Conspiratorial thinking (broadly)

[TS-]

Actor/storyteller Stephen Tobolowsky has a podcast where he tells interesting stories and occasionally waxes philosophical.

In this week's episode (http://www.tobolowskyfiles.com) (#40: The Man in the Closet) he mentions conspiratorial thinking, particularly in the second half of the episode. Thought it was interesting.

Conspiracies can disguise themselves as science or as history, but you can always spot them because their goal is never to reveal the truth, but only to reveal a villain. Once you name a villain, then you create the need for a hero- which usually turns out to be the person telling you about the conspiracy in the first place.

[UWdude]

Then why do people put up signs, or hand out DVD's, or put dvd's in locations where people can find them, or flyers? they are putting out information that will probably never be traced back to the source.

I get so sick of people ascribing their little psycho-babble intentions and thought processes upon conspiracy theorists. Most CTers I know are highly intelligent. I had a neighbor that was incredibly intelligent, but also incredibly insane, but also incredibly inquisitive.

I'm a truther because I think the official story is just stupid. I also read 60 - 80 articles of news a day, probably and average of 20 over my lifetime since 6th grade. I'm not stupid, and I know a hell of a lot more about just about everything political in the world than even most politicians on Capitol hill. Finance, geo-politics, and American politics have been a passion of mine since I became a paperboy. I relaxed by reading the paper after my route. Sometimes I wish I had just learned to play the piano instead.

And I know, you are all going to gang up with each other and tell me I'm stupid because I am a truther, and then tell me I do it because I want life to be more exciting, or I think it has to be more complicated... blah blah blah.

I am often here to test/experiment on you people, find out what makes you tick. You all would make great lawyers, but terrible cops. You are great at presenting the completed picture, but not putting the dots together. It is like you hate to even see the process of brainstorming.

I know for damn sure if someone had talked about the syphilis tests on Guatemalans before it was outed, you all would have been calling it ridiculous.

So much of the way people think is based upon self-validation. CTers do it, and so does this guy. In the end, he is better, because he doesn't lie to look like a hero. He has it all figured out.

Rant away JREFers, but I am not coming back to this thread. I know you will all just try to piss me off by telling me who I am, why I think the way I do, how ignorant/willfully evil/manipulative/disgraceful blah blah blah. I seriously will not be back to this thread, or looking, or responding.

[BobHaulk]

Then why do people put up signs, or hand out DVD's, or put dvd's in locations where people can find them, or flyers? they are putting out information that will probably never be traced back to the source.

I get so sick of people ascribing their little psycho-babble intentions and thought processes upon conspiracy theorists. Most CTers I know are highly intelligent. I had a neighbor that was incredibly intelligent, but also incredibly insane, but also incredibly inquisitive.

I'm a truther because I think the official story is just stupid. I also read 60 - 80 articles of news a day, probably and average of 20 over my lifetime since 6th grade. I'm not stupid, and I know a hell of a lot more about just about everything political in the world than even most politicians on Capitol hill. Finance, geo-politics, and American politics have been a passion of mine since I became a paperboy. I relaxed by reading the paper after my route. Sometimes I wish I had just learned to play the piano instead.

And I know, you are all going to gang up with each other and tell me I'm stupid because I am a truther, and then tell me I do it because I want life to be more exciting, or I think it has to be more complicated... blah blah blah.

I am often here to test/experiment on you people, find out what makes you tick. You all would make great lawyers, but terrible cops. You are great at presenting the completed picture, but not putting the dots together. It is like you hate to even see the process of brainstorming.

I know for damn sure if someone had talked about the syphilis tests on Guatemalans before it was outed, you all would have been calling it ridiculous.

So much of the way people think is based upon self-validation. CTers do it, and so does this guy. In the end, he is better, because he doesn't lie to look like a hero. He has it all figured out.

Rant away JREFers, but I am not coming back to this thread. I know you will all just try to piss me off by telling me who I am, why I think the way I do, how ignorant/willfully evil/manipulative/disgraceful blah blah blah. I seriously will not be back to this thread, or looking, or responding.
Is this satire? i can't tell as i've just got up and things are a bit hazy

[jiggeryqua]

Is this satire? i can't tell as i've just got up and things are a bit hazy

I thought it was heresy, but it's sunday and the forecast is hazy all day...

[TS-]

Then why do people put up signs, or hand out DVD's, or put dvd's in locations where people can find them, or flyers? they are putting out information that will probably never be traced back to the source.

I get so sick of people ascribing their little psycho-babble intentions and thought processes upon conspiracy theorists. Most CTers I know are highly intelligent. I had a neighbor that was incredibly intelligent, but also incredibly insane, but also incredibly inquisitive.

1. Tell that to Alex Jones and the people who get money/attention from these theories with their videos, websites, DVDs, merchandise etc.

2. Nobody stated that conspiracy theorists were stupid- certainly not myself, and my post was the only one preceding yours in this thread. So not only did you not bother to listen to the podcast I linked to- which is understandable, given how long it is. But on top of that, you didn't even bother to really reply to the actual post I made.


Rant away JREFers, but I am not coming back to this thread.
Ignoring how untrue this is, this doesn't really make you look as good as you think it does.

Secondly, if you agree that paranoia exists- as you seem to, because you called your former neighbor insane- we're mostly just arguing about the lines of demarcation which separate what is likely from what is simply a conspiracy theory. Despite your listing of your bonafides, you seem to lack a proper inquisitive nature- just based on the tone of that last post you're not very interested in the counter arguments against conspiracy theories, only in the possibilities that they exist.

For example you dropped off a post in this thread and then said you wouldn't be back- so as not to read any replies to it.

[Infoexcavator]

It's a nice catchy statement but when you analyze it carefully it is inane.

[rambaldi]

And I know, you are all going to gang up with each other and tell me I'm stupid because I am a truther,

It's the other way round, you are a troofer BECAUSE you are stupid...