Why NOT Believing In Conspiracies Is A Sure Sign Of Mental Retardation
Posted by UncommonSense 10 years, 9 months ago to Culture
This article is loaded with provable examples of actual conspiracies. I love the following sentences in the article:
"The idea, then, that there is no such thing as a conspiracy is flatly ludicrous. And people who condemn others as being “conspiracy theorists” only make themselves look mentally impaired.
To live in our modern world which is full of collusion and conspiracy — and yet somehow DENY the existence of any conspiracies at all — is an admission of a damaged brain."
"The idea, then, that there is no such thing as a conspiracy is flatly ludicrous. And people who condemn others as being “conspiracy theorists” only make themselves look mentally impaired.
To live in our modern world which is full of collusion and conspiracy — and yet somehow DENY the existence of any conspiracies at all — is an admission of a damaged brain."
And stop "outing" me; most people don't know I'm an Alien Anthropologist...
The average citizen in today's world is unable to thinking critically and logically, parsing thoughts from the media and other sources. I would love to see a histogram of the age range of those reading at least one book a year now vs 10-20-30 years ago and I would bet a dime to a donut-hole that the histogram would be moving to the older ages. Being able to read is a crucial area of self-education; a tool which public education wants to eradicate. Those able to carry on a logically discussion, humbly and objectively, and aged under 30, are dearth to say the least.
Remember "Reading is fundamental"? My Mother belonged to a book of the month club. She couldn't wait for her new book at the beginning of each month and often purchased supplementary material. I try and read a minimum of two books a month. Many of today's pablum filled heads of mush seem unable to find time to read more than facebook, or twitter... what a waste.
Respectfully,
O.A.
How many moves ahead can you think of. What actions must occur before a strategic milestone is met where you launch another phase of a plan?
With the vast majority of people being, to be quite honest..."Stupid" if you know anything about human nature you can manipulate public opinion to cause actions that allow long range policies to take place.
"The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under
the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist
program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without
knowing how it happened."
When you plan over time, you slowly move people into who unknowingly submit to the changes they would normally be completely against.
There are those in power, those who have been in office 30, 40 even 50 years, who use Government and long range strategic thinking to move this country straight toward Socialism and Communism so they can gain 100% control. This is done covertly. slowly.
You cannot simply take Americans guns. But if you can gin up enough anger over a few incidents you can get people to start saying "We have to do something..." So the "leaders" create regulations and laws, and everyone is happy. Next time something happens, just like Obama said, never let a crisis go to waste. more laws and regulations, and before you know it BLAMMO!!! 100% gun control.
Gun control is not about freedom, but about control. Gun control, Healthcare Laws, all these high sounding ideals, are about nothing but control. Read 1984. Watch the movie Captain America "Winter Warrior". Thos who claim no conspiracies are people who like to remain ignorant of reality and how those who have patience actually work.
Americans have the attention span of a ferret on CRACK. Because this majority are so ignorant, they cannot see past the end of their nose. They do not see how in 1970, the housing bubble was started, how in the mid 1990's the housing bubble was accelerated all under the auspice of "fairness." No longer did people have to save 20% down, now they can get no-money down loans with no income verification, hence the sub-prime market was born. Bubble bursts, people cry "Something must be done.." Government acts and we have more government control. Rich get richer poor get poorer. What should have happened was to let the businesses who participated go bankrupt. Let the system reset. But that is not in line with Government gaining more control. The housing bubble was started by liberals in the 1970's during Carter, and expanded several times. It has taken 44 years for the government to gain this kind of control.
Healthcare is the same. Another 4 or 5 years when people are screaming for "Something to be done" government will regulate more, pass more laws, all of which are meant to give more control to government and less freedom to the people.
Conspiracies exits. They are all around us. You just have to open your eyes and look. Learn Chess, learn how to think 5 to 10 moves ahead..THEN you will see clearly what is being done TO you and me.
Uh, come to think of it, this joke I just made triggers a new thought. I wish the real sheeple would dress up like that so we could know who they all are. Not all will knock on your door and say, "Hi, Tea Party person. I'm Mr. Baa from the IRS."
1) simple incompetence and laziness (common)
2) irrational analysis
3) political spin
4) nefarious intent
The problems with most "conspiracy theories" is due to the "conspiracy analyst" doing the following:
1) evaluate the range of plausible explanations
2) ignore and dismiss the most likely explanations
3) fixate on the least likely explanation(s)
4) usually assume nefarious intent as root cause, without any credible proof
5) use scientific explanations that frequently violate the laws of physics and offer no testable corroboration
6) frequently misuses statistics, probabilities, and data uncertainties
7) uses circular logic as an integral part of their argument
8) claims to have discovered truth and says that anyone who disagrees is either nuts or part of a grand nefarious conspiracy
It is healthy to be skeptical of everything -- both official stories and conspiracy theories. The search for truth is difficult and time-consuming, and nobody has all the answers. When evaluating data and events, ask questions like these:
1) What are the possible explanations (conspiracy theories often stop here)?
2) What are the most/least plausible and probable explanations?
3) Is this hypothesis or theory testable?
4) Are there math errors and laughable use of statistics?
5) Are there truly independent sources reaching the same conclusion? Source independence is strongest when the people/organizations have differing backgrounds/biases.
6) Does the source of the theory have a history of generating alarmist conspiracy theories with no credible corroboration? Like a dead clock that gives the right time twice a day, an unreliable source could accidentally be correct in a few cases. But in the majority of cases, this will not be true...
Be willing to listen to anyone's alternate explanation(s) and supporting data, or lack thereof. But be skeptical of everything...
Its not that I do not agree with your analysis (which basically amounts to Occam's Razor plus Science plus Math) its just that it _hurts_. Ow.
Jan
In general, put me down a person with "metnal retardation" when it comes to conspiracy theories.
This post concerns me greatly as it seems to be cruising through largely unopposed.
Y'know, after the FOX special on the Apollo "conspiracy" I printed out a whole binder of websites de-bunking the show. Point by point, right down the line, couldn't be clearer. Left it in the break room at work. - Not a single "believer" changed their mind. Not a single one.
And if "they" have so much power - if "they" can do damn near anything "they" want to us - how was it we never found WMD's in Iraq? That should have been an easy one.
Of course neither point will convince anyone.
I don't debate persons who find conspiracy everywhere - their logic is non-falsifiable.
For me, it is much easier to believe a lone gunman killed Kennedy than a team of of Secret Service agents was turned.
It is much easier to believe an Islamic terrorist attacked America than a conservative Texan.
It is much easier to believe that scientists could, in-fact, send a man to the moon than the USSR helped fool the world that we won the Race to the Moon.
Occam's Razor is not only famous - it's important.
I propose that persons in power have much less power than the average conspiracy theorist believes.
And if I have to disclaim this as sarcasm, then you don't deserve my humor.
Agree or disagree, persons of good heart can always smile and move on!
Excellent article. Of course there are conspiracies and collusion. Otherwise why would we have laws against it?
"Nothing to see here. Move along."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I33k8vV...
Regards,
O.A.
"It was business, not labor, that initiated the policy of government intervention in the economy (as long ago as the nineteenth century)—and business was the first victim. Labor adopted the same policy and will meet the same fate. He who lives by a legalized sword, will perish by a legalized sword."
1. On September 11, 2001, nineteen Arab terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center, severely damaged the Pentagon, and tried to destroy either the White House or the Capitol, except that passengers stormed the cockpit and they decided on immediate suicide.
2. This narrative proves my political enemy, George W. Bush, right, and enhances his prestige as he prepares to go to war against the perpetrators.
3. I therefore will promulgate a narrative to say the U.S. government did this thing themselves.
This is the thought process of the original "Truthers." Such was the twisted narrative that came out within a year of the event. Later, libertarians took over the narrative, on the theory that War is the Health of the State, so anything that makes a casus belli is automatically suspect.
The main difficulty with the debate on "who really destroyed the WTC" is that you have two competing bodies of men with nefarious intent. Whom, then, do you believe threatens you the more? Your own government? Or a dangerous sect among the Muslims bent on world conquest in the name of a madman's hallucinogen-enhanced vision, fourteen hundred years ago?
Then, too, Atlas Shrugged was the original conspiracy novel. On the one side, Mister Thompson and his cronies and "allies." On the other, the Triumvirs of Atlantis. Who, between them, are your natural allies?
Nathaniel Branden would, I believe, offer three words here: Check it out. We cannot reject every theory out of hand. We must evaluate all such theories according to motive, opportunity and means. Too often, those offering a theory offer motive only, and assume without warrant that opportunity and means also exist, without offering evidence for either.
There are very few in the mainstream media whom I trust, exceptions being John Stossel and Judge Napolitano.
After all, what is security all about? It is about whom do you trust, and with what, and how far.
Espionage and the Roots of the Cold War: The Conspiratorial Heritage (Studies in Intelligence)
http://www.amazon.com/David-McKnight/e/B...