magical thinking

If we shared Ellie’s hope that Joel would stand up and fight after being beaten to ground meat, think of that as a taste of what Joan Didion describes as magical thinking, only in TV terms.

The idea that abandoning this logic would lead to a lower cost per megawatt is magical thinking, defying technical plausibility, historical reality and common sense.

In 2005's “The Year of Magical Thinking,” she wrote about how memories of high school dances at Christmas comforted her during a rare but intense moment of panic following the deaths of her only daughter and husband.

I was having a “magical thinking” experience and was convinced we’d all be back on the set on Monday like always.

Children use that magical thinking, but adults use it too.