Re: Conspiracy theories as addiction, here's an article on the very subject.
Interestingly enough, the article -- sane and surprisingly sanely written until
you get to the last section -- appears on a class-A conspiracy site. Go figure.
That said, doesn't this quote sound familiar? How many times have we heard the
word "sheeple" used by conspiracy theory addicts here on FFL?
The obsession with conspiracy theories has been compared to an addiction. Once
one has delved deeply into this mindset, recovery—a return to balanced, sound
thinking—is rare. What motivates a person to immerse himself in them in the
first place?
Conspiracy theories are a powerful source of pride and a wellspring of
intellectual vanity. The theorist comes to see himself as thinking on a higher
plane than the ignorant masses around him. He walks the fringes of society,
watching his surroundings with suspicion. No one realizes what’s going on, he
thinks.
If speaking his mind on conspiracies causes others to recoil, he simply
dismisses them as “dumb sheep” who cannot see what he sees. Every episode like
this further reaffirms how special this inside information makes him.
Why Conspiracy Theories?
| |
| | | | | | | |
| Why Conspiracy Theories?A Magazine Restoring Plain Understanding |
| |
| View on realtruth.org | Preview by Yahoo |
| |
| |
From: "TurquoiseBee turquoi...@yahoo.com [FairfieldLife]"
<FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com>
To: "FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com" <FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2015 9:48 AM
Subject: Re: [FairfieldLife] Re: For those who don't believe in conspiracies
From: salyavin808 <no_re...@yahoogroups.com>
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <noozguru@...> wrote :
One big one announced today. You and I do this we go to jail. The
banksters get a light fine. Their CEOs should be in prison and banks
broken up.
There isn't anyone who doesn't believe there are conspiracies. If you were to
tell me this was a plot by a secret shadow government to help their reptilian
overlords gain more power in the world then I would say you were speculating
beyond what is required for a satisfactory explanation. That would be a
conspiracy theory. Though not a very good one as it involves things we don't
know anything about and have no knowledge of, like reptilian aliens and a
government competent enough to pull off complex projects.
Exactly. Conspiracies that stand the test of Occam's Razor have a chance of
having happened, because one does not have to invent irrational and unprovable
things to believe in them. Conspiracy theories require the person who believes
in them to invest in things that cannot meet the Occam's Razor test (because
there are simpler and more likely explanations) and require the believer to
invest in the existence of complex "add-ons" to reality that cannot be proven
to exist.
The worst part about conspiracy theories IMO is that they are addictive. There
have been many studies showing that the moment someone suspends belief in the
rational and invests in one conspiracy theories, they are much more likely to
believe the next conspiracy theory presented to them. Preferring irrational
beliefs that cannot pass the Occam's Razor test becomes a habit, so what you
wind up with is the people who flock to radio and TV shows that basically
present nothing *but* conspiracy theories. And the audiences, having now put on
the mindset of "believing the unbelievable" and "turning off their
discrimination," tune in every day to find out the next unlikely thing they're
supposed to feel all "elite" and "special" for "knowing."
In other words, conspiracy theories are a drug, those who believe in them are
junkies, and those who promote them are pushers.
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