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Faced with the unknown, the inexplicable or a reality that goes beyond its understanding, the human being instinctively seeks to restore meaning where chaos reigns.
This reflex, as ancient as humanity, goes through times, cultures and educational levels. When the anxiety of the unforeseeable settles, rational thought often struggles to compete with the emotional comfort provided by beliefs.
Even educated individuals can switch to the irrational when the logical cues fluctuate or the scientific explanation is no longer sufficient to ease uncertainty. More importantly, when education is lacking, subjective beliefs become refuges and simplistic responses to complex problems.
It is in this interstice, between ignorance and disarray, that superstitions, dogmas and conspiracy theories, exploited by gurus, charlatans, extremists or political actors in search of domination, simmered. This episode analyses this drift as a fundamental tension between the quest for truth and the need to believe.
