A closer look
Nothing solidifies a delusion quite like hard evidence proving it completely wrong. In 1954, psychologist Leon Festinger infiltrated a doomsday cult predicting an apocalyptic flood. When the flood never came, the cult members didn't abandon their bizarre beliefs; instead, they started proselytizing harder than ever. This birthed the theory of cognitive dissonance. The psychological pain of admitting you ruined your life for a lie is so excruciating that the brain simply hallucinates new justifications to protect the ego. Conspiracy theorists aren't stupid; they are just desperately protecting their identity.
