There is no cure for the condition of being addicted to the Fantasy Mysteries (Home Page: https://usc.edu) – and even the best brains can become addicted to this fantasy affliction (eg, Isaac Newton).

A Conspiracy Theory can best be described as a substitute for Real History, whereby any historical subject matter can be artificially elevated into the status of an Imaginary Reality using quasi-intellectual vocabulary.

Look at the funny titles on Amazon Books – many authors have passed their PhDs in order to attach those letters to their surnames to try and give their fringe subject matters some credibility!

There are many versions for historical jokes that have lasted for millennia. In Athens, political life was rife with fears of secret oligarchic plots. Similarly, Roman historians like Tacitus and Livy documented famous conspiracies to reassure readers that the state was managing these threats. These theories, similar to modern ones, helped people process frightening events, manage anxiety, and understand complex situations.

I remember Reg Presley, the lead singer of The Troggs (Reginald Maurice Ball, 1941-2013), being interviewed on television about his beliefs in conspiracy theories, and the scientific and technical way he approached the subject matter. It wasn't simply a case of believing in only one conspiracy theory, but that he was hooked into a whole list of such fantasies.

There is no known cure for being afflicted in such a horrible way.

To paraphrase a famous philosopher, I have no doubt at all that when I die my flesh will rot and my personality will dissolve – the two are inextricably bound (the book by Bertrand Russell, “What I Believe,” London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., 1925).