Intellectual character of conspiracy theorists – Quassim Cassam – Aeon - http://aeon.co/magazin...
"Why do some people believe conspiracy theories? It’s not just who or what they know. It’s a matter of intellectual character" - Maitani
"Meet Oliver. Like many of his friends, Oliver thinks he is an expert on 9/11. He spends much of his spare time looking at conspiracist websites and his research has convinced him that the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC, of 11 September 2001 were an inside job. The aircraft impacts and resulting fires couldn’t have caused the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center to collapse. The only viable explanation, he maintains, is that government agents planted explosives in advance. He realises, of course, that the government blames Al-Qaeda for 9/11 but his predictable response is pure Mandy Rice-Davies: they would say that, wouldn’t they?" - Maitani