Strands of Genius: Rigged, How Conspiracy Theories Bypass Rationality, The Epistemological War

plus: belief + doubt = sanity

Nov 10, 2021

WORKING ON | Book promotion, company admin

LOOKING AHEAD | Tulum, Mexico :: Nov 9-17 | Isla Mujeres, Mexico :: Nov 17-22 | Nashville, TN :: Nov 22-Dec 2 | Beersheba Springs, TN :: Dec 2-18 | Atlanta, GA :: Dec 18-20 | Nashville, TN :: Dec 20-30

:: WHAT’S NEW & WEEKLY GRATITUDE ::

We spent the weekend on Isla Mujeres with friends and made some new ones and have just arrived in Tulum for the first time! We’ve heard a lot of good things about the place and its appeal to nomad types like ourselves so we’re excited to explore and relax while we catch up on some work. If you have any suggestions, of where to go (ahem eat or drink or art), please let us know!

This week, we’re especially thankful for:

Scott&T, Hank, the Blue View, Soggy Peso, Alex&Collin, shrimp tacos, Jill&Barb from Denver, beaches, Lolo, Steve, Piranesi (short, high concept fantasy novel) by Susanna Clarke, & YOU.

If you have been forwarded this episode - that’s great! Nice to meet you. Consider subscribing below and we can stay in touch.

PAID ATTENTION : A LIVE UPDATE, FRIDAY NOV 12th

Friday, 12 November | 12p ET

On Friday November 12th, at 12p ET, Faris will be hosting a Zoom video update to share more around the new updates and new thinking!

Email Ashley@GeniusSteals.co with your order or pre-order receipt (or letting her know you’re a member of the School of Stolen Genius) and we’ll send you an invite to join us.

:: THE LINKS ::

HOW CONSPIRACY THEORIES BYPASS RATIONALITY

As conspiracy theories continue to propagate ever faster through our real time ubiquitous media environment, radicalizing people into working against their own best interests, it behooves us to look to understand how these clusters of cultural ideas bypass the rational mind. “Classic psychological explanations focus on negative emotions: when people feel anxious, out of control or uncertain, they become more susceptible to conspiracy narratives…But new research suggests that it’s not just negative emotions that contribute to the appeal of conspiracy theories. People can also find conspiracy theories entertaining – and the more entertaining people find them, it seems, the more likely they are to believe in them.” Feels like there are lessons here for advertising as well… (Psyche)

XX & THE EPISTEMOLOGICAL WAR

Faris wrote a short piece inspired by the excellent novel XX and some of the ideas contained in the book, about how we learn and establish meaning, and why there is now an ongoing war to control and modify what people know to be true, which has terrible consequences. “Where do these new ideas come from? Forever replicating from a twist of an old idea, or some novel interbreeding of two or more to create a fascinating and seductive new strain.” (Medium)

RIGGED

Rigged is a podcast and online archive of corporate misinformation and a history of PR. The first episode features the (self anointed) “Father of PR” Edward Bernays and includes fun facts like the face that he was the “double nephew” of Sigmund Freud. The history of ‘public relations’ (a term Bernay’s coined to rebrand propaganda) emerged in USA to combat the earliest instances of regulation, as the government tried to make the extremely dangerous trains and mines of the time safer. (Rigged.Media/Apple Podcasts)
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:: AND NOW…A SIMPLE RECIPE ::

If we can ever be of help to you, even outside of a formal engagement, please don’t hesitate to let us know.

rockON,
faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co

@faris is always tweeting
@rosieyakob hangs out on instagram
@ashley also writes for deaf, tattooed & employed

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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.

Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based out of Washington, our company is registered in Tennessee, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.

Hit reply and let’s talk about how we might be able to work together :)

Strands of Genius