Why do people believe conspiracy theories?

My two cents:

1) Every one is scared and disenfranchised. By connecting the dots in a different way than the official explanation, they gain a feeling of exclusivity ("I'm not one of the sheeple!") and feel like they have "cracked the code".

2) The official explanation was never as thoroughly explained as the conspiracy theories were. Sometimes the truth is way sexier than the conspiracy ever was, but if you believe the people pushing the conspiracy, the non-believers are just boring old conservative sheeple that never let any danger into their lives.

3) My favorite guess: Hollywood. There's nothing sexier than conspiracy-thriller films, and some people just take them a little too seriously. Big Hollywood films include The Da Vinci Code, V For Vendetta, The Adjustment Bureau, From Hell, The X-Files, Nixon, JFK, Malcolm X, Hoffa, Total Recall (QUAID! START THE REACTOR! sorry)
 
You know how a lot of conspiracy theories are based on the idea that some greater power (government, religious order, rich people, aliens) are controlling or manipulating the general population? Well, it is my experience that conspiracy theorists are far more manipulative than anything I've directly seen :mlight: (maybe not the most, but definitely one of the most...). Conspiracy theories seem to always take words and blow them out of context :m141:. Put in messages around the words to elicit emotional responses and distort the actual meaning of what was said to suit what they need :m067:. Not to mention confirmation bias in what they say along with a number of other biases inherent to their pseudoscience :m206:. One of the worst parts is you can't really prove most of them wrong :m185:. They are designed in such a way that it leaves room for the, "well you can't know for sure" or "its still possible" arguments. Yeah, anything's possible. That doesn't make it true!:m106:
Sorry, I really don't like conspiracy theories. So unreliable as a science to base any intelligent consideration on. :m025: (end of rant) :m187:
However I must admit that some of them might be right in a base version of what they are saying. They are just really bad at proving it. That discredits them in my eyes. However there are a few things I think are very much a cover-up by a government or rich person/company. I'm just not fully convinced and would never bet money on those things.

To answer this more directly (after getting the rant off my chest :m073:), I like the way [MENTION=5601]vandyke[/MENTION] answered . I very much agreed. I would also like to add in that those people who believe conspiracy theories go in with a preconception about something or someone being after them (among many other possible preconceptions) and actually want to (or need to) believe the theory, no matter how ridiculous it is. I think it starts with that and some "truth searching". Whether it be to rationalize something they believe or to explain something they are afraid of (being just a few possible causes) combined with some classic not actually understanding the topic, not doing research on the counter perspective (meaning one real source of information), and you get someone convinced of a conspiracy theory.

I wouldn't say that all conspiracy theories (depending on what you define as such) are wrong outright. It's just no way to build an understanding of the world. Now back to eating corn :m090:
 
vandyke said:
My two cents:

1) Every one is scared and disenfranchised. By connecting the dots in a different way than the official explanation, they gain a feeling of exclusivity ("I'm not one of the sheeple!") and feel like they have "cracked the code".

2) The official explanation was never as thoroughly explained as the conspiracy theories were. Sometimes the truth is way sexier than the conspiracy ever was, but if you believe the people pushing the conspiracy, the non-believers are just boring old conservative sheeple that never let any danger into their lives.

3) My favorite guess: Hollywood. There's nothing sexier than conspiracy-thriller films, and some people just take them a little too seriously. Big Hollywood films include The Da Vinci Code, V For Vendetta, The Adjustment Bureau, From Hell, The X-Files, Nixon, JFK, Malcolm X, Hoffa, Total Recall (QUAID! START THE REACTOR! sorry)
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I think you're right, largely because I think conspiracy theorising can be and is an ego stroking exercise like what you describe. Being one of the "in the know" elect or elite.

The only thing is that while it may not be as "sexy" or "hollywood" the more rational explanations, such as institutional or sociological theories, are important, its important that they be understood and even acted upon.

There are democratic deficits and the consequences of these are pretty awful. That people are attracted to more razz-ma-tazz and are makes defending those definite inequalities or contradictions easier, opposition can be dismissed more easily.

Dan Brown gave an early, early interview to the Guardian in which he said he got the idea for the conspiracy novels he wrote from reading formulaic books and thinking he could do the same or better, that the success he experienced was largely good luck because an upsurge in weird theories and conspiracy theorising was in vogue at the time he published, a post X-Files trend, and he even referenced some quiz online which allowed you to generate your own conspiracy from formulaic criteria selection.
 
Because its interesting and novelling like?
 
dogman6126 said:
You know how a lot of conspiracy theories are based on the idea that some greater power (government, religious order, rich people, aliens) are controlling or manipulating the general population? Well, it is my experience that conspiracy theorists are far more manipulative than anything I've directly seen :mlight: (maybe not the most, but definitely one of the most...). Conspiracy theories seem to always take words and blow them out of context :m141:. Put in messages around the words to elicit emotional responses and distort the actual meaning of what was said to suit what they need :m067:. Not to mention confirmation bias in what they say along with a number of other biases inherent to their pseudoscience :m206:. One of the worst parts is you can't really prove most of them wrong :m185:. They are designed in such a way that it leaves room for the, "well you can't know for sure" or "its still possible" arguments. Yeah, anything's possible. That doesn't make it true!:m106:
Sorry, I really don't like conspiracy theories. So unreliable as a science to base any intelligent consideration on. :m025: (end of rant) :m187:
However I must admit that some of them might be right in a base version of what they are saying. They are just really bad at proving it. That discredits them in my eyes. However there are a few things I think are very much a cover-up by a government or rich person/company. I'm just not fully convinced and would never bet money on those things.

To answer this more directly (after getting the rant off my chest :m073:), I like the way @vandyke answered . I very much agreed. I would also like to add in that those people who believe conspiracy theories go in with a preconception about something or someone being after them (among many other possible preconceptions) and actually want to (or need to) believe the theory, no matter how ridiculous it is. I think it starts with that and some "truth searching". Whether it be to rationalize something they believe or to explain something they are afraid of (being just a few possible causes) combined with some classic not actually understanding the topic, not doing research on the counter perspective (meaning one real source of information), and you get someone convinced of a conspiracy theory.

I wouldn't say that all conspiracy theories (depending on what you define as such) are wrong outright. It's just no way to build an understanding of the world. Now back to eating corn :m090:
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I'm tempted to wish a F-16 flyover above your house. Jarring, worrisome, exhilarating, and curious all at the same time. There are darker aspects to humanity and human nature, and ignoring them doesn't make them go away or instances caused by such to not happen. Like nailing people up to crosses or burning them alive, revolutions, overthrowing monarchies and democracies don't just spontaneously happen.;) Causality is the basis of science.
 
Kanamori said:
I'm tempted to wish a F-16 flyover above your house. Jarring, worrisome, exhilarating, and curious all at the same time.
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We have helicopters and planes (usually passenger planes) fly over our house often (in my opinion). At least once a month, usually more often. I've seen a chinook once, it was really cool actually. I'm not worried at all of them spying on me or threatening me

There are darker aspects to humanity and human nature, and ignoring them doesn't make them go away or instances caused by such to not happen.
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I very much agree. Humanity has some of the nastiest (if not the worst) aspects of life that I know of within us. And It's true that ignoring a problem will never make it go away. Many things wrong with this world are because of human's making very very wrong decisions for whatever reason. However, conspiracy theories don't use the scientific/logic principle called Occam's razor. The simplest explanation is by far more likely to be the correct answer. For example, to use an example from the link originally posted in this thread, which is more likely:
the concept of global warming is a huge conspiracy of most of the scientific community in an attempt to get more money and shut down big business, or is it more likely that a small group of scientists manipulated data and lied to try to get money for themselves or just to try to get themselves better known? :m083:

Like nailing people up to crosses or burning them alive, revolutions, overthrowing monarchies and democracies don't just spontaneously happen.;) Causality is the basis of science.
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I agree, most stuff do have a cause that can be traced (however some things are a natural process that results from a given system). I just have a problem with how conspiracy theories "prove" causation. Cause they really don't. For example, to say that because the (random example) acts done by the church (as you described above) were caused by, oh say aliens (just to pick a random "possible" cause) because they have been visiting Earth since ancient times (preconception example, one possible of many that I think conspiracy theories are based off of), then Aliens actually started the persecutions and wars as an attempt to push our population down a bit. That's just not logical in my opinion. :m025:
Ok, that was a bit extreme, but hopefully I got my point across :m187:
 
The biggest conspiracy on the internet thus far is how [MENTION=11455]dogman6126[/MENTION] can use so many emoticons!!

I'm jealous!

I get a warning at 4!
 
say what said:
The biggest conspiracy on the internet thus far is how [MENTION=11455]dogman6126[/MENTION] can use so many emoticons!!

I'm jealous!

I get a warning at 4!
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LOL! I'm sorry, I love the monkeys O.O they are so fun ^_^ :m036:
Plus I feel rather strongly about conspiracy theories. Probably a personal fault of mine. Still working on the "sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong" life lesson (not sure if that sums it up correctly, but you get my point :D ). Still thinking I can fix anything with the right words....that kinda stuff. lol.
 
The term 'conspiracy theorist' was created by the CIA who infiltrated the mainstream media in their 'Operation Mockingbird'

They created the term and got the mainstream media to use it in the wake of the shooting of president kennedy

They used the term to discredit anyone who questioned the 'magic bullet' theory put out by the warren commission

They still use the term in the same way to silence people who question the official version of events. basically it is a way of getting poorly informed people to feel smug whilst they self police other members of the public thereby blocking free and open dialogue amongst members of the public

The implication being that the public are too stupid to have a right to discuss matters and should leave it to their social betters in the CIA, Bilderberg et al

If someone from the cabal makes a prediction they are lauded but if a member of the public accurately calls it they are called a 'conspiracy theorist' by the self satisfied and willfully ignorant, self policing dumber downers

Here's the well informed, articulate and intelligent 'conspiracy theorist' James Corbett explaining the predicament of people in the public trying to make sense of what the gods of olympus are doing (or the commonly used name for the wall street chiefs is 'the masters of the universe'! Or what i'd call a shower of shites)

I don't expect any of the naysayers to watch it though because they seem intimidated by anything that challenges their entrenched perceptions:

[video=youtube;pBo134nnIlc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBo134nnIlc[/video]
 
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Notice how there is no interest in defining what conspiracy theorys are being called into
question by the naysaying self policers....no it is just a blanket dismissal of ALL questioning of the offical line

They want to shut down ANY discussion that is not in alignment with their agenda

Also the attempt to say that people are somehow mentally deficient for questioning the official line is classic Frankurt School behaviours (ie to call anyone who disagrees with you 'crazy'). I wouldn't be suprised if the tavistock Institute was behind that particular piece of propaganda

[video=youtube;hh2DdJLycPM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh2DdJLycPM[/video]

[video=youtube;M3foSmRwIC0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3foSmRwIC0[/video]
 
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sprinkles said:
Notice anything else?
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Lots of stuff but one thing that seemed odd was the dude outside having the same reaction to the girl taking her wig off

Do the words on the rubber have any significance?
 
muir said:
Ok..so whats the punchline?
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Everybody else in the room is either oblivious or willfully ignorant of what's happening. Mai knows this, which is exactly why she gets away with it.

Moreover, Mai does this to troll Yuuko, knowing that Yuuko can't stand being the only one to see what's going on without saying anything.
 
That would imply that Mai is mischevious in a playful way but the cabal are not playful, however they do operate in the blind spot that is the ignorance of the general public
 
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