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A look at pseudoscience, red flags to look for, possible reasons for belief and critical thinking skills!
By Victoria Buckmaster, working individually.

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Definition:
Confirmation bias is peoples tendency to remember events in a way that coincides with their personal beliefs, while ignoring anything that goes against their personal beliefs.

Connection:
When anyone visits a psychic or palm reader - or anyone who boasts about being able to see their past and/or future. They have a tendency to only remember the things that coincide with what they believed they were in the past, or what they believe will be in their future.

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Definition:
When a product will get someone of a more authoritative image - a doctor, a celebrity - to endorse their product and lend their image to it in order to sell it better and make people believe the product either works or is the best option.

Connection:
The picture below demonstrates appeal to authority as this ad has Kim Kardashian - an internationally recognized and followed celebrity - lending her authoritative and influential image to help sell the product (by endorsing it). By boasting about the product, many of her followers will try it because of their love for and influence by Kim Kardashian.

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Definition:
When people claim something is based off of mystical energies that will help heal you or make you better in some way.

Connection:
The website below exemplifies mystical energy as it discusses acupuncture. And how there's no actual proof behind it having it an actual root in science, but rather in the idea that it's rooted in the act of putting needles in certain points of the body and allowing the "mystical energy" to flow through the person to help heal them and alleviate pain.

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For pain management, one idea is that acupuncture may be working via the gate control theory, first outlined by Melzack and Wall in the 1960s. This theory suggests that pain is transmitted through small nerve fibers from the skin through the spinal cord and on up to the brain. Also present are larger fibers which normally send inhibitory signals to the small pain fibers, which essentially "gates" or prevents a pain signal from being set off. When a painful stimulus comes in, however, the activity in the small nerve fibers overwhelms the large ones, so inhibition is released and the gates of pain opened. Where does acupuncture come in? Theoretically, the needles are placed in positions to stimulate the large nerve fibers, so that the small -- painful -- ones are inhibited. Mathew says that the same logic theoretically underlies why rubbing your elbow after you bang it helps alleviate the pain: you're stimulating the inhibition that quiets the pain.

Another possibility is that endorphins, the body's famed "feel good" chemicals, are behind the effect of acupuncture on quelling pain. Mathew says that the happy little chemicals are released in response to a range of phenomena -- distress, injury, running long distances, chocolate -- and have the knack for acting like morphine on the body and brain. Studies have tracked levels of these molecules in the blood, and shown that acupuncture is linked to higher levels of beta-endorphin at the same time that patients are reporting decreases in their pain levels. Even more, when you inject people with the anti-morphine drug naloxone, the effects of acupuncture are reduced.

But other theories better explain why acupuncture has been shown to work well on the nausea and vomiting (PDF) associated with chemotherapy. In the 1950s, the nerve reflex theory was proposed, suggesting that the body's periphery (the skin) is connected to the internal organs through a reflex called the viscero-cutaneous reflex. "If you stimulate the periphery with acupuncture needles," explains Mathew, "you can change the blood flow pattern to the stomach and abdomen, which could explain the effect on nausea and vomiting."

Acupuncture may also have an effect on the body's stress response system, otherwise known as the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which could be why acupuncture patients report lower stress levels and anxiety after treatment, at least in the short term.

If you were wondering when the word "placebo" was going to enter the discussion, here it is -- but it's not what you think. What researchers now know about the placebo effect is that it isn't some hokey "mind over matter" thing. The response is a robust, demonstrable physiological phenomenon, according to Mathew. When people are being "treated" with placebo, you can actually see the change in blood flow patterns in the cortices of their brains in fMRI. Some people are more responsive to the placebo effect than others, and there is no doubt that some of this effect is going on with acupuncture, and particularly heightened in placebo-sensitive individuals.

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A Healthy Poke: Demystifying the Science Behind Acupuncture

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For pain management, one idea is that acupuncture may be working via the gate control theory, first outlined by Melzack and Wall in the 1960s. This theory suggests that pain is transmitted through small nerve fibers from the skin through the spinal cord and on up to the brain.

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Definition:
When people claim something to be beneficial to your health because it is all natural or contains only natural ingredients therefore rendering it automatically healthy.

Connection:
The website below connects to the all natural pseudoscience because it discusses all natural things that can harm or kill humans. Making it clear that not everything listed as all natural is actually good for people. Meaning you should definitely look into a product before you buy/use it!

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I have to laugh anytime I see a product label claiming that something is "all natural," as if everything that is man-made is dangerous and all that is not is perfectly safe. Not that I'm claiming there are no synthetic evils, but there's plenty of deadly natural items out in the world. Let's start with this list:

1 ) Asbestos: A fibrous mineral once used for making fireproof materials. There were reports from as early as the first century A.D. that workers who came in contact with the material developed lung disease, but it wasn't until 1989 that the EPA banned its use. Inhalation of asbestos fibers causes a host of serious diseases, including a rare form of cancer called mesothelioma. Fear of the substance runs so high that the California State Senate passed a bill earlier this year that would defrock its state rock, serpentine, because it can harbor asbestos.

2 ) Arsenic: Atomic number 33, it sits just below phosphorus on the periodic table. It was once used to treat syphilis and applied topically to whiten skin. Symptoms of arsenic poisoning start with headaches and confusion and progress to vomiting, hair loss and convulsions, resulting in coma and/or death. Sadly, groundwater throughout Bangladesh is contaminated with arsenic, leading to widespread poisoning. It is estimated that up to 20 percent of deaths in the country are the result of drinking arsenic-laced water.

3 ) Snake venom: This modified saliva contains a host of chemicals that act to kill or disable prey. Snake bites kill 20,000 people in developing countries each year. And snakes aren't the only venomous species: there are hosts of insects, fish, reptiles and mammals (even a venomous shrew) that can kill with chemical warfare.

4 ) Botulism: The soil bacterium Clostridium botulinum produces neurotoxins that cause paralysis. Modern science has harnessed that feature to eliminate wrinkles on the faces of an aging population. The disease is relatively rare, but it kills 5 to 10 percent of those who become infected.

5 ) Plants: There are too many deadly plants to name here (if you want a good list, check out the book Wicked Plants). But there are good reasons why you shouldn't go through fields or forests eating anything you find.

6 ) Mercury: The pretty liquid metal fascinated for centuries until the mid-1800s, when it was found to be toxic. Now school principals freak out whenever someone drops a mercury thermometer and pregnant women are advised to limit fish consumption. The element can damage the central nervous and endocrine systems and kidneys and other organs.

7 ) Ionizing Radiation: Types include alpha- and beta-decay, X-rays and gamma rays. These subatomic particles and electromagnetic waves have enough energy to strip atoms of electrons, which causes damage to DNA (at high enough levels, it kills instantly). Natural sources include radon and uranium.

8 ) Cosmic Rays: These high-energy particles come mostly from faraway supernovas. They cause damage to DNA, similar to ionizing radiation, causing cancer, cataracts and other health problems. They're not a problem on Earth, because we have the atmosphere and magnetic field to shield us. But if we want to send anyone to Mars or beyond, we'll have to figure out how to protect them on the long journey.

9 ) Formaldehyde: This chemical-composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen-is formed during the burning of methane. Up to 90 percent of all the formaldehyde on Earth may originate in the atmosphere. It is used in the synthesis of many other chemicals, as a disinfectant and as a preservative. Though it is now known to be a human carcinogen, it is still widely used.

10 ) Anthrax: This illness, caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, is lethal in most forms to humans, who usually contract it from livestock. This is just one more example of a microbe that can kill-the list is far too long to even attempt.

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I have to laugh anytime I see a product label claiming that something is "all natural," as if everything that is man-made is dangerous and all that is not is perfectly safe. Not that I'm claiming there are no synthetic evils, but there's plenty of deadly natural items out in the world.

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Red Flag - Confusion of Causation and Correlation

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Red Flag - Confusion of Causation and Correlation

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Definition:
When people confuse causation with correlation due to the fact that an event happened at exactly or roughly the same time. Meaning the event caused something, when really it simply correlated with the event.

Connection:
The connection of the comic below is that is a perfect example of confusion of causation and correlation. Because he receives the email after leaving the cubicle, he believes that this is causing it (his employee sends it) when really the two events just correlate with one another.

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Definition:
Ideology is a set of ideas that often set the basis for beliefs and/or decisions.

Connection:
Religion. The picture below is of a crucifix which is the symbol of some religions. Religion is often people living their lives a certain way, and doing certain things, in order to appease some form of deity. Based off the ideas of religion, being a good person, god and heaven.

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Definition:
As part of our natural survival instinct, people have a tendency to look for patterns in every day life/ordinary objects.

Connection:
This rock, located on Prince Edward Island, was appropriately named Elephant Rock. This is due to people having the tendency to see patterns in inanimate objects, therefore when most people look at the rock they see the shape of an elephant.

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Definition:
People's tendency to assign meaning, intention or agency to invisible being.

Connection:
The website below connects to agenticity because it discusses the Illuminati. Which is a "secret society of people looking to start a new world order". Which is a conspiracy theory, and people assigning meaning to the invisible group and believe that they are real and will start said new world order.

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A man in South Carolina has been scammed out of $250 by fake recruiters claiming to be from the Illuminati.

According a local police report, the victim was contacted about joining the secret organisation, but was told he had to pay an upfront membership fee.

He also sent a second cheque for $2,000 to them, but managed to cancel it before his account was charged.

It is not the first time scammers have used the Illuminati name to extort money from victims. The secrecy surrounding the group has made the offer of membership an alluring prospect for curious internet users.

Indeed, the web is awash with theories about the Illuminati, a mysterious group that conspiracy theorists believe is seeking a "New World Order" that would impose a totalitarian world government. Among the alleged members of the secret society are not just politicians and religious leaders, but actors and pop stars.

Echoing the anti-communist witch-hunts and black-listings of 1950s Hollywood, one of the core beliefs of Illuminati watchers is that the entire entertainment industry has been infiltrated and that Illuminati members are using the media to brainwash the masses.

So who are the Illuminati and who has the group apparently recruited from Tinseltown?

Who are the Illuminati?

The original Illuminati group was founded in Bavaria in the 18th century by Adam Weishaupt, an anti-clerical professor who wanted to limit the interference of the Church in public life. He based his secret society on the Freemasons, with a hierarchy and mysterious rituals, and named it the Order of Illuminati to reflect the enlightened ideals of its educated members.

Chris Hodapp, the co-author of Conspiracy Theories and Secret Societies for Dummies, says a defining feature of early Illuminati members is that they did not trust anyone over 30, because they were too set in their ways.

In terms of their legacy, historians tend to think the original Illuminati was only "mildly successful - at best - in becoming influential", says Vox. The order did boast some influential members, with the most famous of these alleged to have been the German thinker Johann Goethe.

The Illuminati was stamped out by a government crackdown on secret societies in the late 1780s, but rumours that it continued to survive as an underground organisation have persisted into the modern day.

How did the modern-day myth develop?

In a recent interview with the BBC, David Bramwell, "a man who has dedicated himself to documenting the origins of the myth", claims the modern-day Illuminati legend was influenced not by Weishaupt but rather by LSD, the 1960s counter-culture, and specifically a text called Principia Discordia.

The book extolled an alternative belief system - Discordianism - which preached a form of anarchism and gave birth to the Discordian movement which ultimately wished to cause civil disobedience through practical jokes and hoaxes.

One of the main proponents of this new ideology was a writer called Robert Anton Wilson who wanted to bring chaos back into society by "disseminating misinformation through all portals - through counter culture, through the mainstream media," claims Bramwell.

He did this by sending fake letters to the men's magazine Playboy, where he worked, attributing cover-ups and conspiracy theories, such as the JFK assassination, to a secret elite organisation called the Illuminati.

Wilson went on to turn these theories into a book, The Illuminatus Trilogy, which became a surprise cult success and were even made into a stage play in Liverpool, launching the careers of British actors Bill Nighy and Jim Broadbent.

What is the New World Order?

Despite its relative popularity success, the idea of a powerful modern Illuminati conspiring to rule the world remained a niche belief upheld by a handful of cranks until the 1990s. The spread of the internet changed all that, giving conspiracy theorists a global platform to expound their beliefs and present their evidence to a massive audience.

Theories about how the New World Order operates run from the faintly credible - in light of the Davos summit, a cabal of politicians and business leaders getting together to decide global policies doesn't seem impossible - to the outright bizarre.

Earlier this year, Canada's respected former defence minister, Paul Hellyer, came out and claimed not only that the Illuminati is real, but that it does indeed control the world.

Speaking on the Lazarus Effect podcast, Hellyer said he believed the world's elite has suppressed technology brought to Earth by aliens, which could reverse the effects of climate change and end our reliance on fossil fuels.

When asked why, he said many members of the Illuminati have stakes in oil and were therefore heavily invested in how well the industry did.

The Daily Mail said Hellyer's claim to the validity of the Illuminati myth "makes him the highest ranking government official worldwide to do so".

At the other end of the believability spectrum is former TV presenter David Icke's claim that the world's leaders are actually super-intelligent lizards in human guise who control our reality from the Moon. Those who remember Icke from his days on Grandstand may be surprised to know his theories about our reptilian overlords - who have included the Rothschilds, Bob Hope and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother - have amassed a faithful following on the internet.

Conspiracy theorists obsessively analyse public events for "evidence" of Illuminati influence. The symbols most associated with the Illuminati include triangles, pentagrams, goats, the all-seeing eye - such as the one that appears on US bank notes - and the number 666.

This has led to claims some of the American Founding Fathers were members, with Thomas Jefferson baselessly accused in the aftermath of the War of Independence.

Another commonly cited Illuminati symbol, which appears on US currency, is the so-called Eye of Providence, which is said to represent the omniscience of God watching over humanity.

According to a 2013 survey by Public Policy Polling, 28% of US voters believe that a secretive power elite with a globalist agenda is conspiring to eventually rule the world through an authoritarian global government. It found that 34% of Republicans and 35% of independents believe in the New World Order threat compared to just 15% of Democrats.

Who is supposedly a member?

As well as being king and queen of the charts, Beyonce and Jay Z are frequently depicted as lords of the New World Order. Beyonce's immense fame and popularity have long made her a favourite target for conspiracy theorists. Illuminati "experts" seized upon her half-time performance at the 2013 Super Bowl as an example of her "devil-worshipping" choreography, even accusing her on-stage alter ego Sasha Fierce of being a "demonic entity".

Her recent performance at this year's Coachella music festival sent conspiracy theorist tongues wagging again.

According to A.V. Club internet truth-seekers have decoded the real meaning behind Beyonce's set: "displaying and wearing symbols that help people remember she's out to help establish the New World Order".

Among the clues that have been seized upon by eagle-eyed fans are Beyonce making a circle over her eye, her decision to wear a costume sporting Egyptian symbolism and her ring which has been said to carry satanic imagery- all of which apparently reference the Illuminati.

Further encouraging the rumours is the widespread use of supposed Illuminati imagery in music videos. Many Freemason and Illuminati symbols, like devil horns and the all-seeing eye, have simply become popular in mainstream culture. But it's also true that some musicians seem to enjoy deliberately playing with symbols connected to secret societies.

For instance, Rihanna frequently incorporates Illuminati images into her music videos, and even joked about the theories in the video for S&M, which featured a fake newspaper with a headline declaring her "Princess of the Illuminati".

Jay Z has also been accused of hiding secret symbols such as goat imagery and devil horns in his music videos. Most damningly, the logo for his own music label, Roc-A-Fella Records, is a pyramid - one of the most well-known Illuminati logos.

Earlier this year, in an interview with CNN, Republican House candidate Bill Fawell, stood by a blog post from 2013 in which he claimed Jay-Z "has a long history of serving up the godless Illuminati" and that both he and Beyonce expressed their support for the Illuminati in their videos, and that singer Taylor Swift had as well.

In the same blog post Fawell also said Madonna's 2012 Super Bowl half-time show appearance had contained satanic imagery and was influenced by the Illuminati. The party later withdrew its support for his campaign.

Rob Brotherton, a professor at Barnard College and author of Suspicious Minds: Why We Believe in Conspiracy Theories, explains that real-life government conspiracies targeting black people in America, such as FBI infiltration of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s, planted the seeds for Illuminati theory's popularity today.

Speaking to Complex, he said: "Hip-hop served as this [soapbox] for people to talk about issues that were relevant to them, things like discrimination, poverty, the criminal justice system, which are often seemingly slanted against African-Americans".

"It's a short leap to go from noticing some kind of injustice to thinking about whether there's something behind it. Hip-hop was just a good candidate to revive this myth," he says.

What is the significance of the black left eye?

Another theory currently doing the rounds suggests celebrities seen sporting black left eyes are actually part of the secretive group.

Elizabeth Hurley, Boy George and Robert Downey Jnr are among the A-listers who have been photographed with eye bruising recently, while former US President George W. Bush, along with the Pope, Prince Philip and Prince Andrew, have all also been photographed with black eyes in recent years.

According to the Daily Mail, some conspiracy theories believe the black left eye "is part of a cult or Illuminati high-level initiation ritual during which the pledger is said to be forced to 'eat pain' in a quest to become more powerful".

Author and internet radio show host Sherry Shriner, who believes politicians and entertainers have sold their souls to Satan, has spoken of the link between these black eyes and so-called "soul scalping".

"You cannot be on TV now, without signing on the dotted line. The bizarre recurrence of facial bruises on Illuminati politicians and entertainers has resulted in speculation that their souls have been replaced in a satanic ritual called "soul scalping", she said.

The bruised left eye has also been referred to as the "Illuminati shiner", a mark given to those who have scaled their way to the top of the elite pyramid.

Since medieval times, the black eye has been associated with the "devil's mark" while others have noted the link to ancient Egyptian religious imagery, most notably that of the Sun god Horus, whose black left eye represented the moon.

Another, more prosaic explanation, is that the black eye is a result of cosmetic surgery favoured by A-list celebrities.

Does the Illuminati control the music industry?

As a symbol of the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll counterculture of the 1960s, The Beatles were loathed by many conservatives. When John Lennon claimed the band were "bigger than Jesus" in 1966, US evangelicals responded by destroying their records in mass burnings.

However, were the band deliberately planted in order to undermine western society? That's the premise of the Aquarian Conspiracy, which was started in the 1990s by former MI6 agent John Coleman.

A MI6 insider might ordinarily seem like a reliable source for a juicy scoop about shadowy organisations, but the Aquarian Conspiracy strains the credulousness of even the most ardent conspiracy theorist.

Coleman claimed the Beatles' overwhelming transatlantic success was engineered by the Tavistock Institute for Human Relations, a London-based social research group - or, as theorists would have it, a nefarious organisation dedicated to eroding the bedrock of US society.

To that end, argues the former special agent, the institute's Illuminati connections used the Fab Four to further its plan to promote "rock music and drugs" with the aim of "undermining and eventually destroying the family unit", The Sun reports.

Internet theorists say they picked up signs of so-called Aquarian Conspiracy after poring over song lyrics and album covers to find hidden messages and supposed Illuminati signs.

Earlier this year, Paul McCartney set tongues wagging again, after posting a mystical-looking drawing on his twitter account.

Depicting what looks like a triangular shape surrounded by an orb of spherical emissions, several fans were quick to point out the drawing's close resemblance to The Eye of Providence; a frequent symbol associated the Illuminati.

What do celebrities have to say about the theories?

Katy Perry told Rolling Stone that the theory was the preserve of "weird people on the internet" but admitted she was flattered to be named among the supposed members: "I guess you've kind of made it when they think you're in the Illuminati!" But she was tolerant of people who wanted to believe in the theory because: "I believe in aliens".

Madonna, on the other hand, might just be a believer - all the more interesting given that she has frequently been accused of being a member herself. Speaking to Rolling Stone, she hinted that she had secret knowledge of the group. The claim is not so shocking given that she released a single titled 'Illuminati'. She said: "People often accuse me of being a member of the Illuminati, but the thing is, I know who the real Illuminati are."

Beyonce thrilled her fans by unexpectedly releasing a new single, Formation, last month - but conspiracy theorists were excited for another reason. The very first line of the track acknowledged the rumours: "Y'all haters corny with that Illuminati mess," she says, understandably unimpressed that she apparently owes her success to a devil-worshipping secret sect.

When Prince died suddenly of an accidental overdose in April, a small but vocal corner of the internet accused the Illuminati of killing the singer-songwriter, who was famous for fiercely protecting his copyrights and artistic freedom from industry interference.

"The Illuminati talk won't stop coming and what doesn't help is that Prince himself seems to have been genuinely convinced that the organisation existed," reports one gossip website.

In 2009, the singer appeared on TV to warn of powerful mystery figures controlling the world through "chemtrails" - chemicals pumped into the air via jet planes to manipulate human behaviour.

What is QAnon?

The Illuminati is also a favourite subject of the widely publicised pro-Donald Trump QAnon conspiracy theory.

QAnon has sought to tie in a host of outlandish conspiracies about subjects ranging from the sinking of the Titanic to a secret CIA propaganda programme in the 1950s and the foundation of the US Federal Reserve central bank, into an overarching story with the Illuminati at its centre.

QAnon may have only surfaced nine months ago, "but its obsession with the Rothschilds, the Illuminati, the CIA's supposed Operation Mockingbird, JP Morgan and the Titanic revives decades, even centuries, of moth-eaten paranoia", says the Washington Post.

The open source nature of QAnon, where an anonymous poster called Q shares something for thousands of other people to interpret as they see fit, "means other conspiracy theories fit neatly within QAnon - like ones about false flag shootings, Jewish bankers controlling the world, or the Illuminati", says Vox.

QAnon's readiness to buy into the Illuminati legend is hardly surprising, however, writes James McConnachie and Robin Tudge, authors of The Rough Guide to Conspiracy Theories.

"Perhaps because of the complete lack of any evidence for who the Illuminati actually are, they have simply become whatever conspiracists want them to be", they say.

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The Illuminati: who are they and what do they control?

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A man in South Carolina has been scammed out of $250 by fake recruiters claiming to be from the Illuminati. According a local police report, the victim was contacted about joining the secret organisation, but was told he had to pay an upfront membership fee.