Suspicious Minds : Why We Believe Conspiracy Theories

Print version:

Cover; Praise for Suspicious Minds; A Note on the Author; Dedication; Title; Contents; Introduction: Down the Rabbit Hole; Everything Is a Conspiracy; Tidy Desk, Tidy Mind (or: The Unexpected Virtue of Neatness); Who Is Pulling the Strings?; Suspicious Minds; Chapter 1: The Age of Conspiracy; While Rome Burned; Illuminati Panic; The Wise Men of Zion; The History of a Lie; Chapter 2: Whatâ#x80;#x99;s the Harm?; The Jewish Problem; License to Kill; Deadly Choices; A Pox on You; Tilting at Windmills; Chapter 3: What Is a Conspiracy Theory?; Unanswered Questions; Nothing Is As It Appears. Everything Is Under ControlEverything is Evil; Anomaly Hunting; Heads I Win, Tails You Lose; A Working Definition; Chapter 4: Conspiracy Minded; #FalseFlag; One Conspiracy, Different Forms; Dead and Alive; Conspiracy Minded; Chapter 5: The Paranoid Fringe; The Paranoid Style; The Paranoid Masses; Everyday Paranoia; Prudent Paranoia; Bad Blood; Just Because Youâ#x80;#x99;re Paranoid; Chapter 6: I Want to Believe; Simple Minds; Open Minds; The Truth Is Out There; Dare to Know!; â#x80;#x9C;I Think I Know Less than I Thoughtâ#x80;#x9D;; The Unknown Unknowns; The University of Google; A Little Learning. Chapter 7: (Official) StoriesOnce Upon a Time . . .; The Advantages of Disadvantage; â#x80;#x9C;It Is a Dog Fightâ#x80;#x9D;; The Myth of Pure Evil; All the Worldâ#x80;#x99;s a Stage; Chapter 8: Connect the Dots; Trick of the Eye; Canals on Mars and Assassins in Bushes; Trick of the Mind; From Coincidence to Cause; True, True, Unrelated; â#x80;#x9C;Bubbles in the Surface of Circumstanceâ#x80;#x9D;; Chapter 9: Intention Seekers; Reading Minds; â#x80;#x9C;The Circle Enters the Rectangleâ#x80;#x9D;; No Such Thing as an Accident; Someone Is Pulling the Strings; Are You Thinking What Iâ#x80;#x99;m Thinking?; It Takes One to Know One; Manufacturing Motive. Chapter 10: Proportion DistortionUnusual Suspects; The Usual Suspect; Magnitude Matching; Crisis (Averted); Hits and Misses; President Dead; Chapter 11: I Knew It; Seek and Ye Shall Find; Depends How You Look at It; Controverting the Incontrovertible; Partisan Paranoia; Reasonable Creatures; Epilogue: Only Human; References and Notes; Permissions; Acknowledgments; Index; Copyright