“Why do children love imaginary figures like Santa Claus…? Because they like to pretend. And when children pretend, they are exercising the evolutionarily crucial human ability to envision alternative ways the world could be. In adults that ability is at the core of our very real capacities for invention and innovation.” – Alison Gopnik, author of “The Philosophical Baby: What Children’s Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love and the Meaning of Life”; full story in December 22, 2009, The New York Times.