Superior intellect/ "conspiracy theorists"

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What I've noticed is that people who are often labeled as conspiracy theorists often just have superior intellect vs the majority of the population. They can see that everyone but them and a select handful of people are sheep and inferior in terms of understanding the world around them. Those of you who have this superior intellect, why do you think you've been gifted with this? Good genetics? Better critical thinking skills? Do you feel bad for the 90% of the population that does not share your superior intellect and knowledge? If you don't think it's superior intellect and knowledge that has put you in this position opposing society, what is the explanation?
 
A penchant for beliefs in conspiracies doesn't correlate directly with intelligence, at least the jury is still out on exactly how direct intelligence might correlate.
The main factor seems to be a lot to do with a person's personal feelings about an analytical frame of mind as well as some kind of positive self regard.
Granted, a large number of highly intelligent people lean on intuition over analytical mind frames so this could result in leaning more into conspiracies.
I think also an openness to ideas may be at play here in some capacity.

What's important to note is that pretty much everyone can be susceptible to engaging in conspiracies unhealthily.
But there is also certainly some sort of utility in going against the grain and ferreting out alternative thought lines.
High IQ is not a "way out" of traveling down the wrong rabbit hole or going to ensure you get more tangled up in things.
Nor is being a little more obtuse going to create some kind of shield of dumbness or cause you to be constantly digging holes bearing no fruit.
 
A penchant for beliefs in conspiracies doesn't correlate directly with intelligence, at least the jury is still out on exactly how direct intelligence might correlate.
The main factor seems to be a lot to do with a person's personal feelings about an analytical frame of mind as well as some kind of positive self regard.
Granted, a large number of highly intelligent people lean on intuition over analytical mind frames so this could result in leaning more into conspiracies.
I think also an openness to ideas may be at play here in some capacity.

What's important to note is that pretty much everyone can be susceptible to engaging in conspiracies unhealthily.
But there is also certainly some sort of utility in going against the grain and ferreting out alternative thought lines.
High IQ is not a "way out" of traveling down the wrong rabbit hole or going to ensure you get more tangled up in things.
Nor is being a little more obtuse going to create some kind of shield of dumbness or cause you to be constantly digging holes bearing no fruit.
I think conspiracy theorists would heavily disagree with you. It seems to be the case that the only logical conclusion for why people believe in conspiracy theories is that they in fact are smarter than everyone else. Otherwise, to constantly question authority figures and what's widely accepted as fact in society and to call others sheep or mindless followers wouldn't make sense. How could somebody who isn't actually smarter than everyone else simply think that they were and build up an ideological framework of superiority simply to build their own self worth and feel better about themselves? That doesn't seem possible. It also doesn't seem possible that mental illness could contribute to it. In fact, it seems everyone but people who believe in conspiracy theories (which are the actual facts that people are simply too dumb to believe in) are the mentally ill ones. That seems statistically more probable than the opposite, right?

I'm just curious from the perspective of those who actually are superior in intellect what it's like. I tend to buy into the lies of society, so this thread is just a sheep looking for the insight of my superior.b
 
How could somebody who isn't actually smarter than everyone else simply think that they were and build up an ideological framework of superiority simply to build their own self worth and feel better about themselves?

lol what you are describing here is exactly what's happening in a lot of cases

I'm just curious from the perspective of those who actually are superior in intellect what it's like.

I have thought and read a lot of the data on this because I am this person

I think conspiracy theorists would heavily disagree with you.
I tend to buy into the lies of society, so this thread is just a sheep looking for the insight of my superior

I understand. You're being disingenuous.
 
lol what you are describing here is exactly what's happening in a lot of cases



I have thought and read a lot of the data on this because I am this person




I understand. You're being disingenuous.
spot on. Maybe I shouldn't have made this thread I'm a dick lol
giphy.gif
 
spot on. Maybe I shouldn't have made this thread I'm a dick lol
giphy.gif

My apologies for spoiling it, as I do think it would be an interesting discussion.
I think there is an approach to this that may be healthier though.
 
I think so. Maybe one day I'll develop a capacity to make well formulated OPs

You've made plenty over the years, a snarky one is inevitable now and then
 
I have members in my family who would be considered maybe a better non biased term for it would be "counter culture"? What do you think about that @Roses In The Vineyard is there a more positive term to use?

Anyway i often feel like I'm being belittled or talked down to if I don't agree with what they are saying. Maybe that's a reaction of the views not being mainstream so there is a need to defend the ideas more aggressively? I don't know but it definitely doesn't feel good
 
I have members in my family who would be considered maybe a better non biased term for it would be "counter culture"? What do you think about that @Roses In The Vineyard is there a more positive term to use?

Anyway i often feel like I'm being belittled or talked down to if I don't agree with what they are saying. Maybe that's a reaction of the views not being mainstream so there is a need to defend the ideas more aggressively? I don't know but it definitely doesn't feel good

I'll need to think on this as I am about to go to the wage grind for the night again so I'll either reply tomorrow or sometime this weekend.
 
I wonder if a propensity to believe in conspiracy theories is a maladaptive coping strategy for relief of anxiety in those with a lower threshold for activation of their amygdala with associated release of cortisol, i.e., a fear/disgust → stress response.

Such a lower threshold has been shown to have a strong positive correlation with those who hold conservative values, i.e., resistant to change/preference for tradition.

Such a propensity for buy-in to conspiracies might be explained, in part, by a deviation from a cognitive median sufficient to imagine a possibility, but insufficient to consider it critically, and/or reality test it. Of course, those are skills which must be learned, and given the potential for it to be a maladaptive coping strategy, most subjects would be necessarily unwilling to learn them, as it would reopen the potential for the experience of personal distress.

Also, inasmuch as activation of the amygdala contributes to self-preservation and avoidance of threat/danger, it makes sense the cortex might work to find a reason or explanation for the more archaic brain systems which operate below conscious awareness. That such an explanation might be grounded in a narcissist framework might be explained by the origin of the experience within the self, as well as the self-controlled higher brain finding the way to internal safety (and the return to a more normative cognitive-emotional homeostasis, albeit one which must be defended because it is based upon a subjective truth, not objective fact).

Worth consideration would be psychometric values and profiles from clinically-validated tests like the Big 5. The above might cover Neuroticism, but I can imagine Openness to Experience being a contributing factor. Also, repeated exposure to programmatic material, as well as social engagement and reinforcement, likely have the greatest seed influence, social monkeys that we are.

Cheers,
Ian
 
Conspiracy theories seem to range from the ridiculous to the insightful. At least three factors seem determinative of the quality of conspiracy theories (or more accurately, the veracity of conspiracy theories).

Firstly, the ability to engage with evidence over engaging with idiosyncratic and imaginary constructs. This favours people with an ability to take in sense data, and engage intuition to process it.

Secondly, intelligence, which weighs relevant data and most probable explanations, over simplistic assumptions which are more biased by emotions and misunderstandings of how things work.

Thirdly, good conspiracy theories are predominantly cynical, while poor conspiracy theories are predominantly paranoid.

Personally, I find conspiracy theories an interesting genre which ranges from interesting commentary to creative almost-non-fiction. I also like their more humble cousins, old wives tales. They offer counterfactual alternative perspectives and interesting things to ponder.
 
I wonder if a propensity to believe in conspiracy theories is a maladaptive coping strategy for relief of anxiety in those with a lower threshold for activation of their amygdala with associated release of cortisol, i.e., a fear/disgust → stress response.

Such a lower threshold has been shown to have a strong positive correlation with those who hold conservative values, i.e., resistant to change/preference for tradition.

Such a propensity for buy-in to conspiracies might be explained, in part, by a deviation from a cognitive median sufficient to imagine a possibility, but insufficient to consider it critically, and/or reality test it. Of course, those are skills which must be learned, and given the potential for it to be a maladaptive coping strategy, most subjects would be necessarily unwilling to learn them, as it would reopen the potential for the experience of personal distress.

Also, inasmuch as activation of the amygdala contributes to self-preservation and avoidance of threat/danger, it makes sense the cortex might work to find a reason or explanation for the more archaic brain systems which operate below conscious awareness. That such an explanation might be grounded in a narcissist framework might be explained by the origin of the experience within the self, as well as the self-controlled higher brain finding the way to internal safety (and the return to a more normative cognitive-emotional homeostasis, albeit one which must be defended because it is based upon a subjective truth, not objective fact).

Worth consideration would be psychometric values and profiles from clinically-validated tests like the Big 5. The above might cover Neuroticism, but I can imagine Openness to Experience being a contributing factor. Also, repeated exposure to programmatic material, as well as social engagement and reinforcement, likely have the greatest seed influence, social monkeys that we are.

Cheers,
Ian

Got some news for ya bud that biological defects are not limited just to conservatives as society is a zoo.

May the cringe be with you and enjoy.

 
Two words. Flat earth.

In all seriousness, conspiracy theories represent a broad umbrella. So ultimately, what distinguishes the intelligent theorists is that they emphasise the speculative aspect. They're merely considering the possibility.

A flat earther mindset on the other hand is not the result of an openness to a new idea, but the inability to understand one that already exists. They confuse their own ignorance with the unknown.

I think less intelligent people will either stubbornly refuse a conspiracy theory or stubbornly commit to it.
 
Got some news for ya bud that biological defects are not limited just to conservatives as society is a zoo.
  1. I never said anything about a defect. It’s quite normative for human beings.
  2. Said response is most often found in individuals with traditional value systems. Not limited to, or exclusive to.
  3. Batshit crazy is indeed apolitical.
Cheers,
Ian
 
I see it as one of many defense mechanisms for a psyche that is trying to make sense of a world where there is so much that is beyond our control. As with many defense mechanisms it can ironically be utilized to the point of detriment to one’s own health and wellbeing. You can waste as much time trying to read between the lines as you can being a total sheep, and with the same overall outcome.

It’s not a plug in favor of being ignorant, but people can be just as unhealthy sitting in front of a screen, hunting down and barfing up obscure links as they can sitting on the couch in front of another screen, sucking down sugar water and basking in that sweet, sweet 5g.
 
According to Roger Bacon the four causes of ignorance are : First, the example of frail and unsuitable authority. Second, the influence of custom. Third, the opinion of the unlearned crowd, and fourth, the concealment of one's own ignorance in a display of apparent wisdom.

Plato relates Socrates' "allegory" of the cave as a demonstration of a mind that has been unshackled by reason/revelation but the real question is....who was it that does the shackling?

Is it only though reason that we gain knowledge or is it really a combination of intellect and revelation. If the latter plays a part from whence does revelation emanate?
 
  1. I never said anything about a defect. It’s quite normative for human beings.
  2. Said response is most often found in individuals with traditional value systems. Not limited to, or exclusive to.
  3. Batshit crazy is indeed apolitical.
Cheers,
Ian

The craziest happens to be from the progressives more so than everyone else especially in the last several years plus by leaps and bounds hands down.
 
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