As someone who frequents casinos, I witness a certain phenomenon of the human mind daily. The best example of this I can name offhand is an integral part of the table card game baccarat.

In the game of baccarat as dealt in Vegas, the player does nothing. He places his bet and just observes the dealer whips out 4-6 cards and a winner is determined. It's like "War", basically, and you bet on whether the "left" set of cards will win or the "right". All the player of this game does decides is on which hand they will bet on. There is absolutely no other complication to this game at all from the player's standpoint.

However, if one observed the game of baccarat without knowing this, one would think otherwise. Huddled around the average baccarat table are around a dozen small, usually Chinese men and women busily scratching the previous results of hands past. These are the exact cards that were drawn, often from hours and hours just gone by, and each player keeps their own score even though the guy next to them has the same thing written down. The players of this game believe there is a pattern in the cards that one can find and follow to riches.

Pens and notecards are used to make the recordings. The pens are double-sided so one can write in red or black ink to signify which side, what suit, and what number came out and won on a given hand. The notecards have gridded charts for easy score keeping. Who do you suppose supplies all the cards and pens which fuel this mysticism, of which thousands are gone through daily in every casino with baccarat? The casino does, of course, and at considerable expense in production, shipping and manpower. This is because they are the only ones that stand to benefit.

I personally theorize that baccarat has reached such a degree of the sudden, serious, catalytic, and decisive as the rapid gain or loss of U.S. capital, that people will not accept a simple explanation and result thereof - in this case, that they've fallen into the most brainless moneytrap ever devised to hit the casino floor.

No, no. The answer is that their mysticism was calibrated incorrectly. They'll return tomorrow and fix it. They've invented an explanation for their loss that is easier to accept and recover from, even if it will continue to grip and control them for as long as they accept such falsities.

People did the same thing with death thousands of years ago, and much of that mysticism persists to this day. But as long as someone stands to profit, there will always be scorecards and pens provided for those that want them.

(Added later on:)
The point is, people won't take a simple answer. They'll take the one that's more comforting. They'll spin webs to no end, complicate it, and harm themselves in the process. This extends far beyond gambling. Religion is a peerless example.