The Misconception: You take randomness into account when determining cause and effect. The Truth: You tend to ignore random chance when the results seem meaningful or when you want a random event...

New research finds those on the political extremes are more susceptible than moderates.

Six months after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 it is still the subject of a slew of explanations. Why has this tragedy prompted such a wave of conspiracy theories? Sudden, dramatic events often provoke conspiracy theories - particularly where the official version is disbelieved. Think JFK, Princess Diana, 9/11. But in the case of MH370 there is not even an official version. Nobody knows what happened to MH370. It's a modern mystery.

As the 50th anniversary of JFK’s death approaches, a new book claims that president’s grey matter was swiped from the hospital back in 1963. Let’s review the facts. The world that surrounds the JFK assassination is, at baseline, so bizarre and so susceptible to any cockamamie idea that the news that the former president’s brain is missing seems like a standard news dispatch, a routine day at an office where alien abductions are greeted with a bored shrug.

If Saudi Oil Minister Ali al Naimi wants to stop conspiracy theories spreading before a crucial OPEC meeting next week, it's too late. Naimi's intervention last week after a two-month silence failed

Alternative entertainment. New discoveries. Controversial theories. Stimulating discussions. This is HYPERPROOF

If you're a conspiracy theorist, then you're crazy, right? That's been the common belief for years, but recent studies prove that just the opposite is true.

Mark Gorton is a prominent financier and a respected entrepreneur. He founded the music sharing site Limewire, and he runs Tower Research, a famed high-frequency trading firm. Gorton also believes that the "ruthless" secret cabal that assassinated JFK and planned 9/11 could be coming to kill his family.

The Deus Ex version of the Illuminati starts roughly the same time as the real world group. It was founded as a group of philosophically minded individuals in 1776 by law professor Adam Weishaupt. One member does claim that certain aspects of the Illuminati, such as its financiers (the Knights Templars) predate 1776 but not the Illuminati itself. Using this financial center they slowly begin to control the growing banking industry, leading up to dominance of a centralized banking system.

The largest newspaper in Liberia published a conspiracy theory accusing the United States of intentionally engineering the Ebola and AIDS viruses in bioterrorism research labs and infecting Africans with the virus through vaccinations.

In recent years, the mere notion of the conspiracy theory has increasingly been ridiculed by even some of the more liberal mainstream news outlets, but don't let them fool you: it isn't always some wackadoodle notion without merit or evidence. In fact, sometimes it turns out to be dead on. Here are 10 you may or may not be familiar with that turned out to be true...

Conspiracy theorists have something new. According to publications from researchers Kaspersky and Citizen lab, there's a new type of malware designed to give police access to a suspect’s phone. The crazy part? They don’t even have to be near the suspect to implant the device. A tool called the Remote Control System (RCS) can be controlled through an infected link or network traffic injection, meaning we're all one click away from being tapped. And in the case that doesn’t work?

2011 Guardian article detailing the Bilderberg meeting of that year. The topic was "internet security" and there were representatives from Google, Facebook, MS, et al.

The U.S. military is closing a facility scientists have used to study the edge of Earth's atmosphere. Conspiracy theorists suspect it's also been used for nefarious activity — like mind control.

Research from the University of Chicago indicates that at least 50 percent of Americans believe in at least one conspiracy theory.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has alleged US involvement in a plot to oust his government and assassinate him. The South American leader said there are hundreds of emails that prove members of the State Department were part of the conspiracy.

We try not to be celebrity-obsessed here at Cracked. But some prominent people have permanently changed the culture, and it's worth understanding what made them tick.

That’s right, on Christmas Day of 2009, when just about every business in the country was closed, numerous real estate transactions for the amount of $0.00 (free) took place in and around the town, most of which included families or public figures, such as Gene Rossen, who were in some way connected to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The Miami Heat destroyed the Indiana Pacers Monday night. It's a huge victory for the NBA — the extent of the blowout left absolutely zero room for conspiracy theorists to say that it was fixed.

Conspiracy theories are a clear and present danger