I absolutely agree with you about it being fascinating to watch. I keep thinking that they are making it up, but there are always so many who are so sincere. Then I think, they all can't be that dumb, but they just keep believing til the bitter end and lose their money.
Then the really fascinating thing is that they will follow the same people who were cheer-leading the loudest on the the next fraud. They pull out their wallets, hand over their money and say "Please sir may I have some more???" Rinse, repeat. I have watched it happen for many years and there always seem to be an unlimited supply of sheeple, in a continuous line into the slaughterhouse.
There is a quote from James Randi that I have seen posted around, that sums it up brilliantly.
There exists in society a very special class of persons that I have always referred to as the Believers. These are folks who have chosen to accept a certain religion, philosophy, theory, idea or notion and cling to that belief regardless of any evidence that might, for anyone else, bring it into doubt. They are the ones who encourage and support the fanatics and the frauds of any given age. No amount of evidence, no matter how strong, will bring them any enlightenment. They are the sheep who beg to be fleeced and butchered, and who will battle fiercely to preserve their right to be victimized
