For the purpose of this question, I define "magical thinking" to be any system of thought that makes conclusions based on speculations of faith rather than empirical observation. A belief in a religion, for example, or even adherence to certain secular ideologies.

Some studies have shown a seeming link between one's IQ and the degree to which one is prone to magical thinking. Very roughly speaking, the more prone to magical thinking you are, the more likely you are to be less intelligent. This isn't to say that religious or mystical beliefs are "stupid" or anything, just that for whatever reason, individuals with lower IQs often tend to see patterns in the universe that those with higher IQs are apparently not seeing. However, I've known a rather good number of those on the very, very high end of the IQ scale, and some of them have far more outlandish, extraordinary beliefs than anyone on the lower end. With an IQ of 162 or so, I include myself in that category - even I can't believe some of the things I come up with at times. ;-) So if you plotted a graph of IQ verses proneness to magical thinking, would it be high proneness in the low IQ section, mediocre or low proneness in the mid-range, and then high proneness again when you get to the very high end of the spectrum? It seems hyper-intelligence produces some views and perceptions of the world which are rather "bizarre" compared to the mainstream. Could the hyper-intelligent be onto something with regard to that universe that's "...stranger than we CAN imagine..." as Eddington was mis-attributed as saying?