Jonah Lehrer on the origins of magical thinking:
What’s the moral? Magical thinking is built into our brain at a pretty basic level. Although these Harvard students don’t really believe in Voodoo, a few experimental tricks can seduce them into delusion. A similar psychology probably explains why the vast majority of Americans (between 70 and 85 percent) believe that their prayers are being answered. Reality has a way of tricking the mind.
Harvard students all have IQs above 130. Most Americans do not.
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