Belief In Conspiracies

[dr wu23]

A few opinions on why people believe in them.
I would like to see some articles from the other side supporting reasons to believe in them.


http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...n-conspiracies
"The more elaborate a conspiracy theory is, and the more people that would need to be involved, the less likely it is true.�

http://scienceblogs.com/denialism/20...e_in_consp.php

[Indridcold]

I suppose part of the reason is because we live in a complex, chaotic world where it can be hard to join the dots and get concrete answers to why bad things happen and who is to blame for them. Conspiracy theories invoke a kind of order, albeit the order of an evil, manipulating power, that people can make sense of. Thinking that there's some kind of guiding purpose behind random events and disasters helps people process those events internally, and focuses attention away from having to deal with the numbing horror of, say, a tsunami or a terrorist attack. Thinking that HAARP causes earthquakes and volcanoes leads one to assume that, if only we can get rid of HAARP, there will be no more earthquakes or volcanoes. Thinking that a shadowy illuminati orchestrated 9/11 in order to trigger war makes people think that if only we could get rid of the illuminati then there will be an end to war. It's a mixture of denial and wishful thinking I think. It becomes a kind of positive direction in which the mind can turn when confronted with situations that make you feel powerless.
I'm not here on this board because I believe we're being visited by aliens-- without good evidence, I think it highly unlikely-- but I would very much like it to be true that we are. I WISH it were true, and that I think is how conspiracies start to work on people's minds.

[DD2011]

To think there aren't conspiracies going on out there is like thinking this is the only dot in the universe that can support life. Considering past history, I doubt highly it stopped there.

[Miss Deetective]

Originally Posted by dr wu23

A few opinions on why people believe in them.
I would like to see some articles from the other side supporting reasons to believe in them.


http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...n-conspiracies
"The more elaborate a conspiracy theory is, and the more people that would need to be involved, the less likely it is true.”

http://scienceblogs.com/denialism/20...e_in_consp.php

Why would we have to provide articles just to give our opinions?? Perhaps we came to our beliefs about particular conspiracies from watching a documentary.....or from a tv program or news reports.
As for belief in any conspiracy....the facts speak for themselves and if there are red flags or something does not add up.....then a POSSIBLE conspiracy MIGHT be the reason.
Ok...now go ahead and tell me that I just said that I believe everything that happens is a conspiracy!!!!!

[orangekea]

Originally Posted by dr wu23

A few opinions on why people believe in them.
I would like to see some articles from the other side supporting reasons to believe in them.


http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...n-conspiracies
"The more elaborate a conspiracy theory is, and the more people that would need to be involved, the less likely it is true.”

http://scienceblogs.com/denialism/20...e_in_consp.php

Hi dr wu23,

I agree with Miss Deetective we should be able to give our opinions, regardless of articles linked. Any article of the kind you ask for will inevitably express belief in a conspiracy being true and real, the only valid reason for belief, and probably an automatic disqualifier in your eyes.

I guess humans have an innate TALENT for belief in conspiracies, that's why these ideas populate our thinking. Must have been happening ever since 85.000 yrs Before Present two cannibal tribes met on the African plains and, practicing their friendliest smiles, invited the other to dinner. That's when the part of humanity devoid of the conspiracist mindset disappeared off the planet straight into the stomach of our wisely paranoid ancestors and some even hungrier animals.

Evolutionist axiom: the reward for idiocy is death. And paranoia is simply a prehistoric bias that when a group of smiling, excessively salivating people, or any BIG TOOTHY ANIMAL, or anybody making smacking noises is following you about, they're up to no good.

(I'll try and locate you an article!)

Ahh, found one solid I really like: Professor Lorenzo Picchi's History of the Mafia. Enjoy...


orangekea

[lee934]

Governments for sometimes genuine reasons don't tell the truth or are very careful what truths they admit too. Two examples I can recall are an RAF night fighter ace from WW2 was asked how he was so good at seeing in the dark. He explained that he ate a lot of carrots, this was to cover up the existence of an airborne radar set.
When the falklands war broke out in 1982 99.9% of people in the UK had never heard of the place but we went to war and recaptured the islands. After the was thousands were garrisoned there, I went there in 95 and the place was crawling with geologists and surveyors. I recall chatting to one in a pub one night and he told me that there was oil offshore but with curent technology it would be too expensive to get it out. In the last two years many companies have started drilling off shore (britain is still enforcing a 200 mile exclusion zone around the islands nearly 30 years after the war!)
So did we got to war over oil, possibly but no one in government will admit it however the actual facts suggest it's a possibility, I guess in a nutshell that's a conspiracy!

[dr wu23]

edited...double post

[dr wu23]

Originally Posted by Indridcold

I suppose part of the reason is because we live in a complex, chaotic world where it can be hard to join the dots and get concrete answers to why bad things happen and who is to blame for them. Conspiracy theories invoke a kind of order, albeit the order of an evil, manipulating power, that people can make sense of. Thinking that there's some kind of guiding purpose behind random events and disasters helps people process those events internally, and focuses attention away from having to deal with the numbing horror of, say, a tsunami or a terrorist attack. Thinking that HAARP causes earthquakes and volcanoes leads one to assume that, if only we can get rid of HAARP, there will be no more earthquakes or volcanoes. Thinking that a shadowy illuminati orchestrated 9/11 in order to trigger war makes people think that if only we could get rid of the illuminati then there will be an end to war. It's a mixture of denial and wishful thinking I think. It becomes a kind of positive direction in which the mind can turn when confronted with situations that make you feel powerless.
I'm not here on this board because I believe we're being visited by aliens-- without good evidence, I think it highly unlikely-- but I would very much like it to be true that we are. I WISH it were true, and that I think is how conspiracies start to work on people's minds.

That petty much covers my point of view also. People need reasons why things happen especially when they seem unusual. In some cases some people jump to conspiracies to explain them.

Btw...welcome to the board and have you spoken to Mr Derenberger lately?

[dr wu23]

Originally Posted by Miss Deetective

Why would we have to provide articles just to give our opinions?? Perhaps we came to our beliefs about particular conspiracies from watching a documentary.....or from a tv program or news reports.
As for belief in any conspiracy....the facts speak for themselves and if there are red flags or something does not add up.....then a POSSIBLE conspiracy MIGHT be the reason.
Ok...now go ahead and tell me that I just said that I believe everything that happens is a conspiracy!!!!!

I was interested in reading some position/opinion statements/pieces by those who support conspiracies as a matter of course.
There are many psychological and sociological reasons why some believe in them (particularly the weird ones) and others don't.
Not trying to pigeonhole you...unless you want to be.

[dr wu23]

Originally Posted by orangekea

Hi dr wu23,

I agree with Miss Deetective we should be able to give our opinions, regardless of articles linked. Any article of the kind you ask for will inevitably express belief in a conspiracy being true and real, the only valid reason for belief, and probably an automatic disqualifier in your eyes.

I guess humans have an innate TALENT for belief in conspiracies, that's why these ideas populate our thinking. Must have been happening ever since 85.000 yrs Before Present two cannibal tribes met on the African plains and, practicing their friendliest smiles, invited the other to dinner. That's when the part of humanity devoid of the conspiracist mindset disappeared off the planet straight into the stomach of our wisely paranoid ancestors and some even hungrier animals.

Evolutionist axiom: the reward for idiocy is death. And paranoia is simply a prehistoric bias that when a group of smiling, excessively salivating people, or any BIG TOOTHY ANIMAL, or anybody making smacking noises is following you about, they're up to no good.

(I'll try and locate you an article!)

Ahh, found one solid I really like: Professor Lorenzo Picchi's History of the Mafia. Enjoy...


orangekea

Thanks for the link...I enjoy reading anything esoteric.
As I mentioned ro Dee I wasn't trying to label people but wanted input on why some seem to believe so easily in them and others don't.
What I was interested in were general position statements by conspiracy theorists themselves (like Icke, Jones, etc..) as to why they accept and believe in them especially the outre ones. It seems to me there definitely is a specific mindset that gravitates to them. And I'm not saying this mindset is pathological just not in the 'mainstream'.
Some things are and have been obvious conspiracies and have been revealed as such but there are many bizarre ones that those with this mindset believe even when they are truly 'out there'.