If you are like most non-cave-living-dwellers of the earth, you've probably heard the expression "such and such drank the Kool-aid" after someone believes certain ideals that seem highly fallible or schemeish, putting them in the same category of others who fall for the same thing and are perhaps ridiculed. The expression, as innocent as it may seem, stems from when members of a cult called Jonestown all drank a poisoned punch, an event that occurred after some members left the cult which left the leader, Jim Jones, distressed. Though some initially rejected the idea of committing suicide, they were pressured into doing it by the leader as well as the other members, a hive-mind act commonly found in cults where peers keep peers in check by constantly applying social pressure that doesn't allow any one person to think for themselves or do what they feel is the best thing to do. While most people want to believe that they are safe from cults, it's worth keeping in mind that as long as you desire to be part of the crowd and follow actions that have already been performed in fear of standing out, you will always be susceptible to falling prey. The most you can do is understand how a cult works and realize being like everyone else is severely overrated.

So, what is a cult? A cult is essentially a small group, usually based around some kind of enlightening experience or something that resembles religion. Every religion has started off as a cult and Jesus and Muhammad were at one point were cult leaders. Though it's pretty clear Jesus and Muhammad had obviously different intentions then Jim Jones, they essentially did the same thing which was to have people believe in what they said by proving themselves in various ways and then setting rules that the now-believing people would undoubtedly follow. The proof is still blatantly clear as religious people still fight for vague ideals they barely understand from people they have never met or seen despite not knowing the intentions of those ideas and their true purpose, which is why cults work because people do things for the sake of doing them, which is extraordinarily foolish as it sets back evolution and the separation of emotion and logic, undoubtedly causing Socrates and Plato to twist and turn in their graves. Though Saudi Arabia is clearly stuck in the dark ages, America isn't much better where our government still tries to control what we do despite being just as delusional as the people they have power over, if not more.

I have established what a cult is, but why do people join them? The easy answer is weak-mindedness, but it goes deeper then that. As social creatures, humans feel the need to belong to certain groups and be attached to certain labels to define them and help them achieve whatever goals they long for. Psychopaths don't feel any of that bullshit and carve their own paths, which makes them perfect for the position of cult leaders. Glib, enlightened, and manipulative combined with the desire to control sheepish people causes psychopaths with the right mix of those traits to exert their power over those who will whole-heartedly become martyrs for whatever cause they are convinced should matter to them. Luckily for people extremely vulnerable to those who harness the dark triad of Narcissism, Machiavellianism and Psychopathy, psychopaths are few and far between, and only a small chunk of psychopaths even want to be cult leaders.

It is for the same reason religion and most organizations work that people fall to cults, which is insecurity and a lack of skepticism. Like cognitive biases, merely understanding how and why the gears turn won't prevent you from becoming a cog, but opening your mind to completely unbiased and stoic thinking will, and though it is a process, it is one that you should work on the second you become aware of it as most to all of your knowledge is muddled and hardly truth. As Plato saw it, we merely see shadows reflected on a cave wall, but yet we base our opinions and existence on these shadows, some people are even willing to kill based on how they interpreted them. Think for yourself and understand that you don't know shit, none of us do