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Music Check it out. Middle of the show. I'm going to go to the You are not so smart Podcasts.

Episode 324.

324. It's September of 1954, and the psychologist Leon Festinger, is pondering the mysteries of the human mind at the University

of Minnesota, researching, writing, teaching, you know, professor stuff. When some rumors and

some local newspaper stories reach him by way of students, colleagues, and Minneapolis

word of mouth that a doomsday cult is preparing for the end of the world a mere six-hour drive

to the east in Chicago, Illinois.

This was of particular interest to Leon Fessinger because he had previously studied how rumors spread and why some rumors were more popular than others throughout history.

And he had since become fascinated with what happens when rumors about future events turn out to be false.

He noted that sometimes when people's identities or partisanship or religious beliefs or reputations or sense of self-worth would be confirmed or emboldened if certain predictions

or assumptions turned out to be true, when such notions turned out not to be true, people tended to come up with reasons

why that new information didn't necessarily disconfirm those beliefs or assumptions. Also,

Festinger was deeply fascinated with what historically happens when an entire subculture built around an idea

experiences an event or learns about some incontrovertible evidence that proves that idea to be false.

For instance, a doomsday cult, one that predicts the exact date and circumstances of the end of the world.

When that date passes and the circumstances do not occur,

cults like those don't typically say, oh, I guess we were wrong about that, and then disband.

Instead, they tend to find a way to keep

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