Just a side note, magical thinking doesn't quite mean what you're using it for. It's not synonymous with poor reasoning. "A self driving car could kill me or o

Just a side note, magical thinking doesn't quite mean what you're using it for. It's not synonymous with poor reasoning. "A self driving car could kill me or others at any moment, and whether that happens is completely outside my control" is a reasonable fear. People may over-weight it compared to more familiar dangers that are in fact greater, but that's not magical thinking. Magical thinking is more about believing in a causal relationship between unrelated events. Astrology is an example, but also things like "if I don't shave my beard my hockey team will win" or "I thought something bad about my kid and then they got hurt, I'm a terrible parent".