"Conspiracy theory" is IMHO an intellectually lazy term in that as normally used it promotes blanket dismissal of an entire category of thing based on prejudice

"Conspiracy theory" is IMHO an intellectually lazy term in that as normally used it promotes blanket dismissal of an entire category of thing based on prejudice. Conspiracies can and do happen. If that weren't the case, the FBI would not have a "conspiracy" division. As always it boils down to Ockham's Razor, which states that the simplest explanation is usually correct unless there is evidence otherwise. Ockham's Razor in turn is probably a manifestation of the second law of thermodynamics. Complex artifacts in space and time (like conspiracies) represent higher energy states of the universe and therefore are less likely to exist. When the probability of something being true is below the median, the burden of proof shifts to proving that it does exist. The further below the median, the higher the burden of proof. For example: it would require stronger unambiguous evidence to convince me Bigfoot exists or that the Roswell UFO crash happened than it would to convince me that there were cover-ups in the Soviet space program. The latter is not terribly unlikely given what we know of Soviet behavior.