A Bittersweet Ending

It was hard for me, actually, to decide what my last blog post for this class should cover. I thought I could possibly relate some uplifting story about stem-cell research, or perhaps elaborate upon the origins of the inexplicable need for people to believe conspiracy theories like HAARP, or perhaps I could even discuss the immense beauty suggested by the multiverse - all the intricate ways in which we will never understand the world in which we live.

But, instead, I decided to ask why we, specifically, decided to take this class. It's easy to deconstruct the motives of terrified parents of autistic children blaming vaccines, seeking an outside answer - an institution on which they can project their fears. But it's harder, I think, to ask ourselves why we wish to shoot these people down, snort at their misplaced concern.

Conspiracy theorists believe in conspiracies so that they may feel they have some control in their lives. In an increasingly volatile world, comfort may be found in feeling correct. So, are we just a backwards version of the people who believe that the world will end in 2012? It's possible that we are looking in the opposite direction, but for the same thing - to feel secure in our rightness.

But, you know, we are right. Right?