"Bad thinkers" - Why do some people believe conspiracy theories?

PhilParma

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Translation: Why don't the peons blindly believe the authorities' lies and half truths with 100% conformity?
 

mostlylurking

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Me thinks this type of propaganda morally repugnant
You would have to be brain dead to go along with the writer's promotional "Don't Think". Sadly, I'm learning that there are more people around who would believe this drivel than I used to believe possible.
 
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Peatness

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You would have to be brain dead to go along with the writer's promotional "Don't Think". Sadly, I'm learning that there are more people around who would believe this drivel than I used to believe possible.
They will believe it because our newspapers will package it as; “Eminent professor finds conspiracy theorist more likely to ....................” you can pretty much add whatever pejorative suits the day at the end of such a headline.
 

mostlylurking

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They will believe it because our newspapers will package it as; “Eminent professor finds conspiracy theorist more likely to ....................” you can pretty much add whatever pejorative suits the day at the end of such a headline.
I think that the comedians have a good sense of where a majority of people's heads are at so their material can be a way to help evaluate the level of understanding.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZVYqU02ZDM


and have you noticed what Jon Stewart has been putting out?


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtTvXZ5lby8


disclaimer: I do NOT watch teevee (except for Jeopardy).

edit: I had to add this jewel:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GukIoZ8d3Ew
 
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Runenight201

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Great read. Thanks for sharing. I only wish he had more powerful suggestions in terms of improving intellectual character and open-mindedness, rather than tossing them aside as hopeless cases. Perhaps teaming up with some neuroscientists, psychologist, and other medical experts could help explain a larger picture of why we become close-minded and how we can embody beliefs that are true and proper.
 

mostlylurking

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Great read. Thanks for sharing. I only wish he had more powerful suggestions in terms of improving intellectual character and open-mindedness, rather than tossing them aside as hopeless cases. Perhaps teaming up with some neuroscientists, psychologist, and other medical experts could help explain a larger picture of why we become close-minded and how we can embody beliefs that are true and proper.
"Intellectual character and open-mindedness" are the enemies of the Powers that Be. They will never promote these things.

As long as you aspire to "embody beliefs that are true and proper" that come from "the experts" and not from within yourself you will remain trapped within the labyrinth.
 
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Peatness

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Runenight201

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"Intellectual character and open-mindedness" are the enemies of the Powers that Be. They will never promote these things.

As long as you aspire to "embody beliefs that are true and proper" that come from "the experts" and not from within yourself you will remain trapped within the labyrinth.

I'm not sure about that. At a certain point there has to be some external point of contact from which we can form beliefs. no one is self-taught, instinct is not sufficient to form a complete foundation. Discerning who those points of contacts are and the truthfulness and credibility of those information sources is crucial, and even more so, developing our ability to properly reason and be self-aware to determine whether the beliefs we hold are actually correct.
 

mostlylurking

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Great read. Thanks for sharing. I only wish he had more powerful suggestions in terms of improving intellectual character and open-mindedness, rather than tossing them aside as hopeless cases. Perhaps teaming up with some neuroscientists, psychologist, and other medical experts could help explain a larger picture of why we become close-minded and how we can embody beliefs that are true and proper.
Please allow me to introduce you to John Taylor Gatto. He does an excellent job of explaining how we become closed-minded. https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/41319.John_Taylor_Gatto
and
from his wikipedia page:
John Taylor Gatto[1] (December 15, 1935[2] – October 25, 2018) was an American author and school teacher. After teaching for nearly 30 years he authored several books on modern education, criticizing its ideology, history, and consequences. He is best known for his books Dumbing Us Down: the Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, and The Underground History of American Education: A Schoolteacher’s Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling, which is sometimes considered to be his magnum opus.

He was named New York City Teacher of the Year in 1989, 1990, and 1991, and New York State Teacher of the Year in 1991.[3]

also, here is a video for your consideration:
The Big Lie - How to Enslave the World


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VfJ0BJvt7Y
 

nomoreketones

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Found this article amusing, to say the least, haha.
Conspiracy theories are part of life and generally not a problem. The problem is when the government and media collude to push conspiracy theories to take out political opponents as was done with Russian Collusion conspiracy theory. To this day, millions of people actually believe that Trump colluded with the Russians during his campaign.
 

mostlylurking

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I'm not sure about that. At a certain point there has to be some external point of contact from which we can form beliefs. no one is self-taught, instinct is not sufficient to form a complete foundation. Discerning who those points of contacts are and the truthfulness and credibility of those information sources is crucial, and even more so, developing our ability to properly reason and be self-aware to determine whether the beliefs we hold are actually correct.
Critical thinking is required to navigate the labyrinth. It is not taught in public school. Understanding what is meant by the Hegelian dialectic is helpful.

from this link:

World Government Fronts, Psycho-social Change Agents​

"An octopus of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Tax-Exempt Foundations, Think Tanks, Multinational Corporations and the Media Establishment practice the subtle science of persuasion. In the last two hundred years there isn't a single area of society that hasn't been influenced by facilitators of transformation education. For complete control of the masses a dictatorship is not necessary, although it does expedite the process. The collective moulding begins early in life, sustained and refined throughout one's formal education; a universal curriculum of manipulation can transform and achieve a complete paradigm shift for a whole generation."

Discernment is a survival skill.
 
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Please allow me to introduce you to John Taylor Gatto. He does an excellent job of explaining how we become closed-minded. John Taylor Gatto Quotes (Author of Dumbing Us Down)
and
from his wikipedia page:
John Taylor Gatto[1] (December 15, 1935[2] – October 25, 2018) was an American author and school teacher. After teaching for nearly 30 years he authored several books on modern education, criticizing its ideology, history, and consequences. He is best known for his books Dumbing Us Down: the Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling, and The Underground History of American Education: A Schoolteacher’s Intimate Investigation Into the Problem of Modern Schooling, which is sometimes considered to be his magnum opus.

He was named New York City Teacher of the Year in 1989, 1990, and 1991, and New York State Teacher of the Year in 1991.[3]

also, here is a video for your consideration:
The Big Lie - How to Enslave the World


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VfJ0BJvt7Y

What do you see as the solution?
 

mostlylurking

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What do you see as the solution?
I have no idea. John Gatto had true wisdom about the problem and was able to help a lot of his students understand and save themselves. His books are wonderful. His video lectures are too. I remember that he said he would help to get his students to grasp the concept of the whale that had swallowed them. Then they had a chance to rise above it by following their own pursuits.
 
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Alternative communities seems a good option, however it may be too late for them as well. Plus, can't see myself living with a bunch of offbeat strange hippies, though it beats communists.
 

mostlylurking

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