Following the disappearance of flight MH370, the Malaysian airliner that lost contact with satellites and landed in the ocean somewhere of off Perth, Australia in March, I wrote an article discussing our fascination with such occurrences, and why, in an attempt to explain what had happened, we created conspiracy theories.

“Within hours of the plane’s disappearance, it came to the attention of the media that two passengers on board had stolen passports. The accusations of an attempted terrorist attack began immediately, along with other theories that the plane vanished into a black hole, that aliens captured the plane and are now holding it hostage on a faraway planet and that the pilot purposely sabotaged the flight. The idea of a mere technical problem was unimaginable; its straightforwardness made it uninteresting and, even more, its simplicity made it a fear that it could happen again, that it could happen to any of us.

When we indifferently question the logistics of what occurred and when we fabricate theories to replace the truth or fill a void, we distance ourselves from our emotions. We mask our fear with better, more entertaining stories because the one that is true is the one we don’t want to face.”

Read the full article here