TWO of the projects submitted by Ardgillan Community College students concerned themselves with two popular perceptions - that the number 13 is bad and that summers were better when we were young.
Examing our perceptions of summers past was Rachel Metcalfe, who explained: 'When I was younger my parents and grandparents always told me about how hot it was when they were younger and how the summers are wasted indoors as the weather is not very pleasant nowadays. 'So I was interested to see what the weather was like when they were younger. I've always wanted to know why the weather was changing and I became quite interested in the topic.'
' The aim of this study was to determine whether individual's perception of weather in the past was comparable to recorded data and to chart weather trends over the last 30 years.' Appropriately for the year that is in it, Nicole Ivory-Rogan took a look at the fear of the number 13, known as triskaidekaphobia. Nicole said: ' Triskaidekaphobia, or fear of the number 13, does not fit neatly into a clinical definition of a specific phobia. The number 13 is not an object or a situation, and it can be impossible for the sufferer to avoid. ' The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that triskaidekaphobia may determine the outcome of otherwise important life or financial decisions.'