Comments on: Froggy went a courtin’ in India

By: Lurker111

Lurker111 — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 12:10:35 +0000

I understand the frogs, as part of the honeymoon, were given free passes to dinner at a French restaurant.

By: Ken

Ken — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 06:02:03 +0000

I don’t think we all are victims of magical thinking. Being sentimental about grandma’s quilt or dad’s pocket knife doesn’t mean that you think that grandma or dad are magically part of the objects. I have some poetry my dad wrote that I’m sentimental about because it is a glimpse at the person that he was. I don’t want to loose it, but I know it’s not him.

We may all be under false impressions about the nature of reality with some regards (confirmation bias, etc.), but some of us use science and rational thought as the foundation by which we formulate our opinions, and we recognize that our opinions are subject to change based on evidence. I read a list of magical thinking that was based on this book, and recognized all of them as such. Even the reverence for objects owned by historical figures or celebrities doesn’t hold purchase with me, and I know I’m not alone. The author would like to make people feel less stupid by saying that everyone is subject to magical thinking, but I think he’s being intellectually dishonest.

By: jackrroo

jackrroo — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 17:08:14 +0000

Ok, what exactly is it that the farmers in Berhampur believe? That’s to say, I think you assume a lot based on the very brief article. Imagine yourself living in, say, Berhampur, and reading a report of similar length and detail in the daily paper early in February how people gathered in a certain town in Pennsylvania to see if a certain large ground squirrel woke up to see his shadow in order to determine when winter was to end….

By: tmso

tmso — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 16:50:29 +0000

I think that’s the crux – it is whether they *want* to give it up.