Inside the minds of conspiricy theorists. by oldenglanddry

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Inside the minds of conspiricy theorists.

POSTED BY: OLDENGLANDDRY
UPDATED: Monday, February 18, 2013 17:33
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Saturday, February 16, 2013 2:50 AM

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/will-storr-the-heretics--journalists-explores
--why-facts-don-t-work--with--enemies-of-science--114518590.html#PXTXu0B

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Saturday, February 16, 2013 6:44 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK

Post your ideas, pros and cons about it......

Really sell it....

I don't read half the posts my trigger happy bro sends me.....

Forgive me for that

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Saturday, February 16, 2013 6:49 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

A pet peeve of mine is when when folks only post a link ( or an address ), and nothing more. No cut paste of say, the first paragraph, to give us any idea as to what the link is to, or commentary, by the poster. 'Tis a minor peeve, but still...just irks me a bit.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Saturday, February 16, 2013 6:55 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK

Yeah.....

What's better though?

posting a link and a leading title like this thread, or quoting every word for word and making an, I kid you not, 25 page Adobe PDF like Niki makes?

Equally annoying in my book.....

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Saturday, February 16, 2013 6:59 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Flip sides of the same coin, imo.

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Saturday, February 16, 2013 7:44 AM

BYTEMITE

I usually make a humourous or intriguing comment about the contents of the articles. I figure if people have to go to the link anyway, it does no good to have to rehash what they're already going to read.

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Saturday, February 16, 2013 8:39 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Quote:
Originally posted by BYTEMITE:
I usually make a humourous or intriguing comment about the contents of the articles. I figure if people have to go to the link anyway, it does no good to have to rehash what they're already going to read.

Maybe treat postings w/ links as trailers, and for those who want to see the full episode, or movie, go click the link and see for yourself if you like, dislike, the full content ?

Fathom the hypocrisy of a government that requires every citizen to prove they are insured... but not everyone must prove they are a citizen

Resident USA Freedom Fundie

" AU, that was great, LOL!! " - Chrisisall

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Saturday, February 16, 2013 12:18 PM

OLDENGLANDDRY

Since the new site came on line I, for some reason I have'nt been able to figure out yet, have not been able to post links that are "clickable" (the hints in the sidebar dont work for me), so I dont attempt to post more than the header. Sorry about that, if anyone can tell me what I'm doing wrong I'll do more.

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Saturday, February 16, 2013 9:24 PM

PIRATENEWS

John Lee, conspiracy therapist at Hollywood award-winner History Channel-mocked SNL-spoofed PirateNew.org wooHOO!!!!!!

Quote:
Originally posted by oldenglanddry:
Since the new site came on line I, for some reason I have'nt been able to figure out yet, have not been able to post links that are "clickable" (the hints in the sidebar dont work for me), so I dont attempt to post more than the header. Sorry about that, if anyone can tell me what I'm doing wrong I'll do more.

Add an empty "spacebar" after the link.

You wanker! Lol

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Saturday, February 16, 2013 10:24 PM

OLDENGLANDDRY

Thanks, Twatface, I'll try that.

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Sunday, February 17, 2013 7:16 AM

BYTEMITE

So much troll love in this thread. :D

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Sunday, February 17, 2013 9:35 PM

RIONAEIRE

Beir bua agus beannacht

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

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Monday, February 18, 2013 6:38 AM

BYTEMITE

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.

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Monday, February 18, 2013 9:26 AM

CANTTAKESKY

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 rationalists can be just as inflexible in their judgments as anyone else.

He attends a conference of 'sceptics', who insist there is 'no evidence for homeopathy'. When he asks the sceptics what scientific literature on homeopathy they've read to support these claims, many admit they haven't read any.

This isn't to say that homeopathy isn't legitimate - merely that many 'rationalists' dismiss it because they don't want to believe it in the first place.

It is the same principle - Storr says we don't base our opinions on evidence, we form opinions first, then seek evidence which backs them up.

Stories, Storr says, are a powerful driving force in shaping our beliefs.

As most of our thought processes are done unconsciously, this kind of natural irrationality sees us create narratives which shape beliefs.

"Stories completely control our understanding of the world," Storr says.

"You rarely read news reports based only on facts, you see stories which owe a lot to fiction - many are written around a narrative.

"It's mainly a book about stories - the ones these people are telling me, and how our whole lives are imbued with stories."

'The Heretics: Adventures With The Enemies Of Science' is available to buy now. More information on the author is available on the Picador website.

-----

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

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Monday, February 18, 2013 9:28 AM

CANTTAKESKY

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.

-----

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

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Monday, February 18, 2013 10:49 AM

1KIKI

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

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.

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Monday, February 18, 2013 5:33 PM

CANTTAKESKY

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.

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