Why We Fall for Conspiracy Theories
When are we most likely to fall for a conspiracy theory? When it explains away an inconvenient piece of reality.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting is embarrassing to me as an opponent of more stringent gun control; ergo, it must be a lie. Alex Jones is right: the parents were crisis actors.
What happened at the Capitol on January 6th is embarrassing to me as a Trump supporter; ergo, it must be a lie. “Horns” is a Democrat plant sent to make Trump supporters look crazy. Antifa was behind it. Maybe BLM too. Regardless, this is clearly the work of Saul Alinsky-ites. Always ask yourself when witnessing these spectacles: Cui bono, who benefits?
It is embarrassing to me that Germany lost the First World War to inferior races; ergo, it must be a lie. We were stabbed in the back and undermined by a fifth column within our own ranks.
These stories of Stalin’s crimes coming out of the Soviet Union are embarrassing to me as a Stalinist; ergo, they must be false.
It is embarrassing to me that the burning of fossil fuels is causing climate change, because my income depends upon the fossil fuel industry; ergo, climate change must be a lie.
It is embarrassing to me that my team lost the election; ergo, it must be a lie. We actually won the election. But they stole it somehow.
The fact that my group is under-represented in profession x is embarrassing to me because we’re supposed to be the best; ergo, my group’s under-representation must be a function of some sort of systematic conspiracy to prevent us from getting into profession x.
What bugs me most about conspiracy theories is how utterly irresistible they are in the heat of the moment. I must confess that I have fallen for a few of them over the years. And it was always because the conspiracy theory explained away a piece of reality that I simply didn’t want to accept.
The problem with most conspiracy theories is that they’re circular and unfalsifiable. In other words, the problem with most conspiracy theories is that they’re really not theories. A theory is an explanation that can be tested and verified in accordance with the scientific method. Most conspiracy “theories” are little more than well thought out superstitions.
