Interesting study on conspiracy believers
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/44046/title/The_i...
A few quotes from it
Goertzel says the new study provides an intriguing but partial look at the inner workings of conspiracy thinking. Such convictions critically depend on what he calls “selective skepticism.” Conspiracy believers are highly doubtful about information from the government or other sources they consider suspect. But, without criticism, believers accept any source that supports their preconceived views, he says.
and
A related, unpublished survey of more than 1,000 British adults found that 9/11 conspiracy believers not only often subscribed to a variety of well-known conspiracy theories, but also frequently agreed with an invented conspiracy.
Hopefully this won't get deleted, but we'll see.
I think I've come to the conclusion
that I should be skeptical of all "truths", whether from the government or from the citizens. I have certainly learned that the only truth acceptable to me is the one that I find for myself, using my head and heart.
I also believe that this tent is big enough for all of us as long as we are tolerant of all those tolerant. Know what I mean, jelly bean?
I'm really getting sick of
I'm really getting sick of these types of posts.
Puppets come and puppets go but the world's stage is getting cluttered.
Conspiracy-themed Jerry Springer show!
While posting my last (serious) comment about this post, a humorous thought occured to me. Wouldn't it be fun to host a Jerry Springer-type show where guests would come on and try to articulate these conspiracy theories and have knowledgable guests asking them the questions? It would be cruel, much like Jerry Springer, as it highlights the weakness and ignorance of a corner of our culture. But for that reason it might be a hit! I mean, a lot of people watch 'Cops,' right?
-pb
Journalist: why bother debunking?
I once asked a friend of mine who is a fairly well known journalist why no reputable publication bothers to refute these conspiracy myths that flare up from time to time. I was suggesting that he should write an article debunking the NAFTA superhighway conspiracy to merge Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. No way, he said. His editors wouldn't go for it because it makes the publication look foolish that they even would entertain such things. But he had no interest in doing it anyway, because he said there are serious things to write about and he doesn't want to have to deal with all the nuts that would follow him around forever as a result. I thought that was interesting.
(Forgive me for not mentioning his name but it was a private conversation.)
-pb
No Conspiracy Here....
Other than the official version spun to the public.
Please, people, let's have some critical thinking. If this were to be the case, where's the widespread panic about all of America's high-rises potentially collapsing and disintegrating due to outbreaks of fire? Happens every day but it's so darn funny how none of them seem to collapse and disintegrate......
For those left scratching their heads, I'm referring to Building #7. Sorry to have to state the obvious.
So true!
Wow. Those two excerpts from the study really capture the conspiratorial mindset well. There have been and always will be conspiracies of one sort or another and we should always be open to the *possibility* in any specific case. But there is no doubt a mindset, usually but not always uneducated, that seeks out (and finds!) conspiratorial explanations ( usually grand and impossible ones) for nearly everything -- even things that are easily explained by reference to easily available information.
Many of these crackpots genuinely love liberty but they tarnish our movement by association. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
-pb
How in the world is it "your movement"?
Don't you realize how silly you guys sound? It's truly laughable.
Keep trying boys. They'll kill you as soon as they're done with us.
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That's been my experience
--"But there is no doubt a mindset, usually but not always uneducated, that seeks out (and finds!) conspiratorial explanations ( usually grand and impossible ones) for nearly everything -- even things that are easily explained by reference to easily available information."
You phrased that well. That's exactly what I've experienced. You get the odd intelligent twoofer who is somewhat rational, like Alex Jones, but most are coffee residue. You keep thinking that if you point out their absurdities or point out evidence that they will see truth, but it's as hopeless as teaching a cat to drive.
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I am sure there are many
I am sure there are many here who would say the same thing about you, but there is very compelling and interesting evidence to support the belief that 9/11 is either an inside job or a massive government cover-up of a more sophisticated attack than indicated in the official story.
Further, this evidence and its credibility has been growing rapidly over the past few months. Here is an excellent example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssuAMNas1us
It is an interview of an architect who details the evidence in an educated and articulate way. The 9/11 conspiracy theory is far from debunked, and you risk destroying whatever credibility you have by continuing to say so.
Haven't seen any yet
I have yet to see any compelling evidence for 9-11 demolition. The evidence I have seen has been easy to refute within 5 minutes of basic research.
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Hopelessness is what you see in the mirror...
"You keep thinking that if you point out their absurdities or point out evidence that they will see truth, but it's as hopeless as teaching a cat to drive."
Funny, but your alligator mouth overruns your chipmunk ass on a regular basis and never do you do more than post a link to a government or debunker sight. All of which ignore facts...plain and simple. When pressed for answers to the irregularities that your posts contain...you disappear.
**“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” ~ Mark Twain **
"...there is no doubt that it (socialism) could not possibly have affected us so widely and so deeply as it has, had it not been heavily financed". - B. Carroll Reece
Bite me.
"Mr. Open except for the crazy stuff"
"But there is no doubt a mindset, usually but not always uneducated, that seeks out (and finds!) conspiratorial explanations ( usually grand and impossible ones) for nearly everything -- even things that are easily explained by reference to easily available information."
Of course you are referring to the "grand and impossible" official "Theory".
"**“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” ~ Mark Twain **
"...there is no doubt that it (socialism) could not possibly have affected us so widely and so deeply as it has, had it not been heavily financed". - B. Carroll Reece
Ron Paul's theory
I'm pretty sure he's talking about Ron Paul's very reasonable and believable theory that it was a bad foreign policy that caused 9-11.
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Ron Paul is a politician and as such...not God.
Neither is he deserving of un-stipulated support. He is either wrong or must couch his agenda for political longevity. Either way...he is wrong on this subject.
**“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” ~ Mark Twain **
"...there is no doubt that it (socialism) could not possibly have affected us so widely and so deeply as it has, had it not been heavily financed". - B. Carroll Reece
You can call it
“selective skepticism”, and I guess it is.
If someone tells me something that doesn't make sence, I tend to be more skeptical.
Whitehouse lied about abestos
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/08/...
The air is fine, breath deep. Proof the government is not concerned with the welfare of it citizens. What more do the anti-conspiracists need?
The research should be on non-conspiracy believers: why do they stick their head in the sand.
Anyhows, look up the people that were affected from not taking precautions in the 911 site clean-up. Or, the head of the EPA that resigned after being critical of the Whitehouse.
The hit parade just keeps on going.
I Took A DEEP BREATH And ALL I Got Was.........
My lungs filled with "CHEMTRAILS" (i.e. aluminum hydroxide, barium salts, mercury, etc.). And as for me, no more deep breaths for the air is questionable.
jebus
Fortune Favors the Bold
The statements "All conspiracy theories are true" and "All consipracy theories are false' are equally absurd.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_fallacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hominem
Fortune Favors the Bold
:-)
I will never trust Government.
Ron Paul 2012
www.josiahgarber.com/blog
www.heirloomgardenpro.com
www.mennonitesforronpaul.com
Nor will I
Yet the assorted UFO Roswell believers, moon hoax people, chemtrailers, twoofers and other assorted paranoid conspiracy believers are still wrong.
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Hey, have you ever read:
Major Jordans Diaries?
None Dare Call it Conspiracy?
America's Secret Establishment?
The Iron Triangle ?
The Kohler Strike?
While You Slept?
The Road to Serfdom?
Philip Dru; Administrator?
PSI Spies?
Rise of the Fourth Reich?
Crossing the Rubicon?
The Grand Chess Board?
Banking and Currency and the Money Trust?
The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America?
The Underground History of American Education?
Dumbing Us Down?
Deschooling Society?
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead
These are not the idiot conspiracies we talk about
I don't see chemtrail, UFO, moon landing hoax or 9-11 demolition in that list. That is what we are debunking.
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My bad...
In reading the OP, I thought it was about “selective skepticism.”
I only saw 9-11 listed in the OP. So, since I'm not clairvoyant like you, I had to go with what was written in the OP.
Thank goodness the “selective skepticism” thing doesn't apply to you and you have the ability to discern all knowledge imparted in books by merely reading their title.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." ~ Margaret Mead
What have you done to debunk the UFO question?
Answer: "Nuh uh! You're crazy!"
Great stuff. Thank God you are here to educate me on these matters. Dolt.
**“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” ~ Mark Twain **
"...there is no doubt that it (socialism) could not possibly have affected us so widely and so deeply as it has, had it not been heavily financed". - B. Carroll Reece
You know
Whether the straw men you create would prove to be accurate or not, you have to admit that events relating to long HEAVILY OFFICIALLY DISPUTED FACTS OF HISTORY (such as the hoax of the Gulf of Tonkin, Operation Northwoods plans to kill Americans to get support for military action on Cuba, the Lusitania actually being a ship carrying tons of arms making it a legit military target to be sunk, and the intentional sinking of the USS Liberty and resulting cover up including US President Lyndon Johnson, Iran-Contra, etc. etc.) have created a situation where it is EXTREMELY important for freedom and justice loving American citizens to question the "official line" offered by the establishment organs as relating to critical subjects that affect millions, if not billions, of People here and abroad.
Folks like you who run around encouraging people to remain with heads firmly planted in the sand are the ones who really hold back the movement of LOVE, PEACE, JOY, TRUTH, LIBERTY, JUSTICE. You are an agent for ill whether witting or unwitting and should cease.
_________________________________
Freedom - Peace - Prosperity
yes
Fortune Favors the Bold
It is very important to relaize you are being lied to all the time, and learn how to question things and think critcially. But that's the key. Critical thinking does not equal "all of reality is an elabortae illusion orchestrated by the government."
Fortune Favors the Bold
Prove it dipshit...
Then start a post that says "Gordon Cooper, Edgar Mitchell and Brian O'Leary are all crazies and wrong."
**“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” ~ Mark Twain **
"...there is no doubt that it (socialism) could not possibly have affected us so widely and so deeply as it has, had it not been heavily financed". - B. Carroll Reece
Let me list the kooky conspiracies that are disproven
Let me list the kooky conspiracies that are disproven here in various threads:
- Chemtrail
- Moon landing hoax
- UFO over Obama administration
- 9-11 Demolition theories
Now we could have this dance all over again, for the hundredth time, but what is the point? We're just rehashing everything again. By now anyone who is rational will accept that these are Internet hoaxes and anyone with a mental illness will keep pointing at flocks of birds and saying, "Derp de der dats anuder UFO".
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Would you please convert to a straight razor...
Then post your address so I can send you a quart of Jack Daniels.
**“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.” ~ Mark Twain **
"...there is no doubt that it (socialism) could not possibly have affected us so widely and so deeply as it has, had it not been heavily financed". - B. Carroll Reece
Always the physical threats isn't it?
When you guys can't win logically, intimidation seems to be the next step. That's what leftists and Communists are famous for, coincidentally.
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