Tinfoil Hat Conspiracy Theorists

[hairysasquatch]

Where you @? What's the latest cause for concern?

[Boo]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

Where you @? What's the latest cause for concern?

Pushing for another vacation?

[jplarson]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

What's the latest cause for concern?

I'm starting to get worried that this whole squirrel/popsicle thing might not be good natured ribbing.

[BostonNut]

Believe he got whacked for a year.

[BostonNut]

Originally Posted by jplarson

I'm starting to get worried that this whole squirrel/popsicle thing might not be good natured ribbing.

One side is good natured.

The other thinks it’s deadly serious.

Not a good mix.

[sportzluvr1]

Yikes. What a rough fall this has been.

[hairysasquatch]

Originally Posted by Boo

Pushing for another vacation?

Whatchu talkin' about, Willis?

[dashcol]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

Where you @? What's the latest cause for concern?

Conspiracy theories is my #3 hobby! I love reading about them, I don’t believe in many of them, but they make for good reading and some are thought provoking.

I got into them by researching for my #2 hobby (writing), and got myself hooked on them.

Which ones do you want to know about? Conspiracy theories have many sub cultures within them and range from theories about aliens to cryptozoology, politics to social justice, disease to ever lasting life and everything in between. It’s really a lot of fun, you just have to realize the vast majority are fiction. However, most CT are routed in some sort of truth.

[TheFrenzy]

Has anyone ever sponsored a debate between the Flat Earthers and the Hollow Earthers?

[dashcol]

Originally Posted by TheFrenzy

Has anyone ever sponsored a debate between the Flat Earthers and the Hollow Earthers?

That would be a fun one! Most on either side of this are animate about their side and they will not accept any other ideas. The flat Earthers are pretty steadfast in their ways, and are convinced all the space pictures are CGI and have been faked by NASA for the last 60+ years.

You should check out the Flat Earth Society, pretty wild theories.

[BostonNut]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

Whatchu talkin' about, Willis?

See: Ball, Chez

[TheFrenzy]

Originally Posted by dashcol

You should check out the Flat Earth Society, pretty wild theories.

I find them especially interesting because I still have not heard a good argument as to why their (wrong) beliefs matter.

I have heard several well-respected scholars mention them as yet another sign of humanity regressing, but that's actually a massive claim given what it assumes. Does factuality carry with it a sense of moral obligation? Is someone a "bad" person if they believe something untrue?

It's important to me because we actually base very little of our lives on what we can prove empirically. Most of our day-to-day decisions are based on feelings, impressions, narratives, reaction, instinct, etc. And so given that, what is the actual reason that compels so many people to invest so much time and energy into fretting over and arguing with Flat Earthers? Does democracy only work if everyone steadfastly pursues factuality or does democracy carry with it the freedom to be wrong?

[dashcol]

Originally Posted by TheFrenzy

I find them especially interesting because I still have not heard a good argument as to why their (wrong) beliefs matter.

I have heard several well-respected scholars mention them as yet another sign of humanity regressing, but that's actually a massive claim given what it assumes. Does factuality carry with it a sense of moral obligation? Is someone a "bad" person if they believe something untrue?

It's important to me because we actually base very little of our lives on what we can prove empirically. Most of our day-to-day decisions are based on feelings, impressions, narratives, reaction, instinct, etc. And so given that, what is the actual reason that compels so many people to invest so much time and energy into fretting over and arguing with Flat Earthers? Does democracy only work if everyone steadfastly pursues factuality or does democracy carry with it the freedom to be wrong?

Well said.

I will say I am not a flat Earther, and believe their ideas to be so flawed it is not even worth arguing with them over. With that said, there are some of their ideas about a flat Earth that are at least somewhat thought out, just not fully as they disregard certain facts to make their ideas true. I say facts, but in reality some of them are only theories that some use to disprove them, such as gravity. People arguing against flat Earth will say that gravity cannot exist without the Earth being round. The theory of gravity will also be used to disprove hollow Earth as well, as it is needed to not be hollow for the current theory to work.

So the theory of gravity in itself should not be able to be used to disprove flat or hollow Earth as a theory cannot be used as a fact. That is the argument that most flat or hollow Earthers will use to counter the argument of gravity.

Even though, I do not agree with flat Earth, I also will not get angry at those who do believe. This is a free country, and as you said, democracy (which we kind of are), only works if differing views are not only accepted, but encouraged. So they can have whatever belief they want, whether I agree or not is inconsequential.

[corndog]

[glen87]

[AbraCalabro]

Originally Posted by dashcol

That would be a fun one! Most on either side of this are animate about their side and they will not accept any other ideas. The flat Earthers are pretty steadfast in their ways, and are convinced all the space pictures are CGI and have been faked by NASA for the last 60+ years.

You should check out the Flat Earth Society, pretty wild theories.

You want to read some funny sh**, there are people that think we've been to the moon. Never mind it's been debunked by the footage of Kubrick's studio shoot, they just ignore it and actually believe we sent people 237k miles up and then back down safely. ...and that we 'lost' the technology.

lmao

[discostu]

Tangible facts have virtually no ability to overcome someone's personal faith and beliefs.

Regardless, fringes always existed, but we are a lot more exposed to them simply due to the immediate dissemination of ideas (factual or not). 30 years ago, a guy ranting on the corner had almost no audience. That same type of person (either a believer or grifter) has access to almost unlimited exposure and the crazier the idea, the greater the exposure.

Conspiracy theories and fringe ideas sell.

[jplarson]

Originally Posted by AbraCalabro

You want to read some funny sh**, there are people that think we've been to the moon. Never mind it's been debunked by the footage of Kubrick's studio shoot, they just ignore it and actually believe we sent people 237k miles up and then back down safely. ...and that we 'lost' the technology.

lmao

[AbraCalabro]

Originally Posted by jplarson

crazy how people react when they get called to task on their lies

[dashcol]

Originally Posted by AbraCalabro

You want to read some funny sh**, there are people that think we've been to the moon. Never mind it's been debunked by the footage of Kubrick's studio shoot, they just ignore it and actually believe we sent people 237k miles up and then back down safely. ...and that we 'lost' the technology.

lmao

I can’t tell if you’re serious or not.

Originally Posted by discostu

Tangible facts have virtually no ability to overcome someone's personal faith and beliefs.

Regardless, fringes always existed, but we are a lot more exposed to them simply due to the immediate dissemination of ideas (factual or not). 30 years ago, a guy ranting on the corner had almost no audience. That same type of person (either a believer or grifter) has access to almost unlimited exposure and the crazier the idea, the greater the exposure.

Conspiracy theories and fringe ideas sell.

Conspiracy theories have been around a lot longer than the internet and they were widely known well before. The conspiracies that were rampant in the times of the Pharaohs and Roman Emperors were well known to the masses. Yes the internet gave many more a voice, and made it so they could be spread quicker, but it did not create many new conspiracies.

Prior to the internet age, there were a lot of newspapers and journals that were circulated around the conspiracy community, and many were weekly with 10,000s of patrons. There were groups that met in secret to discuss these things, but with the advent of the internet those have gone away as theorists believe it is safer for them to get together online vice in person.

The internet has grown the community as well, I read once, and I can’t find it again, that close to 3 in 4 Americans have admitted to researching a conspiracy theory, and nearly 90% of all Americans believe in at least 1 conspiracy theory.

[jplarson]

Originally Posted by dashcol

I can’t tell if you’re serious or not.

He's playing a bit and it's funny

[Boo]

Originally Posted by hairysasquatch

Where you @? What's the latest cause for concern?

[jplarson]

Originally Posted by Boo

LMAO!!!!!

[SleeperCards]

Originally Posted by Boo

Could go for some soft serve ice cream right about now.

[rman112]

Trusting The Science. That's a good one.