RE: The psychology behind conspiracy theories
I see the issue as being fear. We are dysfunctionally programmed to reject our own fear and to try to 'think positive' and deny that we even have fear. This causes havoc with our ability to see reality without lenses of bias. It is noticeable that often the mainstream thinkers will point the finger at those who think differently and specifically try to label them as 'paranoid' - a term directly referring to the influence of fear. I understand this more and more to be a reflection of the likelihood of their own un-owned and denied fears. It is much more palatable to blame a situation on the fear of someone else than it is to accept that maybe your own position is based on untruth and error. Emotional healing holds the keys to a brighter future.
Absolutely, emotional health is something we should all strive to achieve. And you're right: I see this often that people try to make it out like a critical thinker is paranoid. The thing that I realized in the past few years is that it is, as you say, the other way around. In my case, the subjects we're talking about should scare anyone, and of course, the possible outcome did scare me at some point. However, because after a while it's much easier to recognize 'what's real and what's not' and once things fall into place, there is the knowledge of things and that alone helps me to let go of any fear. Of course, there are quite some paranoid thinkers out there, but I think this is because: 1. they possibly already had mental issues before any of their search and 2. because there is such an amazing amount of misinformation and misdirection out there, it's hard to keep up and even harder to discover what's real or not. That being said: I don't believe in just any theory out there, but at the same time I keep an open mind and to be honest: nothing surprises me anymore. I believe that when someone keeps an open mind but is also critical, then there is absolutely no reason for unreasonable fear. 'Healthy' fear would be the kind of fear that makes a person want to learn more, and dive deeper into the subject.
I'm enjoying this conversation and it's a shame I never got to meet you at Steemfest.