Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

MoJabar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:37:21 GMT

Sarah Palin stands to be the most powerful woman in the world and she believes in witchcraft.

Watch Pastor Thomas Muthee cast his own Jesus spell of his own to protect her from witchcraft.

Long live simpletons! Vote McCain - Palin!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwkb9_zB2Pg

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

RTGO — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 20:49:42 GMT

This study proves what Stevie Wonder said about superstition in his song "Superstition" and that is " When you believe in things that you don't understand you will suffer".

I agree with this articles finding that people who feel they have no control are more susceptible to engaging in superstition. Superstition is a coping mechanism for the powerless. My question is how does one, who is powerless in a situation, regain power.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

mcleodmn — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:11:29 GMT

My sentiments about organized religion.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

jbowyer001 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:38:46 GMT

This article is much more boring than its title on msnbc's website suggested: "Newsweek: Why powerless believe in conspiracies" Maybe the author should consider submitting her work to an academic journal next time.

However, the truly nefarious aspect of this article lies in its final phrase "the conspiracy that people imagine in the proposed financial bailout".

Ms. Begley, are you so "powerful" that you believe the executives at seemingly every financial institution in the world all suddenly became stupid and defied prudent fiscal management by investing in sub-prime mortgages?

Not only do I "imagine" a conspiracy in the current global credit crisis, I actually worked for the "group" that created the crisis.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

wordwyvern — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:50:12 GMT

The world is most assuredly not random, but it is so complex that even in the best of circumstances of real life experience there is much that is unpredictable. This study, showing that anxiety due to that predictability causes one to see things that aren't there, is long overdue. Maybe, just maybe, some young folks will read and understand that much of what passes for "religion" is just culturally approved self-delusion.

Nah. Probably not. That'd require too much thought, courage, individuation.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

brainofjfk — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:44:15 GMT

I agree that people believe in ridiculous conspiracy theories but for different reasons than indicated in this article.

Conspiracy theories supported by the US government or religious institutions for instance are whole heartedly supported even when facts, evidence and science show the theories to be wrong. Media also helps support government conspiracies by showing supposed "experts" that talk thru all the talking points that are given to them by the corporate government.

When you actually read about science and find facts and have an opinion about the way things work for some reason if it is not approved by your chosen government or religious leader you are seen as a ridiculous conspiracy theorist.

This article is completely biased as it says anyone who believes that the stock market has controlling interests as well as peole who have engineered the collapse as simply not being able to understand it.

So her conclusion in the article is if you do not support your government sponsored or religious conspiracy theory on the way things work and have done independent research you simply are dumb.

This article was dumb and I want my 5 minutes back for having read it.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

Laffy — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:13:38 GMT

This is all fine and dandy, but the fact is, wild conspiracies do exist.

If you would have said 20 years ago the Catholic Church was running the largest pedophile ring in the world, people would said you were a nutjob.

There are 100 other examples of wild conspiracies that turned out to be true that NO ONE would have believed at the time.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

Braes — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:28:00 GMT

The Bush Administration has been a Cheney-driven conspiracy, and I am not powerless at all.

Actual conspiracies exist. Ask Howard Dean.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

MrEngineer — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:33:28 GMT

Having designed and carried out numerous behavioral tests in college in the name of neuroscience, I have first hand knowledge of how 'superstitions' propagate and persist through ignorance.

Rather than use this article to lambast organized religion and political information, we should see this as another argument to support the need for people of a democracy to have a good well-rounded education that not only teaches them to read, write, add, and put on condoms, but also to be able to think and process the deluge of information they deal with on a daily basis. Superstitions, like prejudices and intolerance, are a product of the untrained mind that is never taught to really 'think' about the world and to investigate it objectively taking in information and observations to make a healthy decision. The root of the problem aren’t the things that people believe such as religion or government doctrine; it is how people take these ideas and relate it to the observable realities of their life, the ideologies of others, and how to approach it as a democratic citizen within a wide and diverse people. Giving people a better education will allow them to have a philosophy/faith/ideals, while giving them the decision capabilities to know where to draw the line.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

ides — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:35:39 GMT

I'm curious to know if the people who dislike/disagree with this article find themselves believing in conspiracies that their peers don't believe in. I'm talking about conspiracies which they publicly proclaim to exist, as well as conspiracies which they quietly believe to exist but are reluctant to vocalize. I'm not asking the question as an indictment, but I think it's a fair question to ask when evaluating the quality of the posts. (Caveat: I had father in law who believed in many {what I would describe as} conspiracies. If I told him that his belief in a particular conspiracy was off base, he would tell me why I was wrong. Invariably, the reasons I was wrong would have little to do with cold, verifiable facts, but everything to do with what I would describe as "sub-conspiracies" meant to obscure the major conspiracy.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

bman1 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:59:31 GMT

conspiracy theory is a term used by those in power to discredit alternative explanations that contradict the story put forth by those in power. Example: the u.s. governernment wants us to believe that someone with slightly more than my skill - I have none - of flying a jumbo jet was able to fly a jumbo jet 5 feet off the ground and hit the pentagon. THINK CRITICALLY PEOPLE!!!

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

cbseven — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:00:18 GMT

Interesting study. I see no flaws whatsoeever. Nonetheless I have to take issue with some commenters who somehow equate those who see conspiracy in things being akin to individuals who have a religous faith. There is a logical flaw in this reasoning (which I believe is either the "circular" or "either/or" fallacy). Many powerful people (CEOs, scientists, medical doctors, etc. have religous faith.

I also find something entirely strange in one commenters' remark on how he believes people can be taught to not become powerless, ignorant consiracy theorists by teaching them how to "read, write, add and put on condoms." One usually teaches children. Children. To read, write and add (subtract, etc.). Why would children need to know how to put on condoms?

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

ricky002 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:11:30 GMT

MrEngineer has made the most proufound statement of observation.

People choose to have a conspirotor.

I on the other hand have observations.

We as a people have endured the lies of our government infiltrating countries for commerce.

We as a democracy have allowed our politicians the right to empower without popular trust NAPTA and the WTO conduct.

We have been fooled by the 911 commission and we have not eliminated 3000 plus terrorists.

In the realm of Karma. But we wasted 60,000 or more standing before our targetted suspects.

WE HAVE TO BE BETTER THAN THIS.

And thats why the average person chooses to have conspiracy theories.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

thisisnotamerica — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:14:43 GMT

The premise of this article/distraction is ridiculously unsound.

For instance: The Bush administration had offered us all the conspiracy theory, which they have now retracted, that bin Laden was the mastermind behind 9/11, and that a bunch of uneducated "terrorist" could have caused the events of 9/11.

The Bush adminsitration has also offered us the conspiracy theory that bin Laden and Saddam Hussein were in (invisible) WMD cahoots.

Then there's Bush's conspiracy of the "evil doer" states who hate us for our freedoms and who are supposedly conspiring to get us, but who also hate each others' guts.

Of course, there was the Bush conspiracy theory that Afghanistan was refusing to hand over the "mastermind" of 9/11 (bin Laden), which led to Bush's attack on and invasion of Afghanistan, despite the fact that Bush has admitted that bin Laden was not the mastermind of 9/11.

And so on...

Clearly, the Bush adminsitration is not powerless, yet its foreign and domestic policies are grounded almost entirely in its own conspiracy theories (aka, lies.).

I think this article is simply an attempt to pander to those among us who are too apathetic and too cowardly to address the overwhelming evidence of criminal wrongdong by the Bush administration.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

averygoodman — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:44:34 GMT

Business Week carried a feature story in its Jan. 29, 1996 edition with the headline "The Yakuza And The Banks" printed in big yellow letters, accompanied by a cover photo of a "jiageya (land turner)" in Osaka.

From that article: "The main focus of the parliamentary debate begun recently is whether tax money should be used to bail out the special housing loan companies, "jusen," whose management collapsed under the weight of trillions of yen in bad loans.

The seven failed jusen companies have a combined total of claims amounting to 13.2 trillion yen, at least half of which was lent to the yakuza (organized crime)-related companies at the peak of the economic bubble. These loans are quite difficult or almost impossible to recover. As far as the known figure goes, the use of 1 trillion yen in public funds to save the "jusen" will in effect save the yakuza, which would no doubt incur the public's wrath."

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

ricky002 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:44:45 GMT

I wish to remind the american public that if we allow our government the right to bail out wall street. what our politiians pass..........AND

We as an american public will loose 7 cents to 11 cents on the dollar in the next 3 years.

DO THE MATH...................................

this is not a conspiracy.......this is your pay check.....................

I wonder where the right to be free ends..........

and what is printed on paper.........................

WE CAN BE BETTER TAB THIS>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

c0mm0n_sEnSE — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:53:50 GMT

when did newsweek become a mouthpiece of the Bush administration? The fact of the matter is if we belive in a free market we should let these companies go under. They weren't complaining when they were reaping huge rewards, now let them take the risk of bad investments with that reward, like EVERY OTHER AMERICAN THAT OPENS A SMALL BUSINESS. No one is proposing a baliout for my neighbor down the street whose small business just closed down.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

ricky002 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:22:32 GMT

feaky fridays

I personally only choose numbers

For instance god chose me and you to make decisions

So in the elemetary and choice of a free nation

in the matter of our choice of what do we choose to do...

Have we let our politicians rule without conduct or popularity vote????????

We do have the right to choose

Perhaps we forgot as a nation that we are not puppets of the chosen delegates

this is beyond the concept of conspiracy

We are being manipulated

we as a people must convey

WE ARE NOT YOUR CORPORTION

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

ricky002 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:46:08 GMT

thank you for not being

languistical perfectionists

we as a people HAVE allowed our government to invade Pakistan

invade Iran

doctrinate Turkey

invade Jordan

invade Mexico

invade Iran

invade Sudan

invade Columbia

invade whatever I forgot

whith only a 1 minute mention in the news

If that is conspiracy

I am guilty of watchingI have no choice of being

a partitioner

I have mentioned

My government has run away from the average man

THIS IS BEYOND my conspiracy thought

MY apology

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

John_Charles_Webb — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:02:05 GMT

“Illusory pattern perception" is the 'norm' for human beings.

Our scientific methodology does everything reasonably possible to eliminate 'subjectivity' to arrive at 'scientific truth'.

Our children go through 12 years of elementary and then high school, and in the process are 'taught' our cultural 'consensus reality'. ('Consensus reality' is the end product when 'cultures' or 'tribes' connect the dots to arrive at a uniform belief system).

No two of us have identical experiences.

(Quote) - Whitson put it this way: “People see false patterns in all types of data, imagining trends in stock markets, seeing faces in static and detecting conspiracies between acquaintances. This suggests that lacking control leads to a visceral need for order, even imaginary order.” (End Quote).

So, how do we know that 'Whitson' isn't having “Illusory pattern perception" issues when she made that statement? In other words, does Whitson hold the holy grail of 'truth' which excludes her from the 'people who see patterns'?

What is the status of Whitson's pattern when she describes the “Illusory pattern perception" that she sees in others? What personal delusion is she using for comparision?

'Genius 'can go from "A" to "D" without needing to pass through "B" and "C". There is a 'transcendent' reasoning/intuition involved in the process.

Some people believe (Religion?) that there is an inner-connectedness among all things. Would Whitson make them wrong? Would she insist that her 'perceptions' are accurate and their's are not?

Even greats like Plato advised us to 'question reality' instead of blindly following the herd mentality.

Anyhow, the article underscores the arrogrance that is typical of Western 'science'.

(Quote) "Feel free to apply this to current events, starting with the conspiracy that people imagine in the proposed financial bailout." (End Quote).

Comment - Even calling the proposed 'bailout' a 'bailout' is a misnomer.

If we knew for certain that the plan would work then we could, with certainty, call the plan a 'bailout'. But the fact is that we don't know, for sure, that 'the bailout' is going to work.

The 'bailout' comes on the heals of (my perceptions) 8 years of having the treasury emptied into the coffers of corporate America. Plus, out-of-control interest rates on credit cards, changes in the bankruptcy laws, unregulated out-of-control gasoline prices, warrantless police activities (Patriot Act), a 'war' started with falsified intelligence, a huge increase in the national debt, and the torture of 'suspected' terrorists without (previously) any supervision by the judiciary.

Now the business-friendly Republican Administration want the American taxpayer to, essentially, pick-up-the-tab for the shortsightedness of the banking industry. With President Bush running to Congress with yet another 'the sky is falling' song and dance routine like he did with the 'weapons of mass destruction' (Iraq) that were never located (and never seemed to ever have actually existed).

One can hear about a singular 'news' event; let's say a 'political event'. And then go to Foxnews and get one account and then go to CNN and get an entirely different account. Is this an example of “Illusory pattern perception"? How do we discern what's really true? Ask Whitson? Then we would, perhaps, have three differing stories.

Whitson, perhaps, would have us believe that there is some 'ultimate truth'. Some 'truth litmus test' that hangs on a wall somewhere, in some lab. Well (jousting with windmills) there is not.

LIfe is primarily a highly 'subjective' experience and the only places where we overlap is 'consensus reality'. i.e., circumference = pi x D .... but, if you are suspicious of the Federal Reserve wanting $700,000,000,000 (700 billion) of the country's tax dollars then you are having an “Illusory pattern perception". Why? Because 'invisible forces are secretly at work' to make the American democracy 'Heaven on Earth' .... just ask Whitson.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

TDG737 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:55:59 GMT

One of the more laughable and transparently crass things I have seen in the media lately. "If you think there is some criminal collusion behind the current economic pillaging then......well, we have a study that says you're powerless and believe in conspiracy theories! That's it! Stop calling your congressmen! Stop wondering where that $700-800-900 trillion is going! It's all in your head...... it's all in your head.......pay no attention to that man behind the curtain..........."

I suppose the FBI is feeling powerless and seeing patterns in random dots too since they are expanding their investigation into AIG, Lehman, Countrywide, et al., for criminal conspiracy, bookkeeping "irregularities" (love that, like some accounting laxative will solve the problem) and a host of other issues.

It is a blatant attempt to manipulate people to take this minor study on human perception that really only matters to a handful of academics and try to use it as a fig leaf for the organized theft of a trillion dollars in taxpayer money.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

keno0501 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:20:12 GMT

illusory pattern perception boils down to the emotion of paranoia, which yes, is fed by lack of control. No human is entirely in control of their reality. Enter the superstition of a god, which we tend to cling to in a most paranoid sense. So, it is in everyone, in fact, we apply our imaginations to every emotion. Think of when you love someone, you imagine what your lives will be like together, when you hate someone, you imagine what your revenge will be, and how good it will feel. The problem comes when you use 100% emotion to make a decision. I don't care what emotion it is, if you do not temper the decision with intellect (diligence), it will certainly result in disaster.

What they are doing with your tax dollars, is trying to prevent a depression. It won't work. Just like stimulus checks only staved off a drop-out for a couple of months. Economic depressions are a natural cycle. If they make money on this investment, You will not see tax cuts or anything. Maybe more social programs, but it will be spent somewhere besides you. It doesn't matter. They didn't take those tax dollars from you. You GAVE it to them. Rather than study conspiracies, you could study tax law, and not have to whine about where your taxes go, because you aren't paying any.

The bottom line is a survival one. What is the result of your information? Can you use it to your profit and/or advantage? If not, doesn't that make your information "worthless"?

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

keno0501 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:21:31 GMT

The bottom line is a survival one. What is the result of your information? Can you use it to your profit and/or advantage? If not, doesn't that make your information "worthless"?

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

sabrina21 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:23:06 GMT

I think the writer of this article is confusing superstition with paranoia.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

keno0501 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:35:13 GMT

Also, where I believe the experiment is in question is this. The sense of expectation is not accounted for. Think of that questioning trick that has been played on everyone at some point in childhood: "Would you do this good thing? Yes. Would you do this good thing? Yes. Would you do this good thing? Yes. Would you do this bad thing? Yes." Expectation is "forced imagination" and should be accounted for as a variable in experiments on human imagination. If there was no control group tested by expectation, there is nothing to compare the experiment to. Also, were these subjects psychologically screened before testing, and deemed sane to begin with?

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

keno0501 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:49:34 GMT

If you want to know what I think, lol, I think that conspiracies are more directly a result of personal failure. Our first (or second, depending on your religious background) conspiracy is usually "the teacher doesn't like me." And what caused that comment? a bad grade. a failure. maybe not an F. but a personal failure. The want to blame others is not so great, but the disdain of blaming ourselves is. Overcoming that disdain is what gives you the power back.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

Heather79 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:52:53 GMT

This article is logically sound. Organized religion is not.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

5150pacer — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:37:07 GMT

Heather79, what does anything in this article have to do with organized religion? Just because you don't understand the concept, don't use it as an excuse to start rabble-rousing. Just stick to the topic at hand and go find an actual religion thread somewhere to comment on. sheesh.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

natwah — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:49:14 GMT

The research cited seems quite sound (and predictable), but the interpretation by the author is a little bit of a leap, which she should have admitted to in the body of the article. Not all of it was off, but she did not make the necessary arguments to logically connect the research findings to what people believe about the Wall Street bailout.

Please read the post by MrEngineer. He is exactly right! What he did not mention, however, is that the education needs to start early. I work with may highly (doctoral level) educated people who were taught how to see past fake trends and imagined patterns in their college/post-grad work but still have absolutely no ability to do so on a consistent basis. They were taught too late after their brain had already become lazy in the way that the American school system trains it to be. To get children to think logically would not be in the interest of either party, so I do not think these changes are coming.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

5150pacer — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:49:16 GMT

I spoke too soon; should have been patient enough for the rest of the comments to load. Just my two cents.

EVERYONE: What does organized religion have to do AT ALL with conspiracies?? It's just a system of beliefs and nothing more than that! Maybe just read up on various religions and then draw conclusions from there. The only ones that try to brainwash you are the false religions (like Scientology) and certain extremists of an otherwise peaceful sect (like Muslims).

Within religion there are no conspiracies, no attempted mind control, no nothing. Just a system of beliefs that you can choose to follow or ignore. Stop seeing things that aren't there.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

5150pacer — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:53:59 GMT

I spoke too soon and humbly apologize for my below post. Should have been patient enough for the rest of the comments to load.

EVERYONE: What does organized religion have to do AT ALL with conspiracy?? It's just a system of beliefs and nothing more than that! Maybe just read up on various religions and then draw conclusions from there. The only ones that try to brainwash you are false religions (like Scientology) or certain extremist wings of otherwise peaceful sects (like Muslims). The extermists give their religion a bad name.

Within religion there are no conspiracies, no attempted mind control, no nothing. As I said before: it's just a system of beliefs that you can choose to follow or ignore. And yes, I am a Christian. Deal with it.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

solid 1 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:55:52 GMT

Personally it makes no sense to me. Superstition really comes from how a person was raised like when they say it's bad luck for a black cat to cross you, or it's 7 years bad luck if you break a mirror. I used to believe in that stuff, but not anymore. The bad luck with the black cat comes from when we break our necks running from it because we were raised to believe it causes bad luck. We as individuals and God control our destiny, not good or bad luck. God blesses the good as well as the bad so we just have to take it for what it is. I don't have alot, but I've been through alot in my life, and I've been blessed in ways enough to know that God controls my life and HE alone gives me the power to do the same through Him.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

jweyant1000 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:00:23 GMT

5150pacer...have you lost your ever lovin mind?!?!?!? christians?!?!? they have spilled more blood in there insane quest to make everyone belive in their god that all the others combined seem insignificant.......just because the christians of today are physicaly violent doesnt mean they arnt. instead of blowing something up they have perverted the american dream to serve their own needs and wants......example: colorado 2008 ballot....they are trying to outlaw birthcontrol and abortions...AND THIS COMES FROM A SECT THAT PREACHES FREEDOM OF CHOICE?!?!? come now who doth thou think thout are?

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

solid 1 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:10:47 GMT

Posted By: jweyant1000 (October 3, 2008 at 11:00 AM)

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JWEYANT1000...GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT BEFORE YOU START STEREOTYPING PEOPLE AND RELIGIONS. JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE SAYS THEY ARE A CHRISTIAN, DOES NOT MEAN THEY REALLY ARE. ALOT OF PEOPLE DO DIRT IN THE NAME OF CHRISTIANITY, BUT ARE NOT TRUE CHRISTIANS. THEY USE THE TERM TO MAKE THEMSELVES SOUND JUSTIFIED WHEN DOING SOMETHING THEY SHOULDN'T DO AND THAT GIVES REAL CHRISTIANS A BAD RAP. THESE SO CALLED CHRISTIANS YOU SPEAK OF ARE WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

averygoodman — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:34:13 GMT

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

ramezan6677 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:50:10 GMT

I am amazed that in this entire article, not one mention was made of the influence of cultural beliefs. These "scientific" experiments are astonishingly narrow-mnded. Making blanket claims like "the human mind prefers to believe that mysterious invisible forces are secretly at work rather than that the world is random" is ridiculous. What about religions and cultures of the East (Taoism, Buddhism, etc) which EMBRACE the randomness of the world and in fact make it one of their central beliefs? If the mainstream media wants to print this kind of simplified analysis then that is their business (literally) but the fact that the "journalist" cites scientific studies only ensures that many people will accept it without question. Why not cite the intellectual laziness that seems to linger behind all of this belief in superstition? The stock market is a complex system but it is not out of reach for most folks to understand so long as they take some time to learn about it (preferably before handing over their life savings to greedy pigs). An understanding of human greed should be a good starting point.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

ancevay — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:39:12 GMT

Scientists (so called), preaching accidents and randomness? And they call us superstitious?

Every rational being who has thrown a rock in a pond knows about cycles and waves, and every child that has played with dominos understands the basic law of cause and effect.

It is quite rational to search for a cause, isn’t that what true scientists do. It only becomes superstitious when we throw up our hands and say it was luck, or chance, or fate, or magic, or voodoo, or a “random accident.”

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

MDJarv — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:46:37 GMT

In other words, if you don't mindlessly buy into the BS which the corporate media (which Newsweek is) spews, and you actually do your own research and think for yourself (something most people are incapable of), well, it just means that psychologically you feel powerless, and that thinking for yourself and asking questions is merely a defense mechanism in response to a crazy world that seems beyond some people's grasp. The only truth is that which is delivered to you by corporations and their lapdogs in media, and if you question these sources and their validity, well then you're just a crazy conspiracy theorist and should not be believed. Instead, you should be belittled and ridiculed for not regurgitating sound bites you heard on CNN or FOX.

Is that the gist of it?

The funny thing is, for the past several years I have seen articles being churned out, seemingly one after the other, almost exactly like this, with almost the exact same wording and citing the exact same reasons why more and more people are beginning to embrace these so-called "conspiracy theories."

Geez, you would think these people are little Carl Jungs or something, since they apparently know so much about psychology and what makes people tick.

The establishment and its media are both running scared over the fact that so many people are waking up to their lies and learning the truth. So they're working overtime to try and discredit anyone who talks about anything with any real importance at all. This is the media's modus operandi. It isn't think get you to think, but to condition you how to think. This is why they put out blatant propaganda in articles like this.

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

daedalus2.0 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 20:43:05 GMT

This explains why the Religious always claim that "god has brought them peace": because their mind creates patterns in the world to ease their minds. It's obviously not a god intervening, it's their psyche. We are our own god, in a way.

(BTW, I have to laugh at the people who immediately knee-jerk and claim this is part of a Newsweek conspiracy! Wow! Some people just can't stand science and the reality that they are unhinged and afraid of the world.)

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

BlackRaiser — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:10:01 GMT

Are we to believe that Al-Quaeda isn't a conspiracy against the West? Just a bunch of regular guys who went out one morning with a pair of tweezers and took down Manhattan? And how would this theory stand up against Stalin-era tactics? Just some random hardships?

The only conspiracy to watch out for is the cronyism that just wrecked Wall Street (and possibly funded this silly Newsweek article). Sure, it's a hoax. They can't control traffic on a Saturday morning. How can they possibly control the world? But the cronies want you to believe they have hidden powers and occult mastery over your fate. When the markets do stabilize a bit, everyone will pull out their investments (wouldn't you?) and then we will see the crash called Depression 2.0. But hey, don't call it conspiracy. Just call it your own powerlessness - or is it "my goodness?"...

re: Feeling Powerless? Do I Have a Conspiracy Theory for You

Sharon McEachern — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:51:33 GMT

Whoa there! When I learned the details of my colonoscopy, my anxiety did NOT drop. When I got into the procedure room, then up on the table and surveyed the place, I saw all those huge hoses hanging on the wall. I felt lik eI was in a garage.

"Are those what you'll be using on me?" I asked in a panic. The doctor quickly replied: "Oh don't look at those!" I got my anesthetic right away. Believe me, my having any control was out of the question!

Sharon, have you even been in one of those rooms and had a colonoscopy yourself?

I don't believe in randomness, but rather that very little is accident and most is beyond our comprehension. It is those who cannot accept that, who want all the answers and want them NOW who find themselves in trouble.

Most of us don't need to be participants in experiments to feel out of control, nor "induced" to feel powerless. Just ask anyone who had hopes of retiring with their 401K accounts under control.

Sharon McEachern