Our conspiracy theories may turn out to be big blow worse than virus

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.” Nothing has confirmed this more than our human attempt to understand Covid-19. Scientists, politicians, religious leaders, as well as the pedestrian on the street are all desperately in search of answers as to the source and cause of this unprecedented global pandemic. This has been catalysed by our inherent nature to not only be inquisitive, but also appear knowledgeable – because information is power. The former is what drove Eve to the forbidden tree, and the latter was the motivation of the serpent in the Garden of Eden drama.

These traits – curiosity to know and appearance to be in the know – resides within every one of us. That is why interpretation of uncertain events tends to be more a function of power than of truth. The knowledgeable tend to rule and direct the lives of the curious – often in a manipulative manner. They speak with confidence, often spicing real facts with half-truths and/or outright falsehood, but with convincing authority.