What to do with people trapped in conspiracy theories…

I’ve been wrestling with a question for some time now. A question that I don’t have a good answer for, or really a whole lot of insight into. A question that just leaves me with a boggled mind and I’m not sure what to do with it. The question is this — Why do we humans have a tendency to grab hold of certain ideas and beliefs? Especially ideas and beliefs that don’t hold up upon examination. Things like conspiracy theories, beliefs about cultures or people that we are not really familiar with, and more.

What is it about these ideas and beliefs that attract people? I think the answer is probably far more complex than any simple answer could possibly offer. Which is kind of ironic really. A core part of these ideas and beliefs are grounded in simple explanations for complex situations. They hold a binary worldview in which there are only two possibilities and the true believers are clearly on the side of good, while anyone else is obviously bad. They offer us concrete answers in a world that is more and more confusing and often without any satisfying answers. They allow us to believe that we can shape and bend reality to us, as if we are the center of the universe. They offer us a sense of control over our lives and the world around us.

Dr. Steven Novella of Yale School of Medicine wrote an article on conspiracy theories and said that conspiracy theories connect the dots of random information and allow followers to see an invisible hand operating behind the scenes. They all have the same…