The “tinfoil-hatters” represent a fairly fascinating “genre” of mental illness. There must be something to be learned here, meshing abnormal psychology with meme theory. Here’s the apparent “Patient Zero” of the whole “a conspiracy is technologically controlling my mind via strange radiations” psychosis.
On the broader topic of “crackpot theories”, the phenomenon described here is the work of one singularly industrious nutjob.
lends weight to my personal (and utterly unsubstantiated) theory that the delusions are based on whatever ideas happen to be floating around the victim at the time. Way back when, it was demons or God, then science, and/or secret organizations get added into the mix. And then of course we have this, which is an entire community of people with the same delusion.