Conspiracy Theories

Human beings have always sought to impose order on their environment. People do not like the idea of random, uncontrolled events in their lives. This can lead them to assign a grander purpose to events that are in reality, unconnected, unimportant, or benign in their nature. Conspiracy theories are a particularly interesting manifestation of this phenomena. Various ideas and beliefs circulate about the true nature of various natural and man-made occurrences that run counter to the official explanation. Some of these theories are plausible, such as the idea that President Franklin Roosevelt was aware of Japanese intentions before the attack on Pearl Harbor, and allowed it to happen in order to draw the United States into World War Two. Some are quite bizarre, such as the idea that the Earth is actually hollow and is the home of an advanced civilization. To examine this phenomena, we will focus on two of the most popular ideas circulating in this subculture. These are the Extraterrestrial cover up and the Apollo Moon Landing Hoax.