A Parable On Critical Thinking

Fran told her little brother Tom that there was no Tooth Fairy; it was their parents who put the money under the pillow.

Tom would not believe Fran. He was certain there was a Tooth Fairy. He would put a tooth under his pillow, and there was money there the next morning. And all his friends agreed that the Tooth Fairy brought them money too. And it couldn't be Mom and Dad because he'd wake up if they came in the room and lifted his pillow. Anyway, Mom and Dad said there was a Tooth Fairy, and they wouldn't lie.

Fran asked him how he thought the Tooth Fairy found out about lost teeth, how she got into the house, where she got the money from, and what she did with the teeth. Tom said he didn't know, but wasn't it a wonderful mystery? Fran repeatedly pointed out that older kids all eventually stopped believing in the Tooth Fairy. Tom said this only confirmed that those who continue to receive money  would continue to believe in the Tooth Fairy.

Fran set up a nifty experiment to test this idea. She convinced several neighborhood kids to help test whether the Tooth Fairy would appear if the parents didn't know a tooth had been lost. It turned out that every time the parents knew about the tooth, there would be money under the pillow the next morning, and every time the parents didn't know about the tooth, there would be no money. Tom said the Tooth Fairy doesn't participate with those who do not believe in her, so she wouldn't bring money if she knew she was being tested.

Fran used her toy Detective kit to dust the money Tom had been receiving. She found their parent's fingerprints all over it. Tom said that the fingerprints only confirmed that the money had been touched by their parents. But that it didn't disprove that the tooth fairy put it there. After all, Tom said the Tooth Fairy doesn't leave fingerprints because she is magical. She likely could have even put the fingerprints there as a test to trick us. 

When Tom Lost his next tooth, Fran covered the floor in Tom's room with flour. The following morning she showed him their parents footprints leading from the door to the head of his bed and back. He said that didn't prove anything either because mom and dad could have just come in to check on him and then the Tooth Fairy came late. After all fairies don't leave footprints because they hover. 

On the next tooth loss occasion. Fran set up a video camera in Tom's room and caught footage of their parents coming in and lifting up his pillow to retrieve the tooth and place the money. Again Tom asserted that this didn't prove anything. The tooth fairy wouldn't appear when a camera was on. Or maybe she is a shape shifter who transformed to look like their parents on video. Or maybe she just asked mom and dad to help out this time.

Fran in frustration took Tom into their parents room, and showed him a small box containing several baby teeth with dates and ages written on the bags. She said that was proof that their parents were taking the teeth and giving him the money. Tom responded saying, that the Tooth Fairy probably passed the teeth onto their parents as keepsakes. Or she sold the teeth to their parents to raise funds for fairy charities. That would explain the fingerprints, wouldn't it? 

Fran made Tom come with her to confronted their parents, who admitted they had been taking the teeth and leaving the money under the pillow. Tom said they are just lying. You can't trust what anyone says about these things. He was going to ignore all the evidence because the Tooth Fairy thing worked this he knew for sure. The Tooth Fairy was real.

Fran could not understand her brother's belief in spite of all evidence to the contrary. so she tore out all her hair in frustration and left it under her pillow. Yet it was still there the next morning.