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> I'm don't buy into conspiracy theories I do. How many "conspiracy theories" have we lived through in tech? I can name two right off the top of my head: prism

> I'm don't buy into conspiracy theories I do. How many "conspiracy theories" have we lived through in tech? I can name two right off the top of my head: prism and carnivore. Whenever there's an overwhelming chorus of "that's conspiracy theory!" what I hear is "don't look too closely! You might find something!"

paulcole 7y ago
> what I hear is "don't look too closely! You might find something!" Ah, you mean like the link between vaccinations and autism? Or are you just taking about the conspiracy theories you want to believe in?
- deleted 7y ago
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- ScottFree 7y ago
  That's a weak argument. One conspiracy theory was proven false so they must all be false? Does that apply to scientific studies, too?
  - paulcole 7y ago
    Pardon the bluntness, but your argument is equally weak. > Whenever I hear an overwhelming chorus of "that's conspiracy theory!" what I hear is "don't look too closely! You might find something!"
    - ScottFree 7y ago
      That's not an argument. My argument was the preceding statement. Maybe you should work on identifying what is and is not an argument before attempting to formulate your own.
      - paulcole 7y ago
        How was my comment even an argument? More of an observation that you likely have a theory you don’t stand behind except when it validates your existing beliefs.
- bvhg3 7y ago
  The general dismissal of "conspiracy theories" as being categorically untrue and the realm of insane people is such a tired notion. Happily for the power structure, it is the very notion they hope we all parrot. Countless comments here and in similar threads start with some preamble about not believing in conspiracy theories, but... People all over the world are engaged in conspiracies. A theory is an attempt to understand a complex reality. Anybody who thinks that governments ever cover up wrong-doing is a conspiracy theorist. Do you believe that your government ever lied about something? This whole insistence on not bearing the "label" is so mind-numbing. Can we get past the superficiality of name-calling and talk about reality? Of course, we sit around and say conspiracy theories can't possibly be true because of vaccine+autism and flat earth. End of story. Well it turns out there are links between vaccines and developmental disorders, but maybe those fears are overblown by scared parents (yeah, don't look too closely). You can argue that it's a worthwhile risk to take for the preservation of civilization. But to say there is no link is false. The world is full horror being perpetrated by powerful people. But we were taught by the evening news that conspiracists are whackos. One thing I've learned is that if the media repeats something over and over again in order to imprint it into your brain, it's probably because there is an agenda behind it and not because it's the good old truth.
  - paulcole 7y ago
    > One thing I've learned is that if the media repeats something over and over again in order to imprint it into your brain, it's probably because there is an agenda behind it and not because it's the good old truth. Like I asked the other person with this exact same opinion. Do you believe this to be true of all media or only the media you already disagree with?
    - ScottFree 7y ago
      I've already answered this. Drop the rhetoric, please.
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xvector 7y ago
How many times do people need to be hit over the head with conspiracy "theories" to realize that many of them are startlingly close to reality? The inability of most people to read between the lines baffles me. It's not that hard, especially for an adult with even the barest understanding of the concepts of nuance and subtlety.
tomc1985 7y ago
You aren't paranoid if your paranoias are true

paulcole 7y ago

> what I hear is "don't look too closely! You might find something!" Ah, you mean like the link between vaccinations and autism? Or are you just taking about the conspiracy theories you want to believe in?

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
ScottFree 7y ago
That's a weak argument. One conspiracy theory was proven false so they must all be false? Does that apply to scientific studies, too?
- paulcole 7y ago
  Pardon the bluntness, but your argument is equally weak. > Whenever I hear an overwhelming chorus of "that's conspiracy theory!" what I hear is "don't look too closely! You might find something!"
  - ScottFree 7y ago
    That's not an argument. My argument was the preceding statement. Maybe you should work on identifying what is and is not an argument before attempting to formulate your own.
    - paulcole 7y ago
      How was my comment even an argument? More of an observation that you likely have a theory you don’t stand behind except when it validates your existing beliefs.
bvhg3 7y ago
The general dismissal of "conspiracy theories" as being categorically untrue and the realm of insane people is such a tired notion. Happily for the power structure, it is the very notion they hope we all parrot. Countless comments here and in similar threads start with some preamble about not believing in conspiracy theories, but... People all over the world are engaged in conspiracies. A theory is an attempt to understand a complex reality. Anybody who thinks that governments ever cover up wrong-doing is a conspiracy theorist. Do you believe that your government ever lied about something? This whole insistence on not bearing the "label" is so mind-numbing. Can we get past the superficiality of name-calling and talk about reality? Of course, we sit around and say conspiracy theories can't possibly be true because of vaccine+autism and flat earth. End of story. Well it turns out there are links between vaccines and developmental disorders, but maybe those fears are overblown by scared parents (yeah, don't look too closely). You can argue that it's a worthwhile risk to take for the preservation of civilization. But to say there is no link is false. The world is full horror being perpetrated by powerful people. But we were taught by the evening news that conspiracists are whackos. One thing I've learned is that if the media repeats something over and over again in order to imprint it into your brain, it's probably because there is an agenda behind it and not because it's the good old truth.
- paulcole 7y ago
  > One thing I've learned is that if the media repeats something over and over again in order to imprint it into your brain, it's probably because there is an agenda behind it and not because it's the good old truth. Like I asked the other person with this exact same opinion. Do you believe this to be true of all media or only the media you already disagree with?
  - ScottFree 7y ago
    I've already answered this. Drop the rhetoric, please.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

xvector 7y ago

How many times do people need to be hit over the head with conspiracy "theories" to realize that many of them are startlingly close to reality? The inability of most people to read between the lines baffles me. It's not that hard, especially for an adult with even the barest understanding of the concepts of nuance and subtlety.

tomc1985 7y ago

You aren't paranoid if your paranoias are true