The Psychology of Conspiracism

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I am delighted at the response I have received and the interest from various different quarters I have prompted with my recent interview/article with Dr. Heather Vallance "Can History be Objective?" http://jamieclubb.blogspot.com/2009/02/can-history-be-objective-conversation.html The discussion has been a fascinatingly varied series of posts from some really interesting people, discounting no one! I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge those who have contributed both on the thread and outside it via email. Thank you for lending such a wide scope of knowledge and experience. I salute you all!

On the subject of conspiracy theory, which I think is still the strongest and most prolific example of "bad history" in action, I was fascinated by a whole area that dealt with the psychology of what they call "Conspiracism". Wikipedia has a good entry on this subject that I think may intrigue many of my readers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theories#Psychological_origins

Lust for Failure

This is an article I have recently written for my martial arts website. It deals with the importance people place on success and failure, and asks the question what does it mean to fail? It was inspired by several things I picked up in the media recently including an article published in the "Gracie" magazine and a radio programme. The title comes from an social observation made by the Glaswegian comedian, Billy Connolly. Jamie Clubb www.clubbchimera.com/?p=188