Why theories are convincing

Then, when they were caught by independent investigators, NIST scientists finally accept perfect free fall for the first 2. Instead, they try to sell the world on steel that offers zero resistance. I really, really, really don't think they are that stupid. But the only other option is that they are corrupt to the core. First fraud and then cover-up.

Let us say that there was only one conspiracy -- Al Qaeda's. The rest was merely incompetence? I was that naive, before I started looking at the facts. But you miss one big fact on the idea of looking at alternative explanations. Alternative explanations are always good, so long as you don't swallow them whole cloth.

If those alternatives explain only one problem, but fail to explain several others, then they are no good. They supply an alternative explanation that, while clever, fails to explain other facts. That's fake skepticism. I do not know if you can really have an impartial opinion. Not to mince words, we may be able to have an impartial observation, but opinion, by nature almost always has to reflect a viewpoint. We just have to determine who has the most impartial opinion and as you and I know, people can have different views on the same subject.

Thanks Larry, I think that's a good example of how conspiracies are sometimes used to whip up a frenzy by appealing to the biases of the public. I expect people who didn't like those politicians would have been quite happy to believe the lies.

Of course, the politicians involved would have been motivated to stop the story coming out. It must be difficult to find an impartial opinion when it comes to cases like that. Thanks for commenting Besarien. I agree that governments don't tell us the truth, but how much of the truth they withhold is up for update. I think people like Julian Assange and Edward Snowden have done the world a favor by providing answers for that debate. The desire of various authorities to lock them up for it is not quite as alarming as the blind public who would be happy to let them.

I think it's up to conspiracy theorists to use evidence and logic in a way that warrants greater respect. For example, I was recently accused of being conspiratorial when I talked about how the US had a role in the Ukraine coup in It made a clear case that a pre-coup visit to Ukraine was about getting a new government in place.

It's the use of evidence and logic that determines whether "conspiracy theorist" is a pejorative term or not. Thomas: I agree with most of your observations about conspiracy theories.

As a reporter for a small-town newspaper a very good small-town paper , we had a group of people who tried to connect several political leaders to a scheme to skim money off the local budget for some alleged cause. The people being accused could not agree on the day of the week, much less a conspiracy. Auditor reviewed the books.

I reviewed the auditor's finding, and the result was that what was viewed as a money-laundering scheme by some was an accounting term called depreciation. There was no conspiracy, just people who wanted to make trouble for others. The biggest problem I have in this issue is determing when does an action, that many may not like, but is within legal bounds, become a conspiracy that is never resolved.

Well the reason people believe that the powers that be never tell us the whole truth, is because they don't. In the absence of all the facts it is only natural to cobble together our own hypotheses that fit all the facts as we know them. To misquote Inigo Montoya, I don't think Conspiracy means what you think it means. It means that more than one person was involved. That means was a conspiracy by definition because who ever was responsible, it took more than one person to pull it off.

The term "conspiracy theorist" is just more disinformation to discredit skeptics who don't buy the official versions of events as handed down by the Warren Commission or these days by Rupert Murdoch. Everyone who isn't skeptical enough to be considered a "conspiracy theorist" is a little touched in the head as far as I'm concerned. Thanks for reading Buildreps. You're right that some conspiracies do exist, and I wish people would research them properly.

I agree that those who credulously believe everything they hear are only serving to obfuscate valuable truths. I watched a conspiracy video recently which talked about how the West has been demonizing Assad for political objectives. I thought, yes, they are! Then the video started talking about the United Nations taking over America and changing the size of bridges so that the tanks will be able to roll underneath.

All I could think then was "Oh well, that's another valuable truth getting lumped in with utter nonsense. The Israel issue is more history now than conspiracy, since people are able to forget history after a time. Some of the more outrageous claims are certainly conspiratorial.

For example, I've looked at how Truman engineered support for the creation of Israel between and To me, it's clear he was racially biased; he bought votes from the Europeans and South Americans; and he himself was bribed with the support of the Zionist press for his re-election campaign.

Is that a conspiracy? Possibly, though I've done my research, found the quotes, looked at his miraculous re-election, and so on. There probably are "intelligent driven mechanisms" as you would put it, though I'd caution those who look too hard for them, and draw their attention to 3.

The invasion of privacy and rights is a great example of a conspiracy that is ostensibly true. Only recently the British government introduced new freedom-restricting legislation on the exact same day they issued a "red warning" to scare the people about terrorism.

No attack came, the legislation passed, the media kept silent. Then, of course, there's the Patriot Act. A simple rule I go by is "don't trust those who use fear to get what they want". Fear won the Scottish referendum too recently With the NSA and the inequality of resources, I'm not sure you're mentioning conspiracies here either, though other people might call them that. They're either clear truths, or things that in all probability will happen.

As you see I spent an evening reading some of your Hubs, because I still had to catch you up! I never believed in conspiracy theories before. But this changed after looking behind many doors. Unfortunately conspiracies really exist on an unbelievable large scale, which operates according to the universal law of cause and effect - a law that has no preference or judgement.

This law works if you know how to use it in your favour, which is far beyond the average understand of conspiracy. This mechanism is very difficult to unravel - it doesn't hop from event to event - it stands above it.

I will give an example that will probably trigger many here. Not just a chain of coincidental events. Is starvation necessary because earth too small? The perfect soils that are occupied is unusable for other means than producing garbage. Driving people from the countryside to dirty cities, where they're easily to control. Look how privacy comes under pressure with the excuse to catch terrorists and thieves. How many terrorists and thieves are caught on camera's?

I believe the figures touch nearly zero. If I walk from my home to the nearby shopping mall, I'm catched at least 20 times on a camera. If you look at the latest plans of the NSA to install a system to monitor directly online every computer in the world that is logged onto the internet. The conspiracy is much larger than we think. But since conspiracy is linked with 'idiots' who believe in anything you tell them as long it's juicy enough, made conspiracy a retarded issue.

Thanks Kelly. Well, I won't disagree on Israel. They get up to some shady stuff, and America's absolute support of them at the UN can only be guided by something other than a moral standpoint. Israel has broken countless resolutions, and only last week decided to "annex" more land in the West Bank. Some conspiracies have come true, which means we should keep investigating them until the evidence is irrefutable. I believe in some of these conspiracy theories myself. Cos not long after disaster, Israel flourished.

Thanks Susan. I agree. I think it's an attitude that develops when a theorist is emotionally invested in their belief. Of course, derogating critics is not limited to conspiracy theorists, but I think it always requires that emotional investment.

Really interesting read. One thing that irks me is the smug conspiracy theorist - believing they have understood things correctly and everyone else is an idiot for believing something else! Horrible hub! But then again you got what you wanted, tons of people to read it.

So I guess in the end you win! Thanks Brett Winn. I agree that some conspiracies might be true. Though believing something without proof is foolish, even if that something turns out to be true. It'd just be luck. Sorry Duane, I don't allow links to personal blogs in comments. You make a good point though, and I hope I answered it in some of the above comments. Congrats on the Hub of the Day! Thank you Babyboomer I was writing my previous comment when yours arrived! I agree that the sentence can be applied in that way.

Some people need their government to be telling the truth. Their sense of order comes from authority. I think the best thing to do is to embrace disorder! That way we can all be skeptics without resigning to an unsupported conclusion. I'm sure we'll get closer to the truth that way.

I hope this doesn't help conspirators to cover up information. Rather, I hope it helps theorists to be more scientific and unassuming in their reasoning. Nadine, I agree that governments and their media allies may target propaganda in a way that taps into these psychological dispositions.

When that crosses into hard-belief, paranoid behaviour, and vicious arguments with disbelievers, it gets more problematic. Thanks for sharing. Bethperry, I agree that I was a little too harsh in my analysis.

Conspiracy theorists could also be said to be more inquisitive and perceptive. Jellygator, thank you very much! As with religion, belief is another matter though. Indeed, I criticise hard-atheists as much as I criticise religionists, so the same would be true here.

I think all unsupported beliefs have a fascinating psychological underpinning. Barbara Kay. Thank you for your comment. Yes I probably should have been a bit less harsh with this. Conrad, thank you for your intriguing comment about the differences between conspiracy theories. Both of those examples could be true.

Neither is false for being a theory. Perhaps I could have been clearer in the hub, though I chose to focus more on the psychology. They might be. I do try to say that reduced levels of the traits will be correlated with more evidence based reasoning, i.

I felt it was an important point to make. I probably should have looked harder for supporting literature. I would guess that it happens because conspiracy theorists are less likely to analyze themselves. Kim Dessaix, I can definitely agree with that.

I approach the news with so much scepticism that some might call me a conspiracy theorist. LeslieAdrienne, I agree with your last sentence but not your first. We are better off looking for that proof than assuming we already have it. I wonder if those perpetrating real conspiracies are actually quite grateful when a theorist jumps to a conclusion.

Sceptics will fall upon the theorist rather than the guilty party. This very hub is an example of criticising theorists. So I would rather we all looked for proof instead of assuming we have it. SusanDeppner, thank you very much. Ah yes, the truth will set us free. I think some theorists want freedom too much to wait for all of the truth to arrive! Without knowing the details, you were probably right to try to tone him down a bit. I think the reason he became incensed is because the conspiracy comforted him, gave him order, made him feel special, and so on.

I wonder if his leadership of the group had anything to do with it amplifying his paranoia. How he tried to justify you leaving is also very telling. Your line "A common trait among conspiracy theorists is the need to believe a conspiracy more than they're willing to evaluate if it's true" applies just as much to people who have a need to believe a government or authority figure more than they're willing to evaluate if what they're saying is true.

Interesting article, but it strengthens the position of those responsible for conspiracies who dismiss criticism with a blanket 'just another conspiracy theory'. I think that's a shame. Your excellent article made me think of a situation that I encountered some years ago. A certain situation was occurring regarding Internet marketing, and this situation, should it come to pass, had the potential to make online marketing almost impossible.

A certain man invited me to join an online group that was dedicated to fighting this upcoming occurrence. Because I believed the cause was valid, and it was!

I joined the group. Before too many days had passed, this particular man began making conspiracy claims that were wilder and wilder.

Many of us tried disagreeing with these wild claims, fearing that we would lose all credibility with the public, and therefore harm our own cause. The more we tried to talk reason, the more incensed this man became. Eventually, some of those who tried to talk reason were barred from the group.

I decided I didn't want to risk my reputation by being involved with this man any longer, so I removed myself from the group.

I was told by other members that he immediately decided that I left out of fear because "they" had influenced and threatened me. It was an eye opening example of how a conspiracy theorist's mind works -- and it can truly be unsettling to watch it happen. Very interesting read. The truth will set us free, but sometimes it's pretty hard to know what really is truth. Congrats on your HOTD! Conspiracies have been around from the beginning of time, why shouldn't we believe they are still being carried out.

Everything is not a conspiracy, but neither is everything as it is portrayed to be There are Conspiracy Theorists and then there are people who show healthy skepticism and an unwillingness to believe what the media and the politicians feed them. Evolving to be suspicious is a necessary trait of survival, just as asking pertinent questions is a necessary trait of maturity, responsibility and self-governance. Bravo on the article. I especially like the point of looking outside ourselves for someone or something to blame.

I suppose it's natural to do, and people like to victimize themselves once in a while, but you're really not creating any value in the process. A generalization about conspiracy is full of definitions of the deductive kind. A lot of errors can be committed with deductive definitions. One can be created or stated without verifying its truth. Here is a sample of conspiracy theory. JFK was killed because he wanted to control the minting of dollars against the wishes of the incorporators of Federal Reserve Bank.

This is a private bank that controls the economy of the United States. Lyndon Johnson when he became president reversed the executive order of JFK for the Treasury to mint dollar coins. After sometime, all the dollar coins so minted were dissolved.

Here only the cause-effect relationship is speculative. All other sentences are true. Here is a grand conspiracy theory. Internationalist business financed Hitler to make war and weaken Europe, particularly the pound. Then replace the pound with the dollar. Here, "weaken" is speculative but supported by the other sentences. A conspiracy theory can be true or false. It is not false because it is a conspiracy theory. Some refinements about the term "theory" is called for but that is not tackled now.

This is interesting because I know a couple of people that believe every new theory they hear. I've noticed a few of these traits about them. I do think though that we all need to question things, but not believe the absurd like these people do.

This is an interesting topic. I like the way you pointed out that for some people, the conspiracy itself is more important than finding out the truth. I believe that conspiracies are possible. Watergate would never have come to light if people were automatically scorned for believing it possible!

Nonetheless, there are some people who get absurd with this stuff, and then you have the opposite types who refuse to entertain such possibilities altogether. I hope you'll write a "10 Reasons People Deny Conspiracies" hub, too.

Interesting Hub. I think there is some validity presented here about individuals that are completely obsessed with such things. I don't care to be around folks that talk conspiracy theories non-stop; they bore me to tears. But I feel some of the conclusions here are far too sweeping.

When people are told they must be narcissicists, gossips, paranoid, jealous or otherwise emotionally unbalanced because they question the popular view, some are going to feel guilted into conformity. And guilting people into accepting any belief is detrimental to all of us. I loved your article and it gave me plenty food for thought. The way wrote about the conspiracy theory followers on a psychological stand point created a shift in my perception about some public speakers.

More on "why" some video clips or news items were created maybe? If you ever have the time to visit my page, you will find several articles that might fall under the conspiracy theory label, but all in all I do intuitively feel that a lot has been hidden from the global population about many things. Mostly I feel to do with the greed for profit. I'm bookmarking you article, so I can link it into some of my posts.

Voted Up and shared it. Yes, some people need to gossip, and gossip is actually quite useful for a working society, though the motivations that cause people to gossip aren't so healthy!

Thanks vandynegl, I agree it was a great video. Yea, there are sometimes some useful facts embedded in all the craziness of the theories. Some of the theories may even prove to be true. Thanks for stopping by Tommy. It wasn't really about whether the conspiracies are true. Some may be true. It was more about why some people believe conspiracies that are a bit insane! The Iran-Contra scandal was surprising in terms of who they were supplying, but I doubt those clued up on CIA activities since WW2 were that shocked by it.

Thanks for commenting Sanxuary. Yup, there have been many lies told since WW2. I think proving something is a lie would typically prove one of several conspiracy theories to be true. I would say that an important, unexplained, un-investigated event certainly warrants theories, but not belief in those theories If I presented the history of all the lies told since World War II, the only truth is that most everything we were told began as a lie.

A lie is not always a conspiracy its simply a lie. My reason to see a conspiracy is dictated by the inability to answer a question. A answer with out facts, evidence or proof when such things are available is no answer at all. We call some things conspiracy's but in reality they are only lies and we want the true answer.

When evidence vanishes you know the lie is pretty big. Most things we call conspiracy's are the things we lack any evidence to present a case. I am still looking for the first dead Sasquatch who seems to live all over the country but somehow never dies and leaves a body. Where are the whistle blowers hiding all the aliens? Not one of them has snuck out with any real proof.

Oddly it doesn't take much of a conspiracy to pull off the greatest crimes of all time. They tend to happen right in front of our face. We cry a little, get poorer and keep on being lied to and we do nothing.

This was mostly a descent article. It's shortcoming is it's failure to acknowledge that some conspiracies are indeed true. Iran Contra is just one recent bizarre but true conspiracies. Still, most are pure fantasy believed by many for all the reasons cited above. The challenge is know the difference. Best to assume their false till proven.

Very interesting read for sure! I have an open mind and enjoy learning all of the evidence and facts as well as theories too. Great video as well! Its funny and interesting. People are crazy about conspiracy theories that supply material for gossip.

Sometimes these are useful and make us aware. Nicely written article, Rated up and funny. I agree I think conspiracy theorist is a label used to create division and discrimination among the people just as race, religion, culture and political parties. Thanks Jennifer, I'm glad you understood what I was going for. Regarding your comments, I should say that it's quite difficult to tell when suspicion becomes conspiratorial thinking.

I have long thought that the British and American media are biased towards the interests of those countries, especially when it comes to international issues. John Lang was a journalist who was very critical of the FPD. He wrote an article about how the police went into poor parts of the city and pulled cars over that parked in free parking lots or something like that. After no one let him, his house caught on fire. The coroner said that he was stabbed to death, but then retracted that statement.

Restaurant owners know how awkward it is to be sung to in front of the whole establishment, and they do it to discourage people from taking advantage of their free birthday food. I mean if you were really going to do something in secrecy, would you do it in the place where everyone thinks it is? Hell no! I dont have any specific evidence to back this up but it makes sense right? A forensics specialist believes Jamie Hewlett of Gorillaz is Banksy. I believe that the government probably makes some conspiracy theories to try to make questioning the government seem somewhat crazy.

Rather, I just think that either the national treasures never left their vaults or that some national treasures actually were lost to history but they were copied. I believe in the mattress store conspiracy, so the conspiracy is that mattress stores are for money laundering.

There was a road that had 5 mattress stores less than a mile apart. So I definitely believe in it. The Hawaii nuke false alarm last year was actually the US government testing to see how the the general population would react if an actual nuclear war broke out.

It has credibility because there is photographic evidence. The sister ships and their third counterpart, the Britannic were owned by White Star Line. The Olympic was put into service in June, She collided with another ship, the HMS Hawke, in September of and both ships were badly damaged.

The accident was a financial disaster for White Star Line, as they were found to be liable for the accident and had to pay for the damages to both ships and legal fees for court cases associated with the accident. Repairs on the Olympic took nearly two months and parts intended for the Titanic, which was still being built during this time, had to be given to the Olympic instead.

Only a few weeks after being returned to service, the Olympic suffered another minor incident where one of the propellers broke off and pieces intended for the Titanic were once again cannibalized. The Titanic was finally finished and ready to leave port on her maiden voyage on April 10, , having been delayed while new parts were made and delivered to replace the ones needed for the Olympic, and from there we all know the story. She went first to France, and then to Ireland, and then began her trek across the Atlantic to New York, during which she struck an iceberg and after nearly two hours, sank, taking 1, souls with her to a cold, watery grave that would not be seen again by human eyes for nearly a hundred years.

The Olympic went on to have a year career as a successful ocean liner. She served during World War 1 where she earned the nickname Old Reliable for her impenetrable hull, and then in she was re-outfitted to be a civilian passenger ship and served as an ocean liner until , when she was retired from the fleet. Her ownership changed hands several times and she was eventually dismantled and sold for scrap metal.

What if it was actually the Olympic? What if it was a ploy to remove a faulty ship that was costing them more money than she was bringing in for White Star Line and cash in on her million-pound insurance policy? So here is the conspiracy theory. At some point after the Titanic was completed, they switched the identities of the ships.

They probably had another plan involving the repairs that had already been made on the ship when it collided with the HMS Hawke. Morgan was in on this whole scheme; his company, J. I cannot provide evidence for this beyond speculation. However, I can provide evidence that backs up my claim that the two ships were switched and it was the Olympic who sank, not the Titanic.

Check out the very top row of portholes in the white railing. Count them. Look closely at the grouping of the last five portholes and how they are clustered with two close together, one set apart, and two more close together.

Look at the top-most portholes in the railing on the Titanic. Count them too. Look at the last five portholes and see that they are evenly spaced apart. Check out the portholes in question:. There is no reason why the ship builders would have changed the portholes on the Titanic when they were nearly done building it. That piece was not one of the pieces cannibalized from the Titanic to repair the Olympic that would have needed to be replaced by a different piece.

The only answer is that the ship in the final picture, which is the ship that left port on April 10, , and was met with a terrible fate near Newfoundland, was not the Titanic, but actually the Olympic.

So they created a movie featuring fox and rabbit characters that could replace Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit, and re-theme the entire ride to be Zootopia themed, while leaving some things like the name, and the songs featured in the ride from Song and the South.

There is a huge pedophile ring in Hollywood, anyone who tries to expose them die shortly after coincidentally.