprehend. Understanding probability and chance can help show whether the causal relationship is a superstition or a valid association to make. Superstitions can mean different things for different cultures, some even being contradictory in comparison.
Some superstitions find their origin in practical sense when considering safety and reducing risk.
Many people have difficulty believing in some superstitions based on their own personal fears. Perhaps this was another practical method for pre-scientific societies to combat fear and live with uncertainty and the creepy crawlies of the world. Like the telephone game, superstitions have changed considerably since their original conception and may grow to be entirely removed from the purpose they were meant to serve. Some superstitions have become the opposite of what they were originally. They are relics of folklore and pre-scientific societies.