David Aaronovitch -- Voodoo histories
=====================================

I'm interested in a book like this because I feel that it has
application outside of what we normally call conspiracies.  Even
when there is no conspiracy, even when there is no organized group
that is conspiring, we need to learn to understand why so many of us
are willing, even enthusiastic to believe that there is one or to
believe an alternative history or to believe an alternative to the
scientific explanation.

Two things to be gained by reading this book: (1) an awareness of
some of the details of some recent conspiracy theories (Oswald did
not act alone in killing President Kennedy, 9/11 Truthers; the
Birthers who claim that Obama was not born in the U.S.; that
Roosevelt knew in advance about an eminent attack on Pearl Harbor
and provoked it; etc) and (2) considerations about why we are
motivated and seduced to believe conspiracy theories and who is most
likely to do so.  You can actually think of it as two books: (1)
a detailed account of several specific conspiracy theories and (2)
an essay on conspiracy theory, why they occur, and what their
consequences are.

Aaronovitch tries to answer the question: why are people motivated
and willing to believe such improbable stories?  Perhaps there are
several very simple answers: (1) because the believers are nutty;
(2) because we are all capable of believing what we want, in
advance, to believe, no matter how goofy (many religious beliefs
prove that, not yours or mine, of course, but certainly theirs);
(3) because believers might be described as the paranoid type and
as having the paranoid style, who have a personality inclination to
see evil behind almost any event; and (4) because we all love a
good story and a conspiracy often makes a better story than
reality.  We have the ability to be willfully credulous.  And, we
have the ability to be selectively credulous, selectively
skeptical.  We can believe what we want to, and like the White
Queen in Alice, if we practice, we can believe as many as n things
before breakfast.

So, if you are interested in thinking about these things, the topic
covered in this book is actually broader than it might appear.

Possibly this tendency to believe conspiracy theories is a societal
issue; possibly we have an abundance of conspiracy theory believers
in our society because we have so many people who want to
hate someone or something (members of a minority, the minority in
general, the CIA, the FBI, the Environmental Protection Agency, or
some other governmental organization) or an excess of paranoid types
or lots of people who are bored and want something more interesting
or meaningful in their lives.

Humans have a need for an explanation and a story.  Whether we call
it a need for understanding or a fear of the mysterious, we are
inclined to find a story (or narrative) first, then justify it
afterward.  And, when we do so, confirmation bias helps us find the
"facts" that support what we already wanted to believe and to
reject or ignore whatever tends to disprove our story.

Then we look for others to agree with and support us in these
beliefs.  We join a mob, form an interest group, attend a church, or
go to the Internet and the World Wide Web where we are able find
those who will support us no matter what we believe.

There are a number of areas of our lives where we believe, if not
conspiracies exactly, then something that has some of the same
markings: we don't have evidence, we believe it because it gives us
comfort or is what we want to believe; it proves (or disproves)
something we already wanted to believe anyway.  Religion, political
ideology or party preferences, what we believe about those we love,
etc all fit this niche.  We believe because it hurts to give up
those beliefs or because we'd be unhappy if we lost that belief or
faith.  Many of us take pride in being rational, clear thinking,
and even skeptical.  But, giving up a st of beliefs that is central
or important is hard to do.

Aaronovitch gives his readers the benefit of being encouraged to
confront and struggle with that conflict between being rational and
skeptical on the one hand, and holding onto beliefs that are
comforting or important to us.  Each of us might not want to face
that conflict in every area of our lives, but we should at least be
given the choice; we should at least be made aware of segments of
our lives we are making that choice to believe rather than to be
skeptical.

Aaronovitch teaches and encourages each of his readers to be a
skeptic, even though that may be more work and, in some cases, less
fun, although, for myself, being a skeptic *is* fun.  Yes, we do
need to learn to be open to less than obvious explanations, but
still to demand evidence for those explanations and stories.

And, when the evidence is not there and is not solid, then perhaps
we just need to learn to enjoy a good story without giving in to
belief.  Fictional, or not, narratives add meaning to our lives;
they give our lives structure; they provide a framework through
which we can understand and explain our experiences and our lives
and the lives o others.  But, a good fictional narrative is still
fiction.  It can be a framework or point of view to support our
understanding, but it's *still* fiction.  Aaronovitch gives us
practical exercise in separating and keeping separate the framework
(fiction, insights, story, narrative) from the reality.  He does
this in part by walking us through the ways in which conspiracy
believers have failed to do this, often because they did not want
to and did not try.

Some of the specific conspiracies and conspiracy theories that
Aaronovitch describes in detail are these:

- The "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and how it was used to
  build up feelings against Jews before World War II.

- The trials and purges of the claimed traitors against Stalin and
  Communism in the 1940's.

- The belief that the U.S. government and President Roosevelt knew
  in advance about the attach on Pearl Harbor, but used it to bring
  the U.S. into the war.

- The belief that Oswald did not act alone in the assassination of
  President Kennedy and that the U.S. government covered up the
  true conspiracy.

- The story of Jesus Christ and his lover and their descendants.

- The 9/11 Truth Movement.

- The Birthers -- Those who refuse to believe that President Obama
  was born in the U.S. and is a natural born U.S. citizen.

And many more.

It's a lot of content.  You won't read it all in one evening.  But,
much of it is enjoyable, entertaining, and interesting.

05/22/2010

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