Curiouser Institute

It’s probably an example of the Baader-Meinhof effect¹ but I’d never heard the term “apopenia” until I read “A Game Designer’s Analysis Of QAnon”² a couple of weeks ago. Despite not being a gamer and not being familiar with all the different types of game mentioned in the article, I thought it was an excellent analysis of how conspiracy theories take hold. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_illusion 2. https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qan…

One of the video's conclusion from 2:14:27[1] - 2:18:03 is chilling, "the illusion must be defended at all costs, because the illusion is all that is.". He does call it outward-facing performance, but I'm not so sure if it's not also inward-facing, I think there are many "unhinged" out there who'd rather live in (and defend) the fantasy world rather than accept reality. Accepting reality would mean admitting they've been conned (or even, fooled themselves), that they're not as smart as they thought they were (because in their view: what smart people get conned?), and many of them have too fragile of egos to admit that, and would rather emotionally lash out rather than go down that "shameful" path of self-evalution when challenged. Throughout the whole video I'm reminded of the Game Designer’s Analysis Of QAnon[2], where people are thrilled about connecting dots and finding hints where there are none intended. To delve into politics, there are also many unhinged who put their hope of a better life, some of them probably did so first into Obama (Obama himself has said in his post-presidency book, he found it worrying when running in 2008 that people were putting their dreams and hopes into him), and some of them, when they found their lives hadn't gotten better in 2016, probably thought "Well, Hillary will be more of the similar, and Trump promises greatness (again), what the hell do I have to gain for voting 'similar', and what the hell do I have to lose for voting…

Agree on the not so great again and the need for a honest inquiry for factual information. Its just that i think some of that stuff is caricatures itself. Q-Anon for example is more or less crack. Here is a game developer describing it https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qan… >It’s not that strange actually. In fact, the difference between apophenia and science is just the scientific process and the reliance on proof. People make the connection before they know for a fact if it’s real or not. Maybe it is apophenia, maybe not. It’s a hypothesis. THEN YOU TEST IT. The facts determine the outcome and then, whether it feels good or not, you accept them. Even scientists may not want to let go of a good theory that just isn’t panning out. The feeling of correctness is over-powering. This is why people need to have peer-reviews. Colleagues need to be able to replicate results. Solutions need to be tested and the facts harnessed. >In Q, the proof is more apophenia! Another arrow in the dirt in an endless cycle back to the central propaganda. It has to because there is no truth. The answer is whatever feels the best, makes the most sense, and helps the story. Any truth is just fuel for the propaganda and reinforces the conclusions of the apophenia and central narrative. >It feels like it’s really happening. It especially seems so when cheered on by a curated fake “community” clapping you on the back and telling you you are a hero for…

>Unfortunately shaming such people will only push them further into antivax territory. Funny that you say that, I had the same thought when buying groceries last week. The cashier started telling me she'll never get it because it's being mandated to cull us and there's some secret database of deaths yada yada yada. Mind you I didn't ask. I felt sorry for her, even worried. She's a kind enough middle aged lady, she's been at the same grocery store for years. Somehow she's convinced that she's privy to some super secret knowledge only to be disclosed to a chosen few. It's like a nigerian email scam or Q thing. I was a little worried because she could've gotten herself fired for talking like that to the wrong person who would get mad and tell the manager. I just smiled, nodded, spoke in a low tone and said "I used to think so too but THEY want us to think that way because it weakens America if people here keep getting covid while they're over it and starting to beat us economically. Our vaccine works the best so they're spreading propaganda to scare us from getting it" I have no idea if it helped but she at least seemed intrigued that I didn't roll my eyes or scold her. People who get suckered into this stuff are in some imaginary role-play where they're the hero of the story, this article explains it. https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qan…

I think parent is talking about the mindset or way of thinking that leads to revisionist history/conspiracy theory/etc. And saying that this mindset doesn't have much actually to do with the specific details of any given object/plotline (e.g. the Nazca lines). It's more of a self-reinforcing worldview, that there is a Story, that everything is significant in the story, everything points to everything else, and nothing means what appears on the surface. The novel Foucault's Pendulum is a book about this mindset; the Illuminatus! trilogy is too in a way, though it's more experiential than descriptive. There are a few non-fiction books, though I'm blanking on the key author's name. For a very contemporary non-fiction (albeit opinionated) take see A Game Designer's Analysis of QAnon https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qan…

Treading carefully because a sibling comment has already been banned, but I'm reminded of the QAnon-as-ARG view: https://mssv.net/2020/08/02/what-args-can-teach-us-about-qanon/ https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qan… It contains many of the familiar "satanic panic" elements such as wild allegations of child abuse.

Probably conviction that they've found the global conspiracy, with the psychology behind that conviction described here: https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qan…

> > QAnon is just more fun. > Citation desperately needed! You might find this take on QAnon from a game designer's perspective interesting: https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qan… > It uses many of the same gaming mechanisms and rewards [as ARGs and LARPing]. > When players arrive at the “correct” answers they are showered with adoration, respect, and social credit. > ... the breadcrumbs [from Q] are not facts, they are [...] Puzzles and clues for the “investigators” to uncover. [...] solving puzzles is extremely rewarding from a biochemical standpoint and the thoughts we gain from them are special to us.

I was reminded of A Game Designers Analysis of QAnon [0]. It really is fun to be part of a group finding clues likes this. I was getting some definite ARG vibes. [0]: https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qan…

You might enjoy reading a Game Designers Analysis of QAnon. https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qan… The author has a pretty compelling explanation for the design of mass believed conspiracy theories, which I think is fairly close to what you posit in spirit, though not exactly.