Inside the minds of conspiricy theorists.

POSTED BY: oldenglanddry
UPDATED: Saturday, October 25, 2025 15:39
VIEWED: 3586
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BYTEMITE

Sunday, February 17, 2013 5:16 PM

So much troll love in this thread. :D

RIONAEIRE

Monday, February 18, 2013 7:35 AM

I don't have a real problem with what Niki does, because I don't really want to go to a link if (a) I can read it right here (I'm consumately lazy by nature) or (b) I can be given the jist of it and get the saliant point.

I'm a little bit of a conspiracy theorist, I am getting more that way as I get older. My dad definitely is one. Even though I'm a little of one it isn't wide spread (basically revolves around our society's flaws and how everyone is so rutting gullable and will just do whatever seems cool today. Fancy conspiracies are something I sometimes think have a bit of validity, but not all the time by any means and they're not something I spend a lot of time thinking about or worrying about. The ones I do worry about are people's perceived need to use facebook/fancy gadgets/instant gratification/communication/rot your brain with constant multitasking and stimulation etc. The other one I think on is how GM foods are going to ruin the world because of our dependence on those corporations who make them, since seeds don't work right most of the time anymore, gone are the day of planting my peach pit in the yard and growing a peach tree so my kids will have peaches someday.

"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya

BYTEMITE

Monday, February 18, 2013 4:38 PM

Actually you could probably still grow a peach tree, but it would be tricky. Peach trees aren't really genetically modified so much as there's been an over-reliance on grafting the trees to a hardier root sock and thus repeatedly growing peach trees from cuttings of the same peach trees.

Meaning, when you try to cross a peach tree with its genetic clone, the pit of the peach and the seed probably isn't going to be viable.

It's a lack of genetic diversity.

CANTTAKESKY

Monday, February 18, 2013 7:26 PM

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/will-storr-the-heretics--journalists-explores
--why-facts-don-t-work--with--enemies-of-science--114518590.html#tP29iZH

Exploring the minds of Holocaust deniers and UFO-spotters who deny common sense

Journalist Will Storr's new book explores the mindset of a former Holocaust denier, a creationist, and UFO-spotters, and questions why for some people 'facts don't work'.

Will Storr is a man who deals in facts. As a journalist of more than 10 years, undeniable evidence and rational data are his bread and butter.

There are groups of people, however, who deny the irrefutable; who see cold, hard facts as mistruths or simply inconvenient.

Whether they are Holocaust deniers, creationists, or those who believe in UFOs - there are plenty out there whose view of the world defies centuries of scientific evidence.

So why are there intelligent, seemingly rational people like this, who are capable of such unreasonable logic?

The question is the subject of Storr's new book, which explores the 'beliefs of non-believers'. Put simply, he wants to know why 'facts don't work'.

He takes a tour of a Nazi death camp, goes on a UFO-spotting trip, and even a fossil excavation with a renowned creationist, all in the name of investigating outlandish belief systems.

Storr studies not only the thought process behind conspiracy theories, but also the unwavering rationalism of their opponents.

His result, 'The Heretics: Adventures with the Enemies of Science', has been described as hilarious and gripping in equal measure, owing to the characters he meets along the way.

Some of the 'heretics' are harmless oddballs, including a woman who says during a UFO-spotting session: "If a UFO lands, you must wait until it's stopped completely before approaching.

"Only invite the ETs to come closer if it is absolutely safe to do so. If anyone gets zapped, the first-aid kit is in the back of my tent."

On his quest to explore nonsensical logic, he also tours a Nazi death camp with former Holocaust denier David Irving.

Irving proclaims that a gas chamber they visit in Majdanek, Poland, is actually 'a mock-up of a gas chamber'.

Pointing around the room, Irving identifies a door with a handle on the inside, insisting Jews could have got out and that the site did not see any mass murder after all.

There is a door with a handle, but it has no opening mechanism and bolts on the other side - facts which are conveniently ignored by Irving.

Earlier on he meets noted creationist preacher John Mackay, who insists that fossils show no record of evolution and that the 9/11 attacks were God 'punishing' a sinful America.

Storr, 38, explained to Yahoo! News: "This man went to university and is clearly an intelligent person, so how does he come to these ideas?

"He says he is a creationist and can feel God in his body - and the book goes along with that idea.

"Despite all the evidence, no matter how convincing it is, he assumes it cannot be right."

Storr admits that some of the beliefs he came across were more offensive than others, but says 'confirmation bias' plays a large role in how we form our views.

This means that many people subconsciously only choose evidence which supports their views, while selectively rejecting evidence which goes against them.

Confirmation bias, he says, relates to the neurological 'hero maker' that we all share. Storr believes we are all driven by an inner narrative, 'where we are struggling through our days to make better lives for ourselves'.

He adds: "Our brain populates this idea with 'heroes' who support our views and 'villains' in our lives who we demonise - it's a very black and white process. This is the world we live in - the brain is a storyteller."

It is not just the likes of UFO-spotters and creationists who are susceptible to confirmation bias, however.

Storr notes that rationali

CANTTAKESKY

Monday, February 18, 2013 7:28 PM

Quote:

This means that many people subconsciously only choose evidence which supports their views, while selectively rejecting evidence which goes against them.

Confirmation bias, ...

This is true for conspiracy theory deniers as well.

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Disobedience is not an issue if obedience is not the goal.

1KIKI

Monday, February 18, 2013 8:49 PM

It depends on the sources cited, the recency of the study, and the total amount of research done on the topic along with the results. If one can only find a single article from decades ago published in a not very credible journal - or worse, not an actual study but a non-peer-reviewed book - then the information can be looked at with a degree of skepticism. To not automatically accept EVERY piece of information as valid isn't confirmation bias, it's critical thinking.

CANTTAKESKY

Tuesday, February 19, 2013 3:33 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
To not automatically accept EVERY piece of information as valid isn't confirmation bias, it's critical thinking.

This is true of conspiracy theory supporters as well.

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Disobedience is not an issue if obedience is not the goal.

JAYNEZTOWN

Saturday, October 25, 2025 3:39 PM

Tucker Carlson and the Resurrection of the 9/11 Truth Movement?

https://www.unz.com/runz/tucker-carlson-and-the-resurrection-of-the-9-
11-truth-movement-part-ii/

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