Bucky wrote:http://evtv.me/2019/08/the-tesla-conspiracy-or-am-i-a-dead-whistleblower/

VoxOrion wrote:All of us have our own conspiracy theory moments. There are little conspiracy theories ("I'd believe it if you told me JFK wasn't killed by Oswald", "The mainstream media favors corporations", "the mainstream media favors liberals", "the Plaintiff's attorneys are out to get us", etc) and there are big ones ("George Bush planned 9/11, after all, didn't Hitler burn the reichstag", "the Federal Reserve is run by the Masons", etc).

So what's the deal and why do we believe in them? It seems to me that while conspiracy theories have always existed, the Baby Boomers seem to have made it a regular part of society. I mean, who can blame them, they watched the president's head get blown off (queue Dennis Leary bit). Then there was the whole anti-authority thing, etc etc. TV shows and movies about conspiracy theories are huge, and this 9/11 conspiracy stuff isn't going to go away, I expect it'll just keep getting bigger.

I think it goes something like this:

1. Most people want to be seen as the smartest person in the room. Some people more than others, and they love to be able to say "You know, it's not quite like that..." or "did you know..."
2. Most people seem to think that believing something contrary to popular opinion makes them look intelligent (this is also seem in our culture of criticism).
3. Which all comes down to self esteem, pure and simple. The bigger the self-esteem problem the more likely the person is to insist a) that they do not have a self esteem problem and b) they are queued in to something that is "bigger than all of us".
4. When it isn't a self-esteem problem, it's more than likely a replacement anxiety. Either "I don't know where I fit in the universe" or "I have no control over the economy and I don't understand it so..." or "I don't want this person to be president and I can't possibly fathom that people disagree with me therefore there must be some other explanation", etc.

Discuss.

Wolfgang622 wrote:I have become very fascinated with examinations of the historicity of major world religious figures, particularly Jesus of Nazareth and Mohammed.

Slowhand wrote:

Wolfgang622 wrote:I have become very fascinated with examinations of the historicity of major world religious figures, particularly Jesus of Nazareth and Mohammed.

Not picking on Wolfie here because it’s written like this a lot, but it seems silly to qualify Jesus with the “of Nazareth” part. I mean, if someone mentions Jesus, does somebody stop them and say “Wait. Which Jesus are you talking about? Of Nazareth? Of Toledo? Which one?”

Phred wrote:Jesus O'Nazareth. Wasn't he that Hispanic/Irish shortstop for the Red Sox?

thephan wrote:

Phred wrote:Jesus O'Nazareth. Wasn't he that Hispanic/Irish shortstop for the Red Sox?

They would theoretically be a better team if so.

stevelxa476 wrote:

thephan wrote:

Phred wrote:Jesus O'Nazareth. Wasn't he that Hispanic/Irish shortstop for the Red Sox?

They would theoretically be a better team if so.

He can't hit a curveball though.

Wolfgang622 wrote:

VoxOrion wrote:All of us have our own conspiracy theory moments. There are little conspiracy theories ("I'd believe it if you told me JFK wasn't killed by Oswald", "The mainstream media favors corporations", "the mainstream media favors liberals", "the Plaintiff's attorneys are out to get us", etc) and there are big ones ("George Bush planned 9/11, after all, didn't Hitler burn the reichstag", "the Federal Reserve is run by the Masons", etc).

So what's the deal and why do we believe in them? It seems to me that while conspiracy theories have always existed, the Baby Boomers seem to have made it a regular part of society. I mean, who can blame them, they watched the president's head get blown off (queue Dennis Leary bit). Then there was the whole anti-authority thing, etc etc. TV shows and movies about conspiracy theories are huge, and this 9/11 conspiracy stuff isn't going to go away, I expect it'll just keep getting bigger.

I think it goes something like this:

1. Most people want to be seen as the smartest person in the room. Some people more than others, and they love to be able to say "You know, it's not quite like that..." or "did you know..."
2. Most people seem to think that believing something contrary to popular opinion makes them look intelligent (this is also seem in our culture of criticism).
3. Which all comes down to self esteem, pure and simple. The bigger the self-esteem problem the more likely the person is to insist a) that they do not have a self esteem problem and b) they are queued in to something that is "bigger than all of us".
4. When it isn't a self-esteem problem, it's more than likely a replacement anxiety. Either "I don't know where I fit in the universe" or "I have no control over the economy and I don't understand it so..." or "I don't want this person to be president and I can't possibly fathom that people disagree with me therefore there must be some other explanation", etc.

Discuss.

A decade late to this party, but this is an excellent analysis/post.

For my own part (and I am tail end of Gen X - the thing some people now call Xennials, a term I really like because it does feel like a distinct period and I can expound on why elsewhere), I am largely anti-conspiracy theory and pro Occam’s Razor. Having said that, I may have a bit of 1 & particularly 2 in me, in that I know/believe history is written by the “winners” and I am always interested in fresh research that are well researched questionings of “received” knowledge or narratives: on a minor level, things like the SABR articles I have read questioning whether the commonly accepted story that Bill Veeck has attempted to buy the Phillies in the 40s and then sign a bunch of black players is as true as he made it out to be, or whether Dick Allen was the clubhouse cancer everyone seems sure that he was, or stuff I’ve read about Marilyn Munroe and the historicity of her supposed affair with President Kennedy.

On a more major level, I have become very fascinated with examinations of the historicity of major world religious figures, particularly Jesus of Nazareth and Mohammed.

I don’t know if these strictly meet the definition of “conspiracy theories” but they certainly do play into some of your observations.

Slowhand wrote:The only thing flat earthers fear is sphere itself.