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Are you a conspiracy theorist? See the link between those and creationists. I think people hate sitting with uncertainty so they invent things to feel more in control.
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MsDemeanour 8 Feb 8
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I think we should all be open to being wrong. (including me πŸ˜‰ )

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I don't see any link. The term "conspiracy theorist" was originally coined by the CIA to discredit critics of the Warren Report. Also, most "conspiracy theories" turn out to be true, or at least partially true. And, as Carl Oglesby once pointed out: "Conspiracy is politics by normal means".

Partially true, really? Roswell, chem trails, fake moon landings, 9/11 and the third building... I could go on but I think the point is made.

@Denker despite all evidence to the contrary, conspiracy theorists cling to their belief.......hmmm sounds like what creationists do

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No, for one thing, " conspiracy theorist " tend to advance ideas that postulate a lack of control by the individual or manipulation of great swathes of people and see themselves as victims of a conspiracy, where as in your contention creationist see themselves as a part of an open conspiracy to bring the world in to order and to persecute "the profane" others.
Secondly as is well known now the term " conspiracy theorist " was a deliberate invention of the CIA as revealed in CIA Document 1035-960: weaponized terms and language, released in the 1990s under the thirty year freedom of information act. It was introduced during the Warren commision investigation in to the Kennedy assassination to bury truth in masses of easily disproved misinformation that could all be written off snidely by the catch all term of "an invention of mentally unstable conspiracy theorists "
However now that so many actual "conspiracy theories " have proven to be true, notably Watergate, the term has somewhat lost its bite.

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Nope, there’s enough actual conspiracies not to have to make them up. Many, so successful, they’ve ventured into the realm of ..obvious.

Varn Level 8 Feb 8, 2019
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I think that there is certainly a lot of truth in this, and it is useful and worthwhile. But, the mischief maker in me wants to point out, that these people may also be indulging in teleological thinking, when they connect conspiracy theory with creationism via teleological thinking, since it may just be that if you are naive enough to believe one you may be naive enough to swallow the other.

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Generally I don’t think governments are that capable, so I don’t give that much credence to conspiracy theories. Most of them seem to be cobbled together from doubt and thin evidence, and I think those who push them like Info Wars do mankind a disservice by clouding the truth. Mankind’s collective adherence to the truth as an ideal seems to be under strain, with so many people arguing for fringe positions.

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What gets me about conspiracy theories is I have never come across any organisation that efficient. Really can you think of any time a secret could be kept by more than 10 people, for ever?

It does not need to be kept secret by many people, just one or two in power then a lot of others who find the lie so appealing or are so slavishly devoted to those who know it is a lie that that they will never question it.

@LenHazell53 You mean like the moon landings? 15 astronauts (18 if you count Apollo 13). numerous technical staff, both at NASA and in Australia where they relayed the signals. Not one of them got drunk and told their wives gfs, or bestie.
9/11 is a classic example of denial by conspiracy. The most powerful nation in the world cannot accept the fact that it let 6,000 of its people be killed by some nutters with craft knives. So it looks for reasons other than its own inadequacy. "A worldwide zionist plot to which our own govt agencies were complicit".
Lady Diana, all those people who would buy magazines with her picture on were the people who killed her. If no one gave a shit then the car would not have been going so fast. But "oh no it can't be our fault. Lets blame the royal family"
I could go on but whats the point. I am just an alien robot put here to make you all feel safe whist we drain your blood and poison you with fluoride.

@273kelvin I did not cite those examples you did, I was simply making a point that if someone in power wants to cover something up, they can and do with only the very minimum of confidants, J E Hoover is a prime example, his staff did what he told them without question including spying on ordinary citizens, celebrities and politicians, when he died it was found he had thousands of personal hidden files on thousands of people, many of whom he had been blackmailing for years to stay in his job and to get dirt on others, to this day it is thought doubtful anyone else was directly involved and if they were we don't know who they were.
You only have to look at the corruption of the Catholic church to see how actual conspiracies can be covered up for decades or even centuries The Magdalene laundries for example, even the church itself "claims" to have known nothing about the abuse, mistreatment and even murders carried on inside those wall and blames it on a conspiracy of Nuns.
There dozens of conspiracies that have proven to be right or true in the fullness of time, the mega conspiracies you mention are the big lies, meant to distract from the small truths that governments, religious authorities and institutions geared for the benefit of the very rich want tarred with the same brush.

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I find conspiracy rheorists very annoying. I try to totally ignore their ramblings.In more sensible discussions I can usually see both sides of the argument but I hate sitting on the fence so I call myself an atheist rather than agnostic

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It can be fun to explore alternate explanations for how things happened, but beyond entertainment value I need real evidence to accept any story. I'm not so naΓ―ve as to think it's beyond people and governments to lie to the public, and we don't always have all of the facts, but a few competing ideas strung together by the holes in our understanding isn't adequate.

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