It’s slightly embarrassing to admit, but as a teenager I genuinely believed that the Beatles were warlocks (male witches) and that Star Wars was part of a sinister global conspiracy to spread Satanism and witchcraft. I was also convinced that “May the Force be with you” was a coded greeting used by a shadowy cabal called the Illuminati.I believed this largely for two reasons: first, the idea came from a book given to me by someone I respected and trusted; and second, I was highly impressionable at the time. The only problem was that I loved the Beatles’ songs and the Star Wars films, and I didn’t quite know how to reconcile that with the beliefs that told me they were dangerous. (Psychologists call this ‘cognitive dissonance’ – the mental discomfort that arises when deeply held beliefs collide with lived experience.) This same person who had given me the aforementioned book had also given me one called The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, supposedly secret minutes from a meeting of Jewish leaders plotting to control the governments, media, finance and culture of the world.The truth, I grew up to discover, was that The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion was a forged document, produced in Tsarist Russia in the early 1900s, most likely created by members of the Russian secret police (the Okhrana) to scapegoat Jews and divert public anger away from the failing Tsarist regime. (Large sections of it, in fact, were plagiarised almost word-for-word from an 1864 French political satire, Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu, that had nothing to do with Jews.)Despite being exposed early on, the Protocols have been widely circulated, including in Nazi Germany, where Hitler cited them as “evidence”, justifying persecution and genocide. To this day, the Protocols circulate in conspiracy spaces, often repackaged with modern targets (media, “global elites,” bankers), even when Jews are not explicitly named.But the Protocols are not unique in that they follow the same pattern as other conspiracy theories:During periods of great social anxiety (such as the one we are living through), a fake document or story offers “secret knowledge,” reducing a complex world with multiple problems to a single hidden enemy. This feeds the existing fear and anxiety, creates a sense of “moral panic” and ultimately leads to a group of people becoming dehumanised.We assume that only dull people fall for conspiracy theories, but this is not the case. A surprising number of people who would normally be considered ‘intelligent’ subscribe to them in large numbers. Why is this? Here are five reasons: Authority short-circuits healthy skepticism: If a claim comes from a respected elder, teacher, religious figure, a book, or appears “documented” and serious, the brain outsources judgment. (Intelligent people do this more than they realise, because they are trained to respect ‘sources’.) Intelligence is good at defending beliefs, not just forming them: Once a belief is adopted, intelligence doesn’t necessarily dismantle it, it often rationalises it. Then, of course, there is confirmation bias. We find evidence for what we believe is true, and end up “spotting” confirming details, explaining away contradictions and building elegant arguments for patently false ideas. Secret knowledge feels empowering: Conspiracy theories like the Protocols appeal to our desire to what could be called the “Neo-in-the-Matrix” complex. “You see what others don’t” and “You are awake, while others are asleep”. It feeds the age-old need to feel superior to our fellow humans. For adolescents who are going through a naturally confusing stage of life, conspiracy theories can feel intoxicating. They offer identity, clarity, and moral ‘certainty’ in a confusing world. Emotional truth beats factual truth: Conspiracy theories don’t persuade with facts; they persuade with emotions like fear, disgust, moral outrage and the comfort of having located “the enemy”. If something feels true, the mind will recruit logic later and force-fit it to the emotion. Humans are meaning-makers: We connect dots. Conspiracy texts turn chaos into intention, coincidence into design, and complexity into a grand theory that explains… well, everything. The brain prefers a bad explanation to no explanation at all. Teenagers, in particular, can be idealistic, absolutist, and hungry for moral frameworks. Add a bit of charisma to the person who is “exposing” the conspiracy and a narrative of good versus evil – and belief in the theory will become almost inevitable.What helped the conspiracy scales to finally fall from my eyes about the Beatles and George Lucas’ Star Wars was reading the facts about them from multiple sources, and understanding their stories better. Far from “standing in four corners of a burning pentagram and being blessed with international stardom by Satan” as the book on the Illuminati claimed, the secret to the Beatles’ success was a combination of far more human factors. From the late 1950s, they played countless gigs in Liverpool and endured gruelling residencies in Hamburg, performing for hours every night in tough, often hostile club environments. These years were physically exhausting and poorly paid, but they forged the band’s tight musicianship, confidence, and stage presence.They also faced repeated rejection from record labels and industry insiders who doubted both their sound and their commercial potential. (“Guitar groups are on their way out”.) Even after finally being signed, success did not come easy; it was driven by constant touring, an extraordinary work ethic, and an ever-growing catalogue of original songs. Beatlemania eventually swept across Britain and then the world in 1963–64, but their “overnight” success had its roots in a decade of hard work, persistence, and resilience. Their cheeky humour and unusual haircuts also helped.As far as Star Wars, George Lucas’s eventual success came after years of struggle. He spent nearly ten years writing the story, tearing his hair out (literally) in the process and spending much of the early 1970s trying to convince studios to back a story that many executives found confusing, childish, or commercially risky. The filmmaking process was beset by technical failures, budget pressures, and widespread scepticism, leaving Lucas exhausted and doubtful. Early cuts of the film were so bad that even Lucas feared it might fail. Only after extensive editing, the addition of John Williams’ now-iconic score, and innovative (and experimental) special effects did the film finally come together.One could argue that conspiracy theories and misinformation are close cousins – both serve as cheap substitutes for genuine knowledge. It is not surprising that authoritarian regimes work hard to promote superstition while suppressing books, universities, and open intellectual debate: an informed, questioning public is far harder to control.The medieval philosopher Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) wisely noted, “Timeo hominem unius libri” – “I fear the man of one book.” A book is a dangerous thing if it is the only one you have read.Perhaps one way out of the great morass of misinformation, half-truths, outright lies, and conspiracy theories is to read – not just more, but more widely. Easier said than done, of course. Yet if the crowds at the recently concluded World Book Fair in Delhi were any indication, reading is far from being a thing of the past, especially among the young. Yes, many are pulled into the attention-fragmenting world of social media, but many still also read. Despite the fair being festooned with gigantic hoardings of Modi, military displays, and well-funded stalls run by Hindutva organisations, it was the ‘normal’ bookstalls that did brisk business. Thousands of young people thronged these stalls, lingering, browsing, buying. One of the books they reportedly bought the most was George Orwell’s 1984. Rohit Kumar is an educator and can be reached at letsempathize@gmail.com.