Resources / Strands
Compensatory Control
When our sense of personal control is threatened, we suspend rationality and find patterns in meaningless static.
When randomness intrudes upon our lives, we respond by reintroducing order in some other way. It’s difficult for us to accept that randomness is an immutable part of the universe, that important events in our lives have no pattern.
No order. No meaning. They simply happen. Superstitions and conspiracy theories speak to this need to find order and meaning. It’s reassuring to feel more included and in control by finding a recognisable pattern.
This is kind of terrifying really, in the grand scheme of things, and no matter how smart or self-aware we are, it’s an easy trap to fall into. So the next time you find yourself arguing with someone that thinks the moon is made of cheese, don’t bother trying to apply logic or rationality to what they are saying.