oh, the stupid...it hurts

[Danzig]

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/au...cine-myth.html

And this, which I find fascinating...

http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...racy-theories/

Other factors are at work in creating a conspiratorial mind. Uscinski and Parent note that in laboratory experiments “researchers have found that inducing anxiety or loss of control triggers respondents to see nonexistent patterns and evoke conspiratorial explanations” and that in the real world “there is evidence that disasters (e.g., earthquakes) and other high-stress situations (e.g., job uncertainty) prompt people to concoct, embrace, and repeat conspiracy theories.”

So many issues that provoke argument are about just that...control.