Psychology of Conspiracy Theorists

Discussion in 'Conspiracies' started by James R, Feb 18, 2015.

  1. billvon Valued Senior Member

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    I guess you are one of those anti-conspiracy people who are unable to think clearly due to your inability to process information that conflicts with pre-existing beliefs.
     
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  3. RainbowSingularity Valued Senior Member

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    USA cultural conditioning of children.
    teaches them that finding someone to blame and sueing them gives you all your lifes dreams and solves all your problems like health care & food.
     
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  5. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    Is that a homegrown excuse for a lack of discrimination between fact and complete twaddle? Or did you pay for it?
     
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  7. RainbowSingularity Valued Senior Member

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    you are demonstrating selective truth ?
     
  8. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    I asked you a question.
     
  9. RainbowSingularity Valued Senior Member

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    68 years ago (inside only 1 generation) racism was a legal right in civil society.

    abortion is not legal and free contraceptives to teens and other reproductive medical 1st world compulsories are still seen as deviant evil things by millions of backward 18th century people living in a pretend 1st would country trying to exploit the modern scientific discoveries for their own personal benefit while denying it to others.

    ...
    such a culture is breeding conspiracy theorists and mass shooters & serial killers.

    it should not really be a mystery
    ... but as the brain fades in the aging population they wish to absolve themselves of guilt, blame and accountability for being the ones who were in control.

    poking fun at conspiracy theorists to use as a munchausen proxy works well for them
    as they lament the old days & play the game of "oh we simple folk had no real control and we cant be blamed for our own democracy".

    but please, do go on.
     
  10. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    Conspiracy advocates are borderline histrionic personalities who have an agenda against a person or group. There's no issue with that.
     
  11. RainbowSingularity Valued Senior Member

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    american politicians ?

    note you cant be low income AND a US political candidate.

    its a culture.
    just like conspiracy theorists.
    just like the US non historical militia culture(can we call it "Capitalist tin soldier" culture ?)

    once upon a time, "Conspiracy theorists" were skeptics whom had critical logic thinking and could show working examples of alternate theorys.
    however the animal of narcissism came along and is attempting to have sex with the money in the equation.
    soo is born the media machine of conspiracy theories to make money.

    now the term has been re-branded by modern culture to be an "entertainment" trend word applied to create a sub group not unlike using the word _igger or coloured or Hoe's
    its application to render as derogatory in terms of illusionary social abide is disturbed.

    its application in dog whistle politics as a derogatory term is clearly defined as propoganda.
    however US policitcs is not encumbered with morality.
    much less the cheering by standers ready to parrot expresions the richest loudest bullys are using to be just like them.
    thus the "bully culture" and its reality sitting not soo far beneath the surface of the culture as normative.
     
  12. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    Massive non sequitur isn't helping you.
     
  13. psikeyhackr Live Long and Suffer Valued Senior Member

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    Does that include people who get called "Conspiracy Theorists"?

    I have noticed that anyone who doubts the supposed physics of airliners destroying 1360 foot skyscrapers in less than two hours is likely to be called a "Conspiracy Theorist".

    https://psikeyhackr.livejournal.com/1276.html
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2018
  14. billvon Valued Senior Member

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    Nope. Lots of people can question that. They then go on to learn about how it can happen.

    The ones that come up with massive 9/11 conspiracies involving missiles projecting holograms of airliners, "nanothermite" being used to destroy a building, the FBI trying to wage a worldwide coverup - those are rightly called conspiracy theorist.
     
  15. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    Facts are irrelevant to conspiracy advocates, they're out to attack persons or groups, and fatal flaws to their theories don't bother them at all. They're not actually lying, they'd have to up their game to be liars.
     
  16. billvon Valued Senior Member

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    Eh, some can, some can't.

    Some are halfway intelligent, and know that their position is untenable. But they like posting on conspiracy boards for the camaraderie and that warm glow from being one of the "in crowd" there - and often they like trolling in more sane forums because it gets them attention.

    Some aren't as intelligent and really believe the stuff they are told. "But steel doesn't melt at 1500F so there's NO WAY a fire could have brought the building down!" "Why was the scrap steel secretly shipped to China? It's a conspiracy to hide the truth!"

    Remember, we live in a post-factual society, where anyone's opinion is just as valid as everyone else's. "We report, you decide." So if a TV show has a biologist on to talk about how diseases evolve resistance to antibiotics, they give "equal time" to a creationist who thinks that there's no such thing as evolution. And if they have a doctor on to talk about vaccines, then they have an anti-vaxxer to talk about how vaccines cause autism. And in our new "bothsiderism" approach to truth, there's no one side that is right; both positions are equally valid, and it's just one opinion versus another.

    Heck, there is now a serious, real Flat Earther movement out there. There are really people who believe that the Earth is flat and NASA, communications satellites, SpaceX, the ISS etc are one big conspiracy. If people believe that, it's easy to see how they would believe in Trutherism.

    To paraphrase Trump - "conspiracy theory authors love the poorly educated!"
     
  17. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    When you have that line drawn let me see it.
     
  18. RainbowSingularity Valued Senior Member

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    and there you have the fall of the american civilisation.
     
  19. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    Been predicted many times before.
     
  20. billvon Valued Senior Member

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    There is something about conspiracy theorists when it comes to processing information; they can't do it unless it comes in video form. They live and die by TV.

    Go to any conspiracy theorist website. You'll see the Truthers, the Apollo hoaxers, the anti-vaxxers, the Flat Earthers, the climate change deniers etc post video after video, while the people rebutting them post papers from Nature and the American Geophysical Union. Which is pointless; many comspiracy theorists can barely read, and certainly can't read anything longer than a post with a few sound bites in it.
     
  21. Gawdzilla Sama Valued Senior Member

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    So we're done with the psychology part?
     
  22. ToR original Registered Member

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    I really like conspiracy theories but I don't believe in any, I just see it as keeping an open mind.

    I think those who believe everything they're told (they're the REAL believers) are brain washed. Is that a conspiracy theory?

    What is the psychology of people who 'believe' everything they're told, presented with by the media, people in power etc etc.??
     
  23. origin Heading towards oblivion Valued Senior Member

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    How is that 'keeping an open mind'?
    Someone who believes everything they are told would be by definition insane. They would believe for instance that Trump is both a great president and a terrible president simultaneously.
     

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