Santa, Fact Checked
In year 13 all the IB students follow a course called TOK which stands for Theory of Knowledge. This course examines how we really know anything. There are 8 ways of knowing – these are language, emotion, reason and perception, imagination, intuition, memory and faith. I will apply some of these ways of knowing, to prove beyond a shadow of doubt that Santa exists. I don’t need to rely on emotion or faith although they are important. No, I think I can prove it by using reason and maybe a sprinkling of imagination, a drizzle of faith, a pinch of memory.
The first key point is that billions believe that Santa exists. How can so many people be wrong? But to back up this faith there is real, hard evidence for Santa. Gifts appear under our trees and the milk and cookies are always gone in the morning! Even the carrot for Rudolph has a bite mark on it. Therefore, reason shows that Santa exists. Some doubters argue that this is our parents pretending to be Santa, but clearly the evidence points to Santa being very big boned, potentially a little overweight which is no surprise given the amount he has to eat and drink during one night per year.
Further hard evidence is that Santa Claus has been around for a long time, yet he is still in touch with technology! He has his own website called santacentral.com, his own email address, Twitter and Facebook page! You can add him. Even recently – he changed his relationship status on Facebook from “it’s complicated” to “in a relationship” with Mary Christmas. Also every year, NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defence Command, an organisation which protects the US from potential attack from the air have their Santa Tracker which tracks his progress for all to see on Christmas Eve. It is absolutely incontrovertible evidence.
For further hard evidence you only need to read the reliable news outlets from around the world. Last year it was reported by BBC, CNN, USA Today and the Guardian amongst others that an Italian Bishop had to apologise for saying that Santa did not exist. He was quickly corrected. A teacher in New Jersey who denied Santa’s existence was told not to return to school for spreading fake news. You can’t cancel Santa.
I am sure that many of the parents reading this can remember their childhoods and the part that Santa, or to use his other monikers, Father Christmas, Pere Noel, played in their formative years. I can clearly recall one snowy Christmas eve when I peeked out of my curtains and saw him and his sleigh flying through the night sky. Memory is another way of knowing. When I recall those childhood memories I become all ‘santamental.’
In conclusion, there is a concept called Occam’s razor in philosophy which states that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. This is a classic case of claus and effect! Have a great and restful time!
