Damnit, ER
I don't have the time to answer that essay in any way that it deserves. There are many points you touch upon that deserve further discourse.
Foremost on my mind: does the information age fertilize anomalist/conspiritorial viewpoints?
I believe it does, and in some, results in information overload, a sort of addiction to diving down rabbit holes.
Busy week ahead; meanwhile, another view:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-narcissus-in-all-us/200809/paranoia-and-the-roots-conspiracy-theories
