Driving home from work today I did a bit of social psychology inside of my car by scanning the offerings of AM radio (I've been doing that a lot lately). Today, the most prominent AM radio station in St. Louis featured an opportunity to talk to Santa Claus. Santa took precious moments out from his busy schedule to talk to dozens of St. Louis children who were allowed to call the station and discuss upcoming matters of great importance with Mr. Claus. The typical conversation went something like this: Santa: what your name? [I kept thinking, "Here's a man who claims to be virtually omniscient in that he knows who's been bad or good, but he doesn't know who he's talking to."] Ashley: Ashley Santa: How old are you, Ashley? Ashley: I am six. Santa: What would you like for Christmas, Ashley? Ashley: I would like an iPod, and a Nintendo Wii and lots of other toys [Most of the children asked for toys that added up to many hundreds of dollars]. Santa: Ho, Ho, Ho! Thanks for talking! [Santa knew enough avoid saying anything that would cause big disappointments on Christmas morning] -- As you might guess, there was a conspiracy of misinformation going on. The parents and the radio station personalities worked hard to tell the children that Santa Claus actually existed, and they convinced the kids that asking a stranger to bring them valuable things was somehow appropriate. And why wouldn't he be? He gives you stuff, no strings attached. Even though it is obvious, it needs to be said that Santa Claus is far more popular than Jesus Christ, at least among children. [More . . . ]