Tim F. has an interesting post up at Balloon Juice, reporting on a study that showed a connection between loss of control in one's life and an increased willingness to see patterns where none exist, which suggests more susceptibility to conspiracy thinking. Best closing line of the week.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
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4 comments:
I saw that last night -- a truly fascinating bit of insight into the human mind.
Which leads me to ask: Have you been following the Mike Connell story at all? If so, what are your thoughts about it?
I hadn't much beyond the headlines and blurbs. Struck me as a tinfoil hat special to think that it was anything but an accident.
Struck me as a tinfoil hat special to think that it was anything but an accident.
Exactly, which is why I bring it up here, in this thread, about the tendency for stressed people to believe in lunatic conspiracy theories.
When I first heard the story, I did a quick survey of the leftosphere to see if it was getting any traction as a lefty-conspiracy theory. There are a few people talking about it, some even in the certain, hysterical tones of the True Believer. But it's nothing like the full embrace the story would receive if Connell had worked for Obama and was recently deposed to testify about his role in various crimes related to purged Obama emails and elections allegedly rigged on behalf of Democrats.
There are at least a couple of possible explanations for the discrepancy. The first is that people on the left are just more sane and reality based. The second is that the left is no long "stressed" and feeling out of control, given the fact that we just won another major set of Congressional victories, plus the presidency.
If this had happened prior to 2006, however, I imagine there would be much more chatter and speculation (to put it politely) about it on the left.
But it's nothing like the full embrace the story would receive if Connell had worked for Obama and was recently deposed to testify about his role in various crimes related to purged Obama emails and elections allegedly rigged on behalf of Democrats.
Indeed, indeed.
However, you might be right about higher levels of lefty hysteria in less happy times. Most of the early 9/11 Truthers were DFHs, it seems to me, especially the relatively tame "Bush knew" variant.
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