For generations, many Indians have grown up hearing a familiar warning: "If a cat crosses your path while you are on your way somewhere, stop for a while. It is a bad omen." Some wait for a few minutes. Some drink water and restart their journey. Others stop until another person crosses first, believing the bad luck has now passed to someone else. Recently, I witnessed exactly such a scene. A man walking ahead saw a cat cross the road. He immediately stopped and waited. Moments later, another person unknowingly walked past him. The first man then continued on his way, apparently relieved that the "bad luck" had moved on. As I watched, a simple question came to mind: If the second person never saw the cat, how could the bad luck transfer to him? The more I thought about it, the less sense the belief seemed to make. The Cat Knows Nothing About Our Journey A cat crossing a road is simply a cat crossing a road. It does not know: Where we are going. Whether we are atte...