Conspiracy theorists... are they all just a bit thick?

[anonymous-user]

Conspiracy theories first crossed my path following 9/11, then it was the death of Bin Laden and more of late the whole covid-19 rubbishers etc.

Some of the supposed theories are truly laughable in my eyes and I just wondered if it's a certain type of person who believes and propagates this kind of guff?

You know, the suggestable type, the type that buys/reads the red top papers and believes what they see on Facebook - are these the typical thicky gobstes synonymous with conspiracy theories? Or have the chemtrails turned me into a cynic?

[MiniMan64]

Yes

[Monkeylegend]

I'm in for the duration

I think many are very intelligent but just a bit away with the fairies.

Edited by Monkeylegend on Tuesday 22 December 21:05

[Esceptico]

Believing in conspiracy theories is very similar in my view to believing in religion (or equivalent nonsense such as ghosts or the soul that is inconsistent with our knowledge of the world gained through the scientific process). I think a weakness for magical thinking is part of human DNA and I’m not sure we will ever get rid of it.

[Jiebo]

Maybe these completely idiotic theories like flat earth have been fabricated by government agencies to discourage the public from believing anything that's been labelled as a 'conspiracy theory'?

I fully believe that there are very naferious agendas in the world, and not everything is as were told or made to believe. The media is more of less run by a few key players, and anything outside of this is generally ignored by the masses.

Many would equate my deep cynicism with 'conspiracy theorist', which is exactly what I believe the people in control want.

Before Snowden provided evidence, the masses would have called him a conspiracy theorist, as it would be implausible that illegal backdoor government surveillance could exist.

Edited by Jiebo on Tuesday 22 December 21:14

[robuk]

They are very quick learners.

Expertise developed on the 2020 programme includes:
Jan-April: epidemiology
May-Sept: virology
Oct-Dec: pathology

There is a bonus module on haulage and logistics being taught now it seems.

[J4CKO]

I worked with a guy ten years ago and he was rattling on about everything like he is an expert and really knows whats going on , always posting on Facebook what truths he has found, some of it is plausible but mostly bks.

He is like a Meerkat with ADHD that has been at the Red Bull, to wash down the blue Smarties, anything happens in the world and up he pops.

I am sure there is stuff going on, but doubt most of the theories are anywhere near, some folk just have to be contrarian, anti establishment, anti government, anti authority or just try to seem more interesting and informed. Calling anyone "Sheeple" is a good start.

[paulguitar]

This is a subject that really fascinates me. I think it is possible to be intelligent but 'intellectually eccentric' at the same time, and this leads to some quite odd characters.

One thing I have observed with conspiracy types is that they seem unable/unwilling to update their views on the basis of new information. So, as a result, we see 911 'truthers', moon landing doubters, etc, peddling the same stuff that has been repeatedly debunked.

[ATG]

I used to work with a fully fledged anti-vaccine fruit loop who believed his daughter's autism was caused by MMR. Looking for a reason for the autism, I fully understand, but nonetheless, bat st crazy. He also believed loads of other conspiracies and thought he understood the world better than most people. Bat st crazy. He was far from stupid and sane enough 90% of the time, so what was going wrong the other 10%?

His thought process would go A implies B which implies C ... so far, so good; perfectly sensible deductive reasoning ... but rather than have the concentration or discipline to keep thinking things through logically, he'd then make an intuitive leap to a conclusion. He did this when troubleshooting Excel fking spreadsheets as well as while trying to fathom politics, immunisation, etc. To put it mildly, this is a st strategy for understanding how anything works. And if you add in an underlying character flaw of thinking that everyone is probably trying to screw you over, then your intuition always pushes you towards thinking the worst of the rest of humanity and their motives.

[bigandclever]

I got caught up in a ‘secret alien base in Antarctica’ one. Got in the national papers (well, the red tops anyway) and everything. Turns out that when you have 50 runners, with all their GPS watches, doing a marathon it creates the heat signature of an underground base, according to all sorts of nutters on the internet. Although the less-sensationalised aspect that such tracking can (and has) inadvertently highlight military bases is true.

Edited by bigandclever on Tuesday 22 December 21:46

[Psycho Warren]

basically its mild mental illness, more specifically probably some form of psychosis with all the delusions they have.

[Tango13]

I do enjoy a good conspiracy theory, most of them are utter bks which makes them highly entertaining.

I think the reason conspiracy theorists buy into the fruitbat loon stuff is that they are incapable of accepting just how insignificant planet earth is in the grand scheme of things so are always looking for 'the bigger picture'

[Taylor James]

There's obviously a lunatic fringe who believe everything is a conspiracy/lizards, etc.

They are useful for those that would like to discourage any digging. Labelling someone a conspiracy theorist is one way of discrediting and ridiculing.

Unfortunately it's quite difficult to express an opinion about any event without being labelled, even if you support the official line in many other cases.

I believe the Kennedy assassination was a conspiracy, Diana's death was just an accident and I have an open mind about David Kelly's death. The one certainty is that you cannot trust governments to tell the truth.

[ThumperMc]

Tango13 said:

I do enjoy a good conspiracy theory, most of them are utter bks which makes them highly entertaining.

I think the reason conspiracy theorists buy into the fruitbat loon stuff is that they are incapable of accepting just how insignificant planet earth is in the grand scheme of things so are always looking for 'the bigger picture'

They get very grumpy usually when you say they (and all of us) don’t really matter

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Conspiracy theories are just a way of idiots getting to fell like intellectuals. That's the appeal. People who aren't very bright get to live out the fantasy of being ahead of the curve.

[Gameface]

robuk said:

They are very quick learners.

Expertise developed on the 2020 programme includes:
Jan-April: epidemiology
May-Sept: virology
Oct-Dec: pathology

There is a bonus module on haulage and logistics being taught now it seems.

They are also climate change experts.

[OzzyR1]

Taylor James said:

I have an open mind about David Kelly's death.

I'm not a believer in many of the wilder conspiracy theories, but I'm fully on board with this one not being suicide.

Also things like this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Gareth_Will...

Just from what is written in that Wiki entry, I have no idea how this could be concluded as an accident unless someone was instructed to find that verdict.

[Plymo]

Esceptico said:

Believing in conspiracy theories is very similar in my view to believing in religion (or equivalent nonsense such as ghosts or the soul that is inconsistent with our knowledge of the world gained through the scientific process). I think a weakness for magical thinking is part of human DNA and I’m not sure we will ever get rid of it.

This!
Humans are always prone to finding an explanation for things, and thinking that correlation equals causation! It's a natural consequence I suppose of our vital ability to spot patterns - even if it goes haywire from time to time when someone sees Jesus in a piece of toast. We also like to be part of a group, and are suspicious of people outside of it.

I also think a lot of it is down to the echo chamber effect of social media (including forums) where if someone reads about a subject and then comes across an interesting conspiracy theory, reads more about it and so on they can become convinced, because so many people around them think the same.

In that sense they are, I suppose, akin to religions as you are either "in" or "out" and there's a lot of them and us type stuff.
As with conspiracy theories, I'm sometimes surprised by very intelligent, articulate, worldly people who are also very religious. Not just thinking there's a God sort of religious but the full "I'd better not wear the wrong clothes, eat the wrong things or miss a ritual" type of religionist!

[NMNeil]

Living in Roswell New Mexico we know all about conspiracy theorists.
Our economy relies on them continuing to believe, and visiting Roswell with all their lovely money.

[Sarkmeister]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Conspiracy theories are just a way of idiots getting to fell like intellectuals. That's the appeal. People who aren't very bright get to live out the fantasy of being ahead of the curve.

I agree that this is the reason for a lot of it. It's people who generally in life feel like they are maybe intellectually inadequate, so feel the need to buy into and peddle this sort of bullst in an attempt to put themselves on the front foot. Its a bit of a power trip really, so they arent willing to back down despite clear evidence to the contrary.