Thanks for a great response to my random musings, @alexbiojs. I look forward to hearing about the Santa Claus phenomenon and other explanations you might come up with for our fantasies.

I agree with you that science, though not perfect, is great for some things. I'm afraid I don't hold any hope that we will stop being stupid or making mistakes, no matter how much data or science we throw at our problems, though. I'd love to be proven wrong, of course!