I have maintained more than once that one's level of conspiracy belief is pre-installed, and we go looking for the proper amount of information to confirm our belief. Our levels of anxiety and depression are also less related to external events than we believe. At the extremes externals of course have effect. If you lose many close relatives in quick succession you are going to be sad, and may develop other problems. But in the main, we are like sponges designed to take on a certain amount of fluid, which we take on whether it is water or blood.
It was interesting to watch this play out in the NBA over the last month. Kevin Durant, one of the game's greatest players, is injured. The details were vague, which is sometimes tactical on the part of a team, though there is a limit to how much of this they can get away with without running afoul of the league. Yet there seems to have been simple accuracy in the vagueness. It does not seem to have been clear how badly his calf is injured, and when he would return to play. He was also up to become a free agent on July 1, and controversy has swirled around that.
In the vacuum of clear explanations, it was all rumors: He isn't badly hurt, he's sitting out to prevent getting hurt and hurting his free agency. He's only a bit hurt, and wants to time his return for maximum impact for contract. He wants to come back too early to cement his legacy as an all-time great. The team doesn't think he's hurt. The team does think he's hurt. The team is pushing him to come back. The team is holding from coming back. He and the team aren't in good communication. He and the team are conspiring. His teammates are supportive and what what's best for him. His teammates are annoyed because he's not out there with them.
Everyone has a theory that fits their prejudice. Someday we might know the facts - if they are even knowable, now that he has gotten another injury and it will be hard to evaluate what pain and injury comes from where. But not knowing them hasn't stopped everyone from assuring us they know what is up.
The hardest thing to learn about other people is that their motivation is likely unique and often unrelated to your own, though some have an easier time than others. It doesn't help that our current culture reinforces the imputation of bad or good motive based on superficial observations.
ReplyDeleteYes, knowing others' motivations is nearly always projection. It is one of the reasons why empathy is overrated and compassion is better. To think "Well how would I feel if that happened to me?" is not wrong, certainly. We are all, in the end, human beings and we do learn something from the exercise. It can spur us to kindly feelings. But empathy is ultimately only half the story. Other people are, as you note, not ourselves.
ReplyDeleteOOPS! BREAKING NEWS: Kevin Durant went down with a torn right Achilles tendon in Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Monday night, the future — for Durant, the Golden State Warriors and the entire NBA — became murky.
ReplyDeleteNo conspiracy theory here, apparent misdiagnosis & possible end of career injury. Time will tell.
Dan Kurt
Even more than I hate being taken in by the bad actions that give rise to the suspicion of a conspiracy, I hate looking like a fool being taken in by the conspiracy. My habit is to be skeptical until the conspiracy is caught red-handed.
ReplyDeleteAhh, yes. But to the conspiracy theorist, the conspiracy is already caught red-handed. Always.
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