--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even the plainest of events is tied down…" description: "\"“Even the plainest of events is tied down by a thick tangle of permutation and possibility, but the human mind struggles with such complexity. In times..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/bernard-beckett-13251_human-mind_even-the-plainest-of-events-is-tied-down_1270205.jpg" --- # Even the plainest of events is tied down by a thick tangle… ![“Even the plainest of events is tied down by a thick tangle of permutation and possibility, but the human mind struggles with such complexity. In times of trouble, when the belief in simple gods breaks down, a cult of conspiracy arises. So it was back then. Unable to attribute misfortune to chance…” quote by Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/bernard-beckett-13251_human-mind_even-the-plainest-of-events-is-tied-down_1270205.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/bernard-beckett-13251_human-mind_even-the-plainest-of-events-is-tied-down_1270205.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/769/bernard-beckett-13251_human-mind_even-the-plainest-of-events-is-tied-down_1270205.jpg) > ““Even the plainest of events is tied down by a thick tangle of permutation and possibility, but the human mind struggles with such complexity. In times of trouble, when the belief in simple gods breaks down, a cult of conspiracy arises. So it was back then. Unable to attribute misfortune to chance, unable to accept their ultimate insignificance within the greater scheme, the people looked for monsters in their midst.”” [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When simple explanations fail, people turn to conspiracies, seeking meaning in randomness and a sense of control over misfortune. **In simple terms:** People create conspiracies when faced with complex, uncontrollable events. Key Takeaway Cultivate critical thinking and accept uncertainty. Themes psychology conspiracy meaning‑making uncertainty human behavior Mood cautious inquisitive Type analytical educational When to use this quote - media literacy - education - public policy Key Concepts cognitive bias existential anxiety pattern recognition Questions to Reflect On - What evidence helps you evaluate extraordinary claims? - How can societies reduce the appeal of conspiratorial thinking? A Different Perspective Conspiracy narratives can spread misinformation and erode trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief-simple-3243391/) [Conspiracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conspiracy/) [Conspiracy Arises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conspiracy-arises-4068788/) [Human mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Struggles Complexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggles-complexity-4068789/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Times of trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times-of-trouble/) [Trouble Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trouble-belief-3532966/) ## Related quotes > [My friend Ronald Gottesman says...that the cause of all our trouble is the belief in an essential, pure identity: religious, ethnic, historical, ideological.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-abani/my-friend-ronald-gottesman-says-that-the-cause-of-all-our-trouble-is/) [Chris Abani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-abani/) > [Physics is the belief that a simple and consistent description of nature is possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/physics-is-the-belief-that-a-simple-and-consistent-description-of/) [Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/) > [“Nothing in my life had prepared me to see things that were strange or beyond belief. I was a simple kid in a simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dashner/nothing-in-my-life-had-prepared-me-to-see-things-that-were-strange-or/) [James Dashner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dashner/) > [“Superstition is the need to view the world in terms of simple cause and effect. As I have already said, religious fundamentalism was on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/superstition-is-the-need-to-view-the-world-in-terms-of-simple-cause/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/the-lord-is-a-refuge-for-the-oppressed-a-stronghold-in-times-of/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [He leaned closer, their faces drawing near, and he could feel the heat of her breath mingling with his. He closed his eyes against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/he-leaned-closer-their-faces-drawing-near-and-he-could-feel-the-heat/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [Friends show their love in times of trouble, not in happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/friends-show-their-love-in-times-of-trouble-not-in-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In times of trouble you can count on your self. In times of desaster you can count on your friends. In times of sorrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chae-richardson/in-times-of-trouble-you-can-count-on-your-self-in-times-of-desaster/) [Chae Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chae-richardson/) > [Perhaps love is like a resting place, a shelter from the storm. It exists to give you comfort, it is there to keep you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/perhaps-love-is-like-a-resting-place-a-shelter-from-the-storm-it/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Like Lyndon Johnson, President Obama understands that timidity in a time of troubles is a prescription for failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/like-lyndon-johnson-president-obama-understands-that-timidity-in-a/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [False friends leave you in times of trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/false-friends-leave-you-in-times-of-trouble/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [By some chance, here they are, all on this earth; and who shall ever tell the sorrow of being on this earth, lying, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/by-some-chance-here-they-are-all-on-this-earth-and-who-shall-ever/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [What the color is, who the daddy be, who the mama is don’t mean nothin’. We family, carin’ for each other. Family make us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-grissom/what-the-color-is-who-the-daddy-be-who-the-mama-is-don-t-mean-nothin/) [Kathleen Grissom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-grissom/) > [God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help us in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid, even if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/god-is-our-shelter-and-strength-always-ready-to-help-us-in-times-of/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [Stay in your seat come times of trouble. Its only people who jump off the roller coaster who get hurt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-harvey/stay-in-your-seat-come-times-of-trouble-its-only-people-who-jump-off/) [Paul Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-harvey/) ## More by Bernard Beckett > [“Do you believe in God?' Grace asked him. The question was not strange. They were past strangeness. 'Of course' he replied. It was easier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/do-you-believe-in-god-grace-asked-him-the-question-was-not-strange/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [I just love the idea that people disappear into the story for a while. You grab a book, and you want to get back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/i-just-love-the-idea-that-people-disappear-into-the-story-for-a-while/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [There is a fascination with fear. It grabs our attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/there-is-a-fascination-with-fear-it-grabs-our-attention/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [In the end, living is defined by dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/in-the-end-living-is-defined-by-dying/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [Science is a little bit more than a wonderful way of modelling and predicting; it's a wonderful technical abstraction. I think science is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/science-is-a-little-bit-more-than-a-wonderful-way-of-modelling-and/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [“Ugly's still ugly, no matter how you see it." "An interesting assertion. Justify it." "You bring twenty people in here," Adam told him, "and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/ugly-s-still-ugly-no-matter-how-you-see-it-an-interesting-assertion/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [Unable to attribute misfortune to chance, unable to accept their ultimate insignificance within the greater scheme, the people looked for monsters in their midst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/unable-to-attribute-misfortune-to-chance-unable-to-accept-their/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [Consciousness is the feel of accessing memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/consciousness-is-the-feel-of-accessing-memory/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [Our world is limited by the machinery we carry. It's very different to the 18th and 19th century Enlightenment scientists who were mostly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/our-world-is-limited-by-the-machinery-we-carry-it-s-very-different-to/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [“You think the thing you call consciousness is some mysterious gift from the heavens, but in the end consciousness is nothing but the context…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/you-think-the-thing-you-call-consciousness-is-some-mysterious-gift/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [“We have nothing but a history of our own invention to support this view. It suits us to believe it. It allows us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/we-have-nothing-but-a-history-of-our-own-invention-to-support-this/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [The Idea enters the brain from the outside. It rearranges the furniture to make it more to its liking. It finds other Ideas already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/the-idea-enters-the-brain-from-the-outside-it-rearranges-the/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [This is always the problem with building heroes. To keep them pure, we must build them stupid. The world is built on compromise and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/this-is-always-the-problem-with-building-heroes-to-keep-them-pure-we/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [... from our vantage point it is now clear that the only thing the population had to fear was fear itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/from-our-vantage-point-it-is-now-clear-that-the-only-thing-the/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) > [Human spirit is the ability to face the uncertainty of the future with curiosity and optimism. It is the belief that problems can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-beckett/human-spirit-is-the-ability-to-face-the-uncertainty-of-the-future/) [Bernard Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) [Explore all 49 Bernard Beckett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-beckett/) ## More Conspiracy quotes > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [I have a tendency to often share the point of view of the conspiracy theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-cotillard/i-have-a-tendency-to-often-share-the-point-of-view-of-the-conspiracy/) [Marion Cotillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-cotillard/) > [I'm not a conspiracy theorist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-baffert/i-m-not-a-conspiracy-theorist/) [Bob Baffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-baffert/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [So Pakistan is a country that I'm very fond of and have spent a lot of time, but it is a country where conspiracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/so-pakistan-is-a-country-that-i-m-very-fond-of-and-have-spent-a-lot/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) > [David Rockefeller is the most conspicuous representative today of the ruling class, a multinational fraternity of men who shape the global economy and manage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/david-rockefeller-is-the-most-conspicuous-representative-today-of-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [In 1999, Hoffmann-LaRoche paid a $500 million criminal fine for leading a worldwide conspiracy to fix prices for certain vitamins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/in-1999-hoffmann-laroche-paid-a-500-million-criminal-fine-for-leading/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [People went out there and they wrote articles and went on television shows saying that I am an operative that the CIA who used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/people-went-out-there-and-they-wrote-articles-and-went-on-television/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [“Better for real things to be uncontrollable, better for one's life to be undecipherable and intellectually impenetrable than to attempt to make casual sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/better-for-real-things-to-be-uncontrollable-better-for-one-s-life-to/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“Conspiracy theorists manipulate all tangible evidence to fit their explanation, but worse, they will also point to the absence of evidence as even stronger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-m-nichols/conspiracy-theorists-manipulate-all-tangible-evidence-to-fit-their/) [Thomas M. Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-m-nichols/) > [People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/people-of-the-same-trade-seldom-meet-together-even-for-merriment-and/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [ I can assure the conspiracy theorists who have very effectively savaged \[Gerald\] Posner in their books that they're going to have a much, much… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-bugliosi/i-can-assure-the-conspiracy-theorists-who-have-very-effectively/) [Vincent Bugliosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-bugliosi/) > [Act as if the universe is a prodigious miracle created for your amusement and illumination. Assume that secret helpers are working behind the scenes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/act-as-if-the-universe-is-a-prodigious-miracle-created-for-your/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) [Browse all 886 Conspiracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conspiracy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Even the plainest of events is tied down by a thick tangle of permutation and possibility, but the human mind struggles with such complexity. In times of trouble, when the belief in simple gods breaks down, a cult of conspiracy arises. So it was back then. 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