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There is Nothing More True Than an Imaginary Rumour

I'm going to take you through a thought experiment. To try and identify something called an 'imaginary rumour'. These rumours are images which can get created within social organisation to reflect an underlying existential problem faced by that society, which is otherwise impossible to identify using science or in any material world way. 

I'm using a thought experiment because given science discounts anything where cause and effect cannot be measured materially, the imagination has to be activated to shine a light on the hypothesis. Science is a great tool for the world. But it is limited.

See if you can hold out and take part all the way through. It takes the form of a story, in a post apocalyptic world. Here goes...

  • You survived a global war which killed several hundred million people
  • You now face a new weapon more destructive than the war
  • The winners in the war are now fighting each other maybe using this new weapon
  • Everybody on both sides prepares itself for the end of times, with no escape this time
  • One day soon, people start seeing a new technology appear from outer space, which they believe will finally save them
  • This is their visionary rumour, which allows them to 'speak' indirectly about an actual existential threat, without punishment by the all encompassing society

Many rumours form automatically in the psyche of the collective, all are bizarre. Yet they happen and are strongly held by large fractions of the population. The fascinating thing is these rumours require no conspiracy of wealth and power to form. Nor do they need the people to be educated on what they mean, meaning is automatically understood.

Also people do not need to be coerced into believing them. Most surprisingly neither authority nor the media tries to quell these strange potentially damaging beliefs. Most of them fade away over a short time

But there's always one rumour which corrals the greatest number of people and holds sway, in that time and place. This rumour matches perfectly what people in general, in that time and place, feel, deep down. And persists for decades, with people insisting it is truth. Nothing could be more meaningful to these large groups of people. Who will commit their own children to die in more mysterious wars to uphold the rumour

This happening is what is known as an 'imaginary rumour'. Today there is a very powerful rumour widespread across the world. It speaks about an 'emergency' when its clear there is none in actuality. But, there is certainly a very big problem much worse than claimed by the rumour, which the rumour is pointing to.

These rumours are manufactured somehow - they are not easy to prove scientifically or materially. And its hard to know how and whence the source. We can only guess...

Is there something primordial still remaining in our DNA from times where existence was an everyday matter. And our ancient imagination of threat all around helped us like a tool of survival? Where today, these existential threats no longer matter, yet our DNA still demands to be threatened by something
because unconsciously it only understands survival as a first duty.

So let us say our modern world collective psyche - creates - an image of an immediate threatened world, to satisfy our ancient defence mechanisms.

The imaginary rumour can be anything. All it needs to satisfy is

  1. our deep need for an immediate survival threat
  2. it can corral the largest number of people in that time and place 

We can cite several competing rumours, all vying for the power to proceed with the greatest force within social organisation. Remember though, this is an unconscious activity for the great mass of people under its spell. So its futile to blame wealth and power for the inevitable corruption. The people created this rumour, it belongs to us, it is our world. 

Nothing could represent our world more perfectly in terms of the psyche. It has a perfect defence mechanism - science will not go near anything which does not possess material cause and effect.

I could point at a few of the most intense examples of these rumours. But I won't do that because it is not something I can teach you. Its is a matter of the psyche and that is entirely something only you can do. You will only defend using a narrative or other propaganda already programmed into your conditioning by the rumour itself.

And a few centuries ago, we killed God. And with what will we wash our hands of all the blood? I am not religious. But I do recognise that though flawed, these religious myths and symbols used to have the power to shine a light on imaginary rumours. We used to have an antidote to our primordial instincts now harming our society. Call that God if you like, why not, it has the power of God in this respect.

Yet today? Imagine a powerful bull which has got its rope twisted and tightened around a stake such that it can non long move enough to shake off the flies burrowing into its skin. This powerful bull can no longer use its power to even shake of flies. Its OK, I can go out into the field and unwind the rope and set the bull free again. But without help, who will set free humanity from these imaginary rumours, now we have killed God?

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