Premium Essay

Psychics of Santa Claus

In: Social Issues

Submitted By jhanna11
Words 432
Pages 2
Santa Claus
Ever since I was a little kid, it was a tradition on Christmas Eve to get ready for the arrival of Santa Claus. To prepare for St. Nick’s arrival, weeks before I would write out my wish list and send it in the mail to get to him. On Christmas eve, my family would set out cookies and milk for him as well as carrots for the reindeer. I would then go to bed early so that he would come, and I would wake up Christmas morning to find a plethora of presents lying underneath the decorated Christmas tree. Growing older as a kid, I realized that Santa Claus actually does not exist. This raises the question: Why is it that Santa Claus is featured everywhere, but does not really exist? In the Secrets of the Psychics, Randi said in the 1980’s that he lived in a world of fantasy. In the video, Randi wants to give up any fantasy he has so that he can live in a real world. Santa Claus was an iconic figure that appeared in movies, the mall to take pictures with, and in storybooks. Even though as adults we know that Santa Claus does not exist, It is nearly impossible to disprove claims of people that insist that they have seen a flying saucer or have been abducted by aliens or that they saw Santa Clause climbing down their chimney. According to Skeptic magazine, “Preying on the emotions of grieving people is not only unethical but can also be very dangerous. It is sad and even deplorable that radio and TV gives such people the publicity and ability to continue their fraud. But as we all know, the mighty dollar is the pillar of all fraud.” Peter Popoff was a German American televangelist who benefited Randi on getting rid of his fantasies. Popoff helped revive people of fantasies, but couldn’t prove that Santa Claus did not exist. It’s hard to revive something of something they have already seen. It is just known that Santa Claus is a prominent part of

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Games People Play

...Eric Berne Games People Play The psychology of human relationships Table of contents PREFACE.........................................................................................................................................................................3 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................................4 1 SOCIAL INTERCOURSE..........................................................................................................................................4 2 THE STRUCTURING OF TIME ...............................................................................................................................5 PART I ANALYSIS OF GAMES ...................................................................................................................................8 CHAPTER ONE STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS .....................................................................................................................8 CHAPTER TWO TRANSACTIONAL ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................10 CHAPTER THREE PROCEDURES AND RITUALS .........................................................................................................14 CHAPTER FOUR PASTIMES .............................................................................................................................

Words: 50500 - Pages: 202

Free Essay

Thomas

...How We Know What Isn't So The Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life Thomas Gilovich THE FREE PRESS A Division of Macmillan, Inc. NEW YORK To Karen and liana Contents Acknowledgments 1. Introduction vn 1 PART ONE Cognitive Determinants of Questionable Beliefs 2. Something Out of Nothing: The Misperception and Misinterpretation of Random Data 3. Too Much from Too Little: The Misinterpretation of Incomplete and Unrepresentative Data 4. Seeing What We Expect to See: The Biased Evaluation of Ambiguous and Inconsistent Data 9 29 49 PART TWO Motivational and Social Determinants of Questionable Beliefs 5. Seeing What We Want to See: Motivational Determinants of Belief 6. Believing What We are Told: The Biasing Effects of Secondhand Information 7. The Imagined Agreement of Others: Exaggerated Impressions of Social Support 75 88 112 Contents PART THREE Examples of Questionable and Erroneous Beliefs 8. Belief in Ineffective "Alternative" Health Practices 9. Belief in the Effectiveness of Questionable Interpersonal Strategies 10. Belief in ESP 125 146 Acknowledgments 156 PART FOUR Where Do We Go from Here? 11. Challenging Dubious Beliefs: The Role of Social Science Notes Index 185 195 214 Four people made unusually significant contributions to this work and deserve special thanks. Lee Ross commented on drafts of many of the chapters and provided a number of his uniquely...

Words: 80718 - Pages: 323

Premium Essay

Good Life

...mTELECOURSE STUDY GUIDE FOR The Examined Life FOURTH EDITION author J. P. White Chair, Department of Philosophy Santa Barbara City College contributing author Manuel Velasquez Professor of Philosophy Santa Clara University This Telecourse Study Guide for The Examined Life is part of a collegelevel introduction to philosophy telecourse developed in conjunction with the video series The Examined Life, and the text Philosophy: A Text with Readings, tenth edition, by Manuel Velasquez, The Charles Dirksen Professor, Santa Clara University. The television series The Examined Life was designed and produced by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications, Netherlands Educational Broadcasting Corporation (TELEAC/NOT), and Swedish Educational Broadcasting Company (UR) Copyright © 2007, 2005, 2002, 1999 by INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of INTELECOM Intelligent Telecommunications, 150 E. Colorado Blvd., Suite 300, Pasadena, California 91105-1937. ISBN: 0-495-10302-0 Contents Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Lesson One — What is Philosophy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

Words: 78103 - Pages: 313

Premium Essay

Myths

...Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1 BRAIN POWER Myth #1 Most People Use Only 10% of Their Brain Power Myth #2 Some People Are Left-Brained, Others Are Right-Brained Myth #3 Extrasensory Perception (ESP) Is a Well-Established Scientific Phenomenon Myth #4 Visual Perceptions Are Accompanied by Tiny Emissions from the Eyes Myth #5 Subliminal Messages Can Persuade People to Purchase Products 2 FROM WOMB TO TOMB Myth #6 Playing Mozart’s Music to Infants Boosts Their Intelligence Myth #7 Adolescence Is Inevitably a Time of Psychological Turmoil Myth #8 Most People Experience a Midlife Crisis in | 8 Their 40s or Early 50s Myth #9 Old Age Is Typically Associated with Increased Dissatisfaction and Senility Myth #10 When Dying, People Pass through a Universal Series of Psychological Stages 3 A REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST Myth #11 Human Memory Works like a Tape Recorder or Video Camera, and Accurate Events We’ve Experienced Myth #12 Hypnosis Is Useful for Retrieving Memories of Forgotten Events Myth #13 Individuals Commonly Repress the Memories of Traumatic Experiences Myth #14 Most People with Amnesia Forget All Details of Their Earlier Lives 4 TEACHING OLD DOGS NEW TRICKS Myth #15 Intelligence (IQ) Tests Are Biased against Certain Groups of People My th #16 If You’re Unsure of Your Answer When Taking a Test, It’s Best to Stick with Your Initial Hunch Myth #17 The Defining Feature of Dyslexia Is Reversing Letters Myth #18 Students Learn Best When Teaching Styles Are Matched to...

Words: 130018 - Pages: 521

Free Essay

Nao Sei

...THE ART OF PERFORMANCE A CRITICAL ANTHOLOGY edited by GREGORY BATTCOCK AND ROBERT NICKAS /ubu editions 2010 The Art of Performance A Critical Anthology 1984 Edited By: Gregory Battcock and Robert Nickas /ubueditions ubu.com/ubu This UbuWeb Edition edited by Lucia della Paolera 2010   2  The original edition was published by E.P. DUTTON, INC. NEW YORK For G. B. Copyright @ 1984 by the Estate of Gregory Battcock and Robert Nickas All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper or broadcast. Published in the United States by E. P. Dutton, Inc., 2 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10016 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 79-53323 ISBN: 0-525-48039-0 Published simultaneously in Canada by Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, Toronto 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 First Edition Vito Acconci: "Notebook: On Activity and Performance." Reprinted from Art and Artists 6, no. 2 (May l97l), pp. 68-69, by permission of Art and Artists and the author. Russell Baker: "Observer: Seated One Day At the Cello." Reprinted from The New York Times, May 14, 1967, p. lOE, by permission of The New York Times...

Words: 38936 - Pages: 156

Premium Essay

Rastafarian

...Rastafari This page intentionally left blank Rastafari From Outcasts to Culture Bearers Ennis Barrington Edmonds 2003 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Bangkok Buenos Aires Cape Town Chennai Dar es Salaam Delhi Hong Kong Istanbul Karachi Kolkata Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Mumbai Nairobi São Paulo Shanghai Taipei Tokyo Toronto Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Copyright © 2003 by Ennis Barrington Edmonds The moral rights of the authors have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Edmonds...

Words: 79520 - Pages: 319

Premium Essay

Haruhi Vol 1

...Suzumiya Haruhi: Volume One: The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi Colour Illustrations These are color illustrations that were included in volume 1. Cover Page Inside Flap Chapter 1 "Normal humans don't interest me." Chapter 2 Haruhi gets Mikuru into a bunny outfit. Chapter 7 "Hey Kyon, what's that giant?" Prologue Flap The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi Prologue Prologue When did I stop believing in Santa Claus? In truth, this sort of silly question holds no real significance for me. However, if you were to ask me when I stopped believing that the old man wearing the red costume was Santa, then I can confidently say: I have never believed in Santa, ever. I knew that the Santa who appeared at my preschool Christmas party was a fraud, and now that I think about it, every one of my classmates shared the same look of disbelief watching our teacher pretend to be Santa. Although I had never seen mommy kissing Santa Claus, I was already wise enough to be suspicious about the existence of an old man who worked only on Christmas Eve. However, it took me quite a bit longer to realize that the aliens, time-travelers, ghosts, monsters and espers in those effects-filled 'good guys versus evil organization' cartoons didn't actually exist either. No, wait, I probably did realize, I just didn't want to admit it. Deep inside my heart I still wanted those aliens, time-travelers, ghosts, monsters, espers and evil organizations to suddenly appear. Compared to this boring, normal...

Words: 54207 - Pages: 217

Premium Essay

Critical Thinking

...fourth EDItION fourth EDItION This clear, learner-friendly text helps today’s students bridge the gap between Its comprehensiveness allows instructors to tailor the material to their individual teaching styles, resulting in an exceptionally versatile text. Highlights of the Fourth Edition: Additional readings and essays in a new Appendix as well as in Chapters 7 and 8 nearly double the number of readings available for critical analysis and classroom discussion. An online chapter, available on the instructor portion of the book’s Web site, addresses critical reading, a vital skill for success in college and beyond. Visit www.mhhe.com/bassham4e for a wealth of additional student and instructor resources. Bassham I Irwin Nardone I Wallace New and updated exercises and examples throughout the text allow students to practice and apply what they learn. MD DALIM #1062017 12/13/09 CYAN MAG YELO BLK Chapter 12 features an expanded and reorganized discussion of evaluating Internet sources. Critical Thinking thinking, using real-world examples and a proven step-by-step approach. A student ' s Introduction A student's Introduction everyday culture and critical thinking. It covers all the basics of critical Critical Thinking Ba ssha m I Irwin I Nardone I Wall ace CRITICAL THINKING A STUDENT’S INTRODUCTION FOURTH EDITION Gregory Bassham William Irwin Henry Nardone James M. Wallace King’s College TM bas07437_fm_i-xvi.indd i 11/24/09 9:53:56 AM TM Published by McGraw-Hill...

Words: 246535 - Pages: 987

Premium Essay

Marketing

...fourth EDItION Critical Thinking A student ' s Introduction Ba ssha m I I rwi n I N ardon e I Wal l ac e CRITICAL THINKING A STUDENT’S INTRODUCTION FOURTH EDITION Gregory Bassham William Irwin Henry Nardone James M. Wallace King’s College TM TM Published by McGraw-Hill, an imprint of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2011, 2008, 2005, 2002. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 DOC/DOC 0 ISBN: 978-0-07-340743-2 MHID: 0-07-340743-7 Vice President, Editorial: Michael Ryan Director, Editorial: Beth Mejia Sponsoring Editor: Mark Georgiev Marketing Manager: Pam Cooper Managing Editor: Nicole Bridge Developmental Editor: Phil Butcher Project Manager: Lindsay Burt Manuscript Editor: Maura P. Brown Design Manager: Margarite Reynolds Cover Designer: Laurie Entringer Production Supervisor: Louis Swaim Composition: 11/12.5 Bembo by MPS Limited, A Macmillan Company Printing: 45# New Era Matte, R. R. Donnelley & Sons Cover Image: © Brand X/JupiterImages Credits: The credits section for this book begins on page C-1 and is considered...

Words: 240232 - Pages: 961

Premium Essay

Event Marketing

...Event Marketing HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY PROMOTE EVENTS, FESTIVALS, CONVENTIONS, AND EXPOSITIONS Leonard H. Hoyle, CAE, CMP JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. Event Marketing The Wiley Event Management Series SERIES EDITOR: DR. JOE GOLDBLATT, CSEP Special Events: Twenty-first Century Global Event Management, Third Edition by Dr. Joe Goldblatt, CSEP Dictionary of Event Management, Second Edition by Dr. Joe Goldblatt, CSEP, and Kathleen S. Nelson, CSEP Corporate Event Project Management by William O’Toole and Phyllis Mikolaitis, CSEP Event Marketing: How to Successfully Promote Events, Festivals, Conventions, and Expositions by Leonard H. Hoyle, CAE, CMP Event Risk Management and Safety by Peter E. Tarlow, Ph.D. Event Sponsorship by Bruce E. Skinner and Vladimir Rukavina The Complete Guide to Destination Management by Pat Schauman, CMP, CSEP Event Marketing HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY PROMOTE EVENTS, FESTIVALS, CONVENTIONS, AND EXPOSITIONS Leonard H. Hoyle, CAE, CMP JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Copyright © 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York. All rights reserved. Published simultaneously in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher...

Words: 72488 - Pages: 290

Premium Essay

Asdfasdfasdfas

...towards mastery in the practice of problem solving Assessments MODULE 4 Technology 1. You are the manager of 2 small stores with production functions q = K¼L¼ and a larger store with production function q = 2K¼L¼. You hire capital for $4, labour for $1. When you took over this role, your boss told you that Q = 24 was the profit maximizing output for this multi-plan firm: 24 = q1 + q2 + q3. Now, the price of labour rises to $4. Provide (i) Isoquant/Isocost diagrams, (ii) Total Cost and (iii) Marginal Cost diagrams. Illustrate the substitution effect (point a to b) and output effect (point b to c) on these diagrams. Explain why your firm uses less capital even when the price of labour increases. (September 2010) For the production function q = K2 + L2 (A) Demonstrate that the elasticity of substitution is negative. (B) Provide a labelled diagram showing the q = 100 isoquant (C) Briefly explain what a negative value means for σ 3. 4. A special production function is q = min( 80K, 4L1 + 2L2). Discuss the production process described by this function. Is this production function constant returns to scale? Five-year-old Jack has set up a hot chocolate stand outside his home. His customers like hot chocolate made in only one way, one unit of chocolate and 3 units of milk to go into each unit of hot chocolate. Jack’s mother, Naomi, provides him with heat, cups and cleaning free of charge. However, she charges him $0.25 for each unit of chocolate and $0.50 for each unit of milk. What...

Words: 50660 - Pages: 203

Premium Essay

Dell

...Lisa Mojsin, M.A. Director, Accurate English, Inc. Los Angeles, CA Acknowledgments This book is dedicated to my accent reduction students who came to the United States from all parts of the globe. Their drive to excel, passion for learning, amazing work ethic, and belief in the American dream have inspired me to write this book. In the words of Henry David Thoreau, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” Thanks to all of the supportive and extremely professional people at Barron’s: Dimitry Popow, my editor; Wayne Barr for seeking me out to write this book; and Veronica Douglas for her support. I am enormously grateful to Lou Savage, “The Voice.” His is the beautiful male voice on the recordings. He was also responsible for all of the expert audio engineering and audio editing. Thank you, Lou, for being such a perfectionist with the sound and insisting on fixing the audio “mistakes” I couldn’t hear anyway. I am also grateful for the contributions of Maryam Meghan, Jack Cumming, Katarina Matolek, Mauricio Sanchez, Sabrina Stoll, Sonya Kahn, Jennie Lo, Yvette Basica, Marc Basica, and Laura Tien. © Copyright 2009 by Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without the written permission of the copyright owner. Address all inquiries to: Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. 250 Wireless Boulevard Hauppauge, NY 11788 www.barronseduc.com...

Words: 51710 - Pages: 207

Premium Essay

Rgthtfhyjugkihlololigkydh

...Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Introduction Chapter 1 - Priming Chapter 2 - Confabulation Chapter 3 - Confirmation Bias Chapter 4 - Hindsight Bias Chapter 5 - The Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy Chapter 6 - Procrastination Chapter 7 - Normalcy Bias Chapter 8 - Introspection Chapter 9 - The Availability Heuristic Chapter 10 - The Bystander Effect Chapter 11 - The Dunning-Kruger Effect Chapter 12 - Apophenia Chapter 13 - Brand Loyalty Chapter 14 - The Argument from Authority Chapter 15 - The Argument from Ignorance Chapter 16 - The Straw Man Fallacy Chapter 17 - The Ad Hominem Fallacy Chapter 18 - The Just-World Fallacy Chapter 19 - The Public Goods Game Chapter 20 - The Ultimatum Game Chapter 21 - Subjective Validation Chapter 22 - Cult Indoctrination Chapter 23 - Groupthink Chapter 24 - Supernormal Releasers Chapter 25 - The Affect Heuristic Chapter 26 - Dunbar’s Number Chapter 27 - Selling Out Chapter 28 - Self-Serving Bias Chapter 29 - The Spotlight Effect Chapter 30 - The Third Person Effect Chapter 31 - Catharsis Chapter 32 - The Misinformation Effect Chapter 33 - Conformity Chapter 34 - Extinction Burst Chapter 35 - Social Loafing Chapter 36 - The Illusion of Transparency Chapter 37 - Learned Helplessness Chapter 38 - Embodied Cognition Chapter 39 - The Anchoring Effect Chapter 40 - Attention Chapter 41 - Self-Handicapping Chapter 42 - Self-Fulfilling Prophecies Chapter 43 - The Moment Chapter 44 - Consistency...

Words: 84394 - Pages: 338

Free Essay

Det Store L

...Peter Kaspersen TEKSTENS TRANSFORMATIONER En undersøgelse af fortolkningen af den litterære tekst i det almene gymnasiums danskundervisning Ph.D.-afhandling Dansk Institut for Gymnasiepædagogik Syddansk Universitet 2004 INDHOLDSFORTEGNELSE Indholdsfortegnelse Forord Første del. Forudsætninger Kapitel 1. Debatten om faget Fremtidens danskfag Litteratursynet i Fremtidens danskfag Danskfagets mangler Den litterære fronts modangreb En fagdidaktisk kritik Kapitel 2. Afhandlingens placering i debatten Samfundssyn Didaktiksyn Litteratursyn Inspirationen fra Fremtidens danskfag Inspirationen fra litteraturteorien Inspirationen fra systemteorien Dannelsessyn Utraditionel dannelse Sammenfatning af første del Anden del. Teorier Kapitel 3. Den sociokulturelle udfordring Vygotsky Bakhtin Hvorfor ikke sociokulturalisme? Kapitel 4. Amerikansk litteraturpædagogik Klasserummets dialog Fortolkningens instanser Læsercentrerede teorier – og derudover Kapitel 5. Systemteori Bruner iagttaget af Luhmann 1 1 3 4 6 9 10 13 13 16 21 22 24 28 31 34 36 38 38 39 44 48 50 50 57 61 68 68 Systemteoriens grundlæggende paradoks Kommunikationsbegrebet Meningsbegrebet Systemteoretisk uddannelsesteori Interaktionssystemet undervisning Systemteori og danskundervisning Videns- og læringsformer. Stokastiske processer Systemteoretisk kunstteori Det selvprogrammere(n)de værk Kunstsystemets historie Litteratur og undervisning Kritik af Luhmanns systemteori Kapitel 6. Pædagogisk forskning Klasserumsforskning...

Words: 201508 - Pages: 807

Free Essay

How to Develop a Super-Power Memory

...Foreword 11 How Keen Is Your Observation? 13 Does what you see register in your mind? Which light is on top of the traffic light? Is the number six on your watch dial, the Arabic #6 or is it the Roman #VI? Other observation questions. The importance of observation in memory. Habit Is Memory 20 There is no such thing as a poor memory, only a trained or untrained one. There is no limit to the capacity of the memory. Lucius Scipio was able to remember the names of all the people of Rome; Seneca could memorize and repeat two thousand words after hearing them once. Test Your Memory 24 If you can remember any one thing by association, you can do it with anything else. A series of tests for you to take now to indicate how limited your untrained memory is. Interest in Memory 32 The first step is to be interested in remembering names, faces, dates, figures, facts—anything, and that you have confidence in your ability to retrain them. Link Method of Memory 39 What the Link Method is. Use this method of associating ridiculous mental images with items you want to remember. Start to remember as you've never remembered before. Peg System of Memory 48 The Peg System helps you associate and remember numbers. You can learn to remember 52 items by number, in and out of order. Uses of the Peg and Link Systems 60 Start with remembering a Shopping List and Daily Errands. From this you will go on to more difficult feats. How to Train Your Observation 66 ...

Words: 57189 - Pages: 229