Henry Stone
Chrono Cadet
I have a mixed feeling about the whole Illuminatiam thing that seems to be going on as we speak (well, as we write/read). Yes, it's quite clearly a hoax, and a laughably silly one at that, and being #1 in Amazon's "Ancient & controversial knowledge" is like being the winner of a foot race at the family picnic, but I'm wondering how something that blatant and amateurish even manages to make an impact?
To me, there are two kinds of people who buy the book (and let's face it, selling the book is all Illuminatiam is about. Which seems like wasted potential, but who am I to complain). One kind actually believes that a speculated conspiracy of Deepest Darkest Secrets advertises for members online. My dad was once offered membership as a Free Mason, and even then it was in the most unimpressive "hey, man, we had good times for a few years now, wanna join?" way, which proved once and for all to me that "secret orders" are frat-clubs for grown-ups (yes, fraternities have been key players in politics, especially in the US, but they are not quite Bond villain levels of organizations...). The Illuminatiam book/project seems aimed at this group, but it seems so... sloppy. What can be read online is basically cut-and-paste conspiracy peptalk, and none of it even reaches the level of The Secret infamy. It seems odd that this group could carry it to any kind of internet "fame".
The other group is just morbidly fascinated with this kind of insanity. Yes, I belong to that group
But can that group really muster the buying power to make it worth it for these people?
So my thought is, what am I missing here? Is there something really enjoyable in the non-free part of the book, or is capitalizing on the conspiracy world's version of The Boogeyman really enough to get the ball rolling? Has anyone read it, or know someone who talks about it?
To me, there are two kinds of people who buy the book (and let's face it, selling the book is all Illuminatiam is about. Which seems like wasted potential, but who am I to complain). One kind actually believes that a speculated conspiracy of Deepest Darkest Secrets advertises for members online. My dad was once offered membership as a Free Mason, and even then it was in the most unimpressive "hey, man, we had good times for a few years now, wanna join?" way, which proved once and for all to me that "secret orders" are frat-clubs for grown-ups (yes, fraternities have been key players in politics, especially in the US, but they are not quite Bond villain levels of organizations...). The Illuminatiam book/project seems aimed at this group, but it seems so... sloppy. What can be read online is basically cut-and-paste conspiracy peptalk, and none of it even reaches the level of The Secret infamy. It seems odd that this group could carry it to any kind of internet "fame".
The other group is just morbidly fascinated with this kind of insanity. Yes, I belong to that group
But can that group really muster the buying power to make it worth it for these people?So my thought is, what am I missing here? Is there something really enjoyable in the non-free part of the book, or is capitalizing on the conspiracy world's version of The Boogeyman really enough to get the ball rolling? Has anyone read it, or know someone who talks about it?
