Axxman300
Philosopher
Why do people believe in conspiracy theories?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/.../why-do-people-believe-in-conspiracy-theories
David Ludden Ph.D.
Why Do People Believe in Conspiracy Theories?
The need to find order in a confusing world
Posted Jan 06, 2018
It seems that every family has an Uncle Joe—the guy who goes on and on about conspiracy theories at the holiday dinner table. The 9/11 attack was orchestrated by the government. The moon landing was filmed in Hollywood. Oswald did not act alone in the Kennedy assassination. And don’t get me started on global warming. Record low temperatures this Christmas, and you expect me to believe the world is actually getting warmer? Give me a break.
Maybe we should give Uncle Joe a break, or at least try to understand where he’s coming from. Why do some people believe in conspiracy theories anyway? This is exactly the question posed by British psychologist Karen Douglas and her colleagues in a recent article in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science.
The researchers found that reasons for believing in conspiracy theories can be grouped into three categories:
The desire for understanding and certainty
The desire for control and security
The desire to maintain a positive self-image
Steve's going through a midlife crisis like Gage did. Not sure why he's fixated on 9-11 but he's decided to make this his windmill. He posts here because the Truther boards probably give him the boot since he's too far gone even for them. When asked for supporting evidence all of his links are to his webpage or Youtube channel which suggests that he feels he is the ultimate intellectual authority on the matter even while demonstrating in text and video that he has no clue about the things he talks about.
He stated that he wants to leave a legacy for his grandkids and this suggests that he has failed at many things in his life and blames others for these failures, hence the reflexive distrust and disdain for government. His anger toward professionals is the underlying theme in all of his threads.
