3 ms·

I find conspiracy theories exciting and compelling, but intellectually hollow. They are like junk food. They can even be right sometimes, just as pizza can nour

I find conspiracy theories exciting and compelling, but intellectually hollow. They are like junk food. They can even be right sometimes, just as pizza can nourish you. But we are better off setting them aside and sticking with the mundane issues of electing sensible representatives, supporting investigative journalism, engaging in fact-based discourse.

curtis3389 6y ago
I'm not convinced we are better off ignoring all conspiracy theories. There are real conspiracies to break the law in the world, and some of them have been perpetrated by the US government. We have to look at the merits of each theory and decide whether it's batshit or not. Global conspiracy to fake a pandemic? Doesn't seem possible. A couple dudes in the CIA harassing a dude they tortured and then threatened to mess with if he talked? Not impossible. The criminal acts the US government has been up to raise serious questions regarding what you suggest we do: > electing sensible representatives how can you do this when your own government harasses and intimidates people it doesn't like? > supporting investigative journalism how can there be investigative journalism if receiving information could turn out to be a felony if it's the wrong information? > engaging in fact-based discourse how can you do this when your own government is hiding relevant facts from you?
- Hnrobert42 6y ago
  You raise good points. Moderation in everything. A conspiracy theory is just one possible explanation of events. There is nothing wrong with attempting validate it while also considering other possible explanations. The harm comes when a shadowy cabal is one’s answer to everything.
mistermann 6y ago
Conspiracy theories are ideas. Any particular theory may be 100% right, 100% wrong, somewhere in between, or it may be unknown/unknowable (too complicated or difficult to measure, the facts are classified, etc), like any other idea. > But we are better off setting them aside... How might a person know such a thing without doing something like running a parallel universe and trying the two approaches?

curtis3389 6y ago

I'm not convinced we are better off ignoring all conspiracy theories. There are real conspiracies to break the law in the world, and some of them have been perpetrated by the US government. We have to look at the merits of each theory and decide whether it's batshit or not. Global conspiracy to fake a pandemic? Doesn't seem possible. A couple dudes in the CIA harassing a dude they tortured and then threatened to mess with if he talked? Not impossible. The criminal acts the US government has been up to raise serious questions regarding what you suggest we do: > electing sensible representatives how can you do this when your own government harasses and intimidates people it doesn't like? > supporting investigative journalism how can there be investigative journalism if receiving information could turn out to be a felony if it's the wrong information? > engaging in fact-based discourse how can you do this when your own government is hiding relevant facts from you?

Hnrobert42 6y ago
You raise good points. Moderation in everything. A conspiracy theory is just one possible explanation of events. There is nothing wrong with attempting validate it while also considering other possible explanations. The harm comes when a shadowy cabal is one’s answer to everything.

mistermann 6y ago

Conspiracy theories are ideas. Any particular theory may be 100% right, 100% wrong, somewhere in between, or it may be unknown/unknowable (too complicated or difficult to measure, the facts are classified, etc), like any other idea. > But we are better off setting them aside... How might a person know such a thing without doing something like running a parallel universe and trying the two approaches?