Magical thinking by Mitch Rubman

George Gmelch in his article Magical(maj-i-kuhl) thinking does an excellent job of outlining the many different aspects of rituals/routines and magical thinking. Since baseball has so many different players from a multitude of cultures it is an excellent example of various rituals and habits that can easily be observed and documented. The baseball player that never shaves on a game day or the player that eats chicken before every game is an example of rituals that are so important to the individuals that forgetting or missing them can easily explain a bad game day. It might have started as a routine, but now it’s a ritual and can’t be lost for fear of predetermined failure.

There are taboos(tab-bu) that will also explain a lousy day or game. If the pitcher must step on home plate before going to the field then if he misses that, the sense of doom is apparent and expected. I have friends that have rituals like, never shaving before an exam. A good friend of mine always wore his “lucky sneakers” on the day of a test. I sat next to him once during a big math test, when I asked him before the test where his lucky sneakers were, he then realized he had forgotten them, he was so worried that he got up and left, telling the teacher that he had a terrible headache and rushed out saying that he needed to take it the next day.

Another friend has to listen to talk radio(rey-dee-oh) to sleep peacefully; she believes that by listening to the voices it magically calms her inner spirit into sleeping. For myself, I have to wear my lucky tie during exams and interviews. It all started when I went to take my first exam in college, as I was leaving, my friend told me that he always wore a tie and that it seemed to help. Did I think why not? I knew it was going to be a difficult test and I could use all the “magical” help I could get. While taking the test I kept hearing in the back of my head, don’t worry I’m wearing a magical tie and when I passed the test, the ritual was created. I wore that specific tie for many exams and always did well, but then one day I didn’t do as well, I, of course, blamed the tie. I never wore that tie again, but changed ties and still no luck, in the end, I gave up on ties. It was my behavior and belief in magic that allowed me to wear that tie and to feel that somehow the magic of the tie would guide me through the exam. I’m still looking for another magical tie.


Most people in today’s society have some elements(el-uh-muh-nts) of magical thinking in their lives. For instance, it is rare to find a building with a 13th floor. Somehow the construction companies and building managers have all agreed that number 13 is an unlucky number. This is culturally based, as there is no question about it, so they eliminated that number. It’s evident that the 14th floor is the 13th, but no one talks about it. Talking about superstitions is taboo. Everyone knows that thirteen is an unlucky number. “See what happened to Apollo 13” for example, might be a remark they say. Be careful on Friday the 13theveryone says.  These superstitions are born out of an event or events, and over time become a standard of the culture and a taboo of that period.

William F. Buckley, Jr., by Mitch Rubman

William F. Buckley, Jr.,

Born the son of oil barons(bar-uhnz), William F. Buckley was a mainstay in the American conservatism movement until his death in 2008.  His style, wit and sarcasm(sahr-kaz-uhm) was legendary. A graduate of Yale, he published his first book, God and Man at Yale in 1951 which was a critical analysis of the faculty at Yale. He continued writing throughout his life eventually publishing more than 50 other books from novels to history and politics. Mr. Buckley is best known for his television show, Firing line, he hosted 1,429 episodes of the show, which became an important program for debating American politics. Buckley was also recruited by the Central Intelligence(in-tel-i-juhns) Agency and served in Mexico for nine months in 1951.

Robert McNamara Born June 9 1916 by Mitch Rubman

Robert McNamara

Born June 9 1916

Robert McNamara has a long list of accomplishments, awards and critics. He has the distinction of being the longest serving Secretary of Defense in American History. He was educated at UC Berkeley with a degree in Economics along with minors in mathematics and philosophy. In 1939 he graduated from the prestigious Harvard(hahr-verd) Business School. He then joined the accounting firm, Price Waterhouse where he stayed for a year until returning to Harvard to teach.

McNamara was the youngest and highest paid professors of accounting at Harvard Business School. This analytic(an-l-it-ik) brilliance was the basis for his opinions of strategy throughout the years he served on both LBJs and JFKs administration. In the Army he used these techniques to measure efficiency and effectiveness of the B29 bombers during WW2. McNamara was a reductionist, he would eventually try and reduce everything to numbers, and he didn’t want opinions just hard numbers as proof.

After the war, he was among a group of 10 known businessman called the wiz kids that were hired by Ford to save Ford motor company from disaster. Those years were growth years for Ford and eventually McNamara was asked to be president, the first time a non-family member was elected.

He served for less than a year when he was asked to join the Kennedy’s President Elect team as Secretary of the Treasury or Secretary of the Defense department. He agreed to become Secretary of Defense. Previous to McNamara the United States had maintained Eisenhower’s policy of massive retaliation. But with McNamara’s technique for statistical analysis of everything, a limited response war was deemed more advantageous. This changed everything, forever. McNamara understood that Vietnam was a ground war fought by snipers and raids and analyzed everything. The number of advisors skyrocketed in Vietnam(vee-et-nahm) from 900 to 16,000.

McNamara changed and controlled policy and was often not popular in his deductions he made. His method of statistically analyzing everything instead of relying on military advice was very unpopular in many ways and yet was ahead of its time. Perhaps it was the Ford car background that made him want single vendors and a single strike force. This is the same decision that the current military goes through.

But McNamara’s insistence for a flexible, deadly advance fighter jet was difficult and unique at that time. The idea of supersonic flight with slow carrier landings and tactical flight operations made the jet heavy and difficult to land and was eventually abandoned.

Even senior military advisors had a difficult time understanding McNamara’s reports creating an air of distrust and unpopularity. The reports were deemed to be skewed to agree and support decisions that McNamara had already made. Some reports entitled DPMs (Draft Presidential Memorandum) bypassed the normal flow chart and went directly to the President further angering his critics as they were now effectively cut out of a direct line to the President. Sixteen DPMs were issued between the years 1961 and 1968. The DPMS were so complex(kuhm-pleks) that it was virtually impossible for anyone to challenge its conclusions.

McNamara is also created with advising the President during the critical moments of the Cuban missile crisis. He agreed with the blockade idea of stopping the Soviets, rather than a missile strike. His policies also included the closing of dozens of underused or unnecessary military bases, an unpopular decision created with saving more than 14 billion dollars in a five year period. 

McNamara’s reason for departure is uncertain, he either left on his own or was asked to leave. He is well remembered and was awarded both the Distinguish service metal and the Medal of Freedom, he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Robert McNamara has a long list of accomplishments, awards and critics. He has the distinction of being the longest serving Secretary of Defense in American History. He was educated at UC Berkeley with a degree in Economics along with minors in mathematics and philosophy. In 1939 he graduated from the prestigious Harvard Business School. He then joined the accounting firm, Price Waterhouse where he stayed for a year until returning to Harvard to teach.

McNamara was the youngest and highest paid professors of accounting at Harvard Business School. This analytic brilliance was the basis for his opinions of strategy throughout the years he served on both LBJs and JFKs administration. In the Army he used these techniques to measure efficiency and effectiveness of the B29 bombers during WW2. McNamara was a reductionist, he would eventually try and reduce everything to numbers, and he didn’t want opinions just hard numbers as proof.

After the war, he was among a group of 10 known businessman called the wiz kids that were hired by Ford to save Ford motor company from disaster. Those years were growth years for Ford and eventually McNamara was asked to be president, the first time a non-family member was elected.

He served for less than a year when he was asked to join the Kennedy’s President Elect team as Secretary of the Treasury or Secretary of the Defense department. He agreed to become Secretary of Defense. Previous to McNamara the United States had maintained Eisenhower’s policy of massive retaliation. But with McNamara’s technique for statistical analysis of everything, a limited response war was deemed more advantageous. This changed everything, forever. McNamara understood that Vietnam was a ground war fought by snipers and raids and analyzed everything. The number of advisors skyrocketed in Vietnam from 900 to 16,000.

McNamara changed and controlled policy and was often not popular in his deductions he made. His method of statistically analyzing everything instead of relying on military advice was very unpopular in many ways and yet was ahead of its time. Perhaps it was the Ford car background that made him want single vendors and a single strike force. This is the same decision that the current military goes through.

But McNamara’s insistence for a flexible, deadly advance fighter jet was difficult and unique at that time. The idea of supersonic flight with slow carrier landings and tactical flight operations made the jet heavy and difficult to land and was eventually abandoned.

Even senior military advisers had a difficult time understanding McNamara’s reports creating an air of distrust and unpopularity. The reports were deemed to be skewed to agree and support decisions that McNamara had already made. Some reports entitled DPMs (Draft Presidential Memorandum) bypassed the normal flow chart and went directly to the President further angering his critics as they were now effectively cut out of a direct line to the President. Sixteen DPMs were issued between the years 1961 and 1968. The DPMS were so complex that it was virtually impossible for anyone to challenge its conclusions.

McNamara is also created with advising the President during the critical moments of the Cuban missile crisis. He agreed with the blockade idea of stopping the Soviets, rather than a missile strike. His policies also included the closing of dozens of underused or unnecessary military bases, an unpopular decision created with saving more than 14 billion dollars in a five year period. 

McNamara’s reason for departure is uncertain, he either left on his own or was asked to leave. He is well remembered and was awarded both the Distinguish service metal and the Medal of Freedom, he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery(sem-i-ter-ee).