Tuesday, January 23, 2007

A Life of Magical Thinking

An interesting article in today's New York Times about the neurological and psychological underpinnings of magical and wishful thinking. In other words, why do some seemingly rational people cling to rituals or lucky shirts or other superstitions to try to "persuade" the universe to give them what they want?

Money quote: "The point at which the culture withdraws support for belief in Santa and the Tooth Fairy is about the same time it introduces children to prayer. The mechanism is already there, kids have already spent time believing that wishing can make things come true, and they’re just losing faith in the efficacy of that.”

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