Pulling the Thread

The 5 Triggers of Conspiracy Thinking

By Danny Alpert and Kristin Pichaske

Why are conspiracy theories so alluring? It turns out millions of years of evolution have baked all sorts of fascinating quirks into our brains. Mental shortcuts like confirmation bias and “patternicity” served us well when making quick decisions meant life or death, but in today’s information environment, they can lead us down the rabbit hole of conspiracy thinking.

READ ON: What are the Five Reasons Why Conspiracy Theories Thrive in Politics? GBH's Meghan Smith talks to PULLING THE THREAD filmmakers Kristin Pichaske and Danny Alpert on the Left, Right and our brains.