Conversation

Learning Santa Claus is not real is by convention regarded as the first red pill in western societies. Are there equivalent first-false-consciousness-punctured markers in other societies? I can’t think of one for India.
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Is Santa Claus belief ever truly literal or is it more like child-grade kayfabe? I have a suspicion belief capacity starts out kayfabe and only becomes capable of sincerity at like 8 or so when consistent world-views start to cohere from fragmented contingent beliefs
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IMO distinction between kayfabe and sincere belief is blurry enough to be of little use. I like the concept of "incentivated belief", a cousin of "motivated reasoning". Adults' shared belief in things such as fiat money, rule of law, democracy, or equality of opportunities...
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I remember it being a pretty literal belief around age 5, and by 9 or 10 it had been shattered by empirical investigation