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Magical Thinking and Fear of the Supernatural:
To some degree, the psychological history of the human race includes an evolutionary process that encourages the domination of rational cause-effect relationships over explanations filled with the influence of the supernatural. Nevertheless a glimpse at portions of our society as well as our language and customs clearly lead to the conclusion that superstition and magical thinking are alive and well in our world. As an example, a country not far from of here still expresses a strong respect for the dynamics of the "evil eye" in the conduct of every day life. Most of us in aviation are familiar with the of the Bermuda Triangle. We can still ward off a vampire with a little garlic, and I am happy to report that my St. Christopher Medal performed admirably for my wife, Terry and myself on a flight from Chicago, O'Hare to Vienna. Psychoanalysis teaches rather convincingly that as children, we grow through an early period where we believe that events can happen just because we think them. Residuals of this dominance of thought persist for many well into adult life. If we mix this characteristic with a little anger or guilt, throw in the influence of witchcraft or Lucifer, we have a potent brew for in-flight anxiety — especially if our airplane traveler knows little or nothing about aerodynamics and the flight environment.
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