Sakawa

          This video is an interesting follow-on to the idea of cyberspace as a psychological phenomena.  In it Sakawa, scam artists in Ghana, elicit the help of Juju shamans to make them more effective at their work.  On some level, this may not be wholly futile.  Anthropologists have argued that shamans are a form of primitive psychologist, their only true power being their ability to shape the thoughts of their followers. The scams the Sakawa practitioners run are a form of mind game.   Victims readily give up money, believing that someone they never met will bring them love or riches.  The internet is the medium but the events take place inside the victims heads.  

         Why shouldn't a mind-game benefit from a psychologist's skill at building confidence, even if it takes place online and the confidence building involves beheading a chicken.