why is conspiracy such a widespread problem ?

[HeyYou]

"Conspiracy Theory" is just a lazy way to define oppositional views, as the Galileo example amply demonstrates.

 

The problem with today's "conspiracy theories" is that their very existence, growth and ongoing support are dependent on folks who "don't like" something and are willing to believe anything which supports their beliefs. By way of an example, if one doesn't like American Democrats, a theory which states that American Democrats are "a huge cabal of lizard people which eat babies so they can stay youthful" is perfectly reasonable, rational and sane.

 

And therein is the real issue. Belief vs Fact. When a culture cannot even agree on the facts, in spite of any and all evidence, they will accept as true anything which supports their beliefs. Is climate change real, or is the science inconclusive? Did astronauts actually land on the moon, or was it faked by Steven Speilberg? Are there actually Little Green Men in America's Area 51, or is it a hoax? Is the earth flat? If your beliefs hold that any of these are true, than any evidence to the contrary is dismissed as "biased media" or "fake news" or "junk science" or simply as a lie.

 

And the root cause is the lack of "Critical Thinking"? How does one think critically without an adequate foundation? What about "anti-intellectualism"? How about "social promotion" in school? Does dropping standards for graduation from secondary school have a role? Is declining literacy rates to blame? How does teaching children religious dogma instead of science play into the discussion? Or, is it some combination of these and other factors which allow people to believe the most irrational, unreasonable, insane, nonsensical and outlandish things about each other and our world?

 

Or are people just (expletive deleted) stupid? Lizard people, indeed.

Personally, I think it's your last explanation. :) Taken individually, we have some truly bright people here in the US. Taken collectively though? We got nothin' on a box of rocks. :D

[Deleted92948618User]

 

 

 

 

"Conspiracy Theory" is just a lazy way to define oppositional views, as the Galileo example amply demonstrates.

 

The problem with today's "conspiracy theories" is that their very existence, growth and ongoing support are dependent on folks who "don't like" something and are willing to believe anything which supports their beliefs. By way of an example, if one doesn't like American Democrats, a theory which states that American Democrats are "a huge cabal of lizard people which eat babies so they can stay youthful" is perfectly reasonable, rational and sane.

 

And therein is the real issue. Belief vs Fact. When a culture cannot even agree on the facts, in spite of any and all evidence, they will accept as true anything which supports their beliefs. Is climate change real, or is the science inconclusive? Did astronauts actually land on the moon, or was it faked by Steven Speilberg? Are there actually Little Green Men in America's Area 51, or is it a hoax? Is the earth flat? If your beliefs hold that any of these are true, than any evidence to the contrary is dismissed as "biased media" or "fake news" or "junk science" or simply as a lie.

 

And the root cause is the lack of "Critical Thinking"? How does one think critically without an adequate foundation? What about "anti-intellectualism"? How about "social promotion" in school? Does dropping standards for graduation from secondary school have a role? Is declining literacy rates to blame? How does teaching children religious dogma instead of science play into the discussion? Or, is it some combination of these and other factors which allow people to believe the most irrational, unreasonable, insane, nonsensical and outlandish things about each other and our world?

 

 

 

 

Or are people just (expletive deleted) stupid? Lizard people, indeed.

Personally, I think it's your last explanation. :smile: Taken individually, we have some truly bright people here in the US. Taken collectively though? We got nothin' on a box of rocks. :D

 

 

 

Touche.

[Striker879]

 

"Conspiracy Theory" is just a lazy way to define oppositional views, as the Galileo example amply demonstrates.

 

The problem with today's "conspiracy theories" is that their very existence, growth and ongoing support are dependent on folks who "don't like" something and are willing to believe anything which supports their beliefs. By way of an example, if one doesn't like American Democrats, a theory which states that American Democrats are "a huge cabal of lizard people which eat babies so they can stay youthful" is perfectly reasonable, rational and sane.

 

And therein is the real issue. Belief vs Fact. When a culture cannot even agree on the facts, in spite of any and all evidence, they will accept as true anything which supports their beliefs. Is climate change real, or is the science inconclusive? Did astronauts actually land on the moon, or was it faked by Steven Speilberg? Are there actually Little Green Men in America's Area 51, or is it a hoax? Is the earth flat? If your beliefs hold that any of these are true, than any evidence to the contrary is dismissed as "biased media" or "fake news" or "junk science" or simply as a lie.

 

And the root cause is the lack of "Critical Thinking"? How does one think critically without an adequate foundation? What about "anti-intellectualism"? How about "social promotion" in school? Does dropping standards for graduation from secondary school have a role? Is declining literacy rates to blame? How does teaching children religious dogma instead of science play into the discussion? Or, is it some combination of these and other factors which allow people to believe the most irrational, unreasonable, insane, nonsensical and outlandish things about each other and our world?

 

Or are people just (expletive deleted) stupid? Lizard people, indeed.

Personally, I think it's your last explanation. :smile: Taken individually, we have some truly bright people here in the US. Taken collectively though? We got nothin' on a box of rocks. :D

 

 

As much as you'd like to Hey, I don't think you can claim American supremacy on the content of your boxes. I won't allude to first hand knowledge of Europe or Asia and the rest of the world, but here in the land of your frozen neighbor to the north we have both plenty of rocks and no shortage of boxes.

 

Beware of one other thing too ...since the end of the last ice age the northern part of that wonderful frozen wasteland I call home has been rebounding from the trillions of tons of ice that once weighed it down. Soon we'll be high enougn for some of those rocks to start sliding downhill (I know, as if you didn't already have enough to worry about).

 

For some time I have had the notion that we're doomed as a species. The more we advance the less we are in concert with our small home named Earth. It's not only the financial world that demonstrates the widening gulf between haves and have nots. We are also seeing the same in the schism between the knows and know nots (or perhaps "don't want to knows" would be more accurate).

 

At first I was thinking along the lines that our advances had halted that fundemental process that had got us to the point where we could make the advances (yes I'm in the camp that believes Darwin was correct). Without evolution what option is open beside either extinction or devolution?

 

Then I realised that the system isn't broken, and we are in fact evolving ... into two species.

[HeyYou]

 

 

"Conspiracy Theory" is just a lazy way to define oppositional views, as the Galileo example amply demonstrates.

 

The problem with today's "conspiracy theories" is that their very existence, growth and ongoing support are dependent on folks who "don't like" something and are willing to believe anything which supports their beliefs. By way of an example, if one doesn't like American Democrats, a theory which states that American Democrats are "a huge cabal of lizard people which eat babies so they can stay youthful" is perfectly reasonable, rational and sane.

 

And therein is the real issue. Belief vs Fact. When a culture cannot even agree on the facts, in spite of any and all evidence, they will accept as true anything which supports their beliefs. Is climate change real, or is the science inconclusive? Did astronauts actually land on the moon, or was it faked by Steven Speilberg? Are there actually Little Green Men in America's Area 51, or is it a hoax? Is the earth flat? If your beliefs hold that any of these are true, than any evidence to the contrary is dismissed as "biased media" or "fake news" or "junk science" or simply as a lie.

 

And the root cause is the lack of "Critical Thinking"? How does one think critically without an adequate foundation? What about "anti-intellectualism"? How about "social promotion" in school? Does dropping standards for graduation from secondary school have a role? Is declining literacy rates to blame? How does teaching children religious dogma instead of science play into the discussion? Or, is it some combination of these and other factors which allow people to believe the most irrational, unreasonable, insane, nonsensical and outlandish things about each other and our world?

 

Or are people just (expletive deleted) stupid? Lizard people, indeed.

Personally, I think it's your last explanation. :smile: Taken individually, we have some truly bright people here in the US. Taken collectively though? We got nothin' on a box of rocks. :D

 

 

As much as you'd like to Hey, I don't think you can claim American supremacy on the content of your boxes. I won't allude to first hand knowledge of Europe or Asia and the rest of the world, but here in the land of your frozen neighbor to the north we have both plenty of rocks and no shortage of boxes.

 

Beware of one other thing too ...since the end of the last ice age the northern part of that wonderful frozen wasteland I call home has been rebounding from the trillions of tons of ice that once weighed it down. Soon we'll be high enougn for some of those rocks to start sliding downhill (I know, as if you didn't already have enough to worry about).

 

For some time I have had the notion that we're doomed as a species. The more we advance the less we are in concert with our small home named Earth. It's not only the financial world that demonstrates the widening gulf between haves and have nots. We are also seeing the same in the schism between the knows and know nots (or perhaps "don't want to knows" would be more accurate).

 

At first I was thinking along the lines that our advances had halted that fundemental process that had got us to the point where we could make the advances (yes I'm in the camp that believes Darwin was correct). Without evolution what option is open beside either extinction or devolution?

 

Then I realised that the system isn't broken, and we are in fact evolving ... into two species.

 

Oh gee, that's for the good news..... I live in the northern part of the US, so, I will likely be one of the first to see some of those rocks. :D

 

Our government has been doing it's best to circumvent Darwin for a couple decades now, much to the detriment of the species as a whole. Humans, are indeed their own worst enemy, and I find it highly likely that we will be our own undoing. Be it environmental, war, or simply breeding ourselves into non-existence.

[Striker879]

 

 

 

"Conspiracy Theory" is just a lazy way to define oppositional views, as the Galileo example amply demonstrates.

 

The problem with today's "conspiracy theories" is that their very existence, growth and ongoing support are dependent on folks who "don't like" something and are willing to believe anything which supports their beliefs. By way of an example, if one doesn't like American Democrats, a theory which states that American Democrats are "a huge cabal of lizard people which eat babies so they can stay youthful" is perfectly reasonable, rational and sane.

 

And therein is the real issue. Belief vs Fact. When a culture cannot even agree on the facts, in spite of any and all evidence, they will accept as true anything which supports their beliefs. Is climate change real, or is the science inconclusive? Did astronauts actually land on the moon, or was it faked by Steven Speilberg? Are there actually Little Green Men in America's Area 51, or is it a hoax? Is the earth flat? If your beliefs hold that any of these are true, than any evidence to the contrary is dismissed as "biased media" or "fake news" or "junk science" or simply as a lie.

 

And the root cause is the lack of "Critical Thinking"? How does one think critically without an adequate foundation? What about "anti-intellectualism"? How about "social promotion" in school? Does dropping standards for graduation from secondary school have a role? Is declining literacy rates to blame? How does teaching children religious dogma instead of science play into the discussion? Or, is it some combination of these and other factors which allow people to believe the most irrational, unreasonable, insane, nonsensical and outlandish things about each other and our world?

 

Or are people just (expletive deleted) stupid? Lizard people, indeed.

Personally, I think it's your last explanation. :smile: Taken individually, we have some truly bright people here in the US. Taken collectively though? We got nothin' on a box of rocks. :D

 

 

As much as you'd like to Hey, I don't think you can claim American supremacy on the content of your boxes. I won't allude to first hand knowledge of Europe or Asia and the rest of the world, but here in the land of your frozen neighbor to the north we have both plenty of rocks and no shortage of boxes.

 

Beware of one other thing too ...since the end of the last ice age the northern part of that wonderful frozen wasteland I call home has been rebounding from the trillions of tons of ice that once weighed it down. Soon we'll be high enougn for some of those rocks to start sliding downhill (I know, as if you didn't already have enough to worry about).

 

For some time I have had the notion that we're doomed as a species. The more we advance the less we are in concert with our small home named Earth. It's not only the financial world that demonstrates the widening gulf between haves and have nots. We are also seeing the same in the schism between the knows and know nots (or perhaps "don't want to knows" would be more accurate).

 

At first I was thinking along the lines that our advances had halted that fundemental process that had got us to the point where we could make the advances (yes I'm in the camp that believes Darwin was correct). Without evolution what option is open beside either extinction or devolution?

 

Then I realised that the system isn't broken, and we are in fact evolving ... into two species.

 

Oh gee, that's for the good news..... I live in the northern part of the US, so, I will likely be one of the first to see some of those rocks. :D

 

Our government has been doing it's best to circumvent Darwin for a couple decades now, much to the detriment of the species as a whole. Humans, are indeed their own worst enemy, and I find it highly likely that we will be our own undoing. Be it environmental, war, or simply breeding ourselves into non-existence.

 

 

I hope you recall that I don't live very far "uphill" from you, and also bear in mind that perhaps not all of the rocks that roll your way deserve to be boxed along with the rest. The biggest problem with rocks is you can't always judge what they're "made of" without chipping them a bit with a hammer (a process that will not be top of the rock's list on "fun things to do").

 

Give my hypothesis some consideration Hey, for if I'm correct we will be the first generation of one of those two new species of the Homo lineage. Too bad we live such short lives and won't be around in a few hundred thousand years to see what the divergent evolutionary paths lead to.

[xrayy]

thank you oldsaltycrock and saxhleel26. i really appreciate your comments and thoughts. i had already accepted that this debate is lost within whatever wing related superficiality.

[MrJoseCuervo]

Conspiracy definition in our current time: Facts that liberals don't want you to read about or consider. They know what's best for you to think, so trust them like the Khmer Rouge.

[colourwheel]

 

And the root cause is the lack of "Critical Thinking"?

 

This is exactly the cause. The problem is lies travel faster then any truth and there are way too many people who will believe anything as long as it fits a narrative they can accept.

 

[MrJoseCuervo]

Regurgitating mainstream establishment opinions is not critical thinking. Critical thinking is questioning what you are being told, something the boot lickers of the world have trouble with.

[HeyYou]

Regurgitating mainstream establishment opinions is not critical thinking. Critical thinking is questioning what you are being told, something the boot lickers of the world have trouble with.

And that is why Trump is still a thing.