Creationism has become quite a fad lately; apparently a lot of people don't believe in evolution. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. If you do a little research you find lots of people publishing videos in which they "prove" that the earth is flat (with unbelievably stupid arguments and ridiculous "experiments"), claim that gravity does not exist (it is all electromagnetism), deny the existence of atoms, believe in geocentrism with the earth standing still, reject the idea that dinosaurs ever existed and so on.

Some of these people are perhaps just attention seekers who will do anything to get their moment of fame and don't really believe in their silly claims. But there are definitely a lot of people who really believe this nonsense (some people even believe in two or more, even all of the stupid hypotheses I listed).

I call out to you so-called sceptics: Let us not stop there! Why don't we question the existence of oxygen and revive the phlogiston theory? Or prove that women are definitely more stupid than men, something that was clear to everyone in the good old days? Or tear down the idea of the sun being a star when it is in reality just a gigantic bonfire? There is a lot to do to free us from false sciences like quantum physics, astronomy, chemistry and more of that silly stuff. Unite and fight now!

It's amazing to me the volume of open time people have on their hands, to create these videos let alone the imagination to spin their claims into "truth". 

Yep.  I couldn't agree more.  

We are plunging into dark ages rapidly. I may be some sort of tin foil hatter myself: my alleged similarities to a silverback or a chimp do not keep me from being a creationist. In fact, I even think phlogiston may have a bit more substance than evolutionism.

But the worst is yet to come: I live in a small country where many seem to think that we can blaze the trail in the fight against global warming while the wind comes from abroad. The threat of a financial bloodletting to reduce the temperature by 0.00007°C is at hand. Not too far from my place, Gretel Thunberg, a wee lassie who seems to think that her habitat on a higher northern latitude will ignite when the average temperature goes up just a tiny bit more, marched in front of some Soros-jugend through the streets of Brussels and is set to warm the laps of the likes of Junck and Timmerfrans. (I'll pass my bet that she'll be this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner to the bookmakers - the crown on a year of extensive child abuse).

Pseudo-science and controlled media are a hypergolic propellant.

It is human nature to believe in conspiracy theories or other baseless beliefs.

If an event is difficult to comprehend or random, the human brain tries to assign a simpler explanation to make it comprehensible, less threatening, and allow the individual to feel more in control.

It may be difficult for individuals who don't comprehend physics and engineering to comprehend the moon landing. No way that could have been accomplished with 1960's technology, right? It must have been faked. That's the easy-to-comprehend answer.

Autism can't possibly be random. There must be something causing it. So vaccinations must be the cause! It's comforting to know there is a simple, easy to comprehend explanation.

There is also a thing called Proportionality Bias that comes in to play. The bigger the event, the bigger the cause must have been. The JFK assassination was a huge event. It couldn't possibly be due to the actions of one deranged individual. Princess Diana couldn't possibly be a random car crash. We want to assign greater causes to those events that have a big, impactful effect.

And then there is the fact that human emotional reactions are faster than analytical thought. If someone tries to convince an conspiracy theorist that they are wrong, the theorist senses a threat and reacts emotionally by dismissing or arguing the analysis (fight or flight response), rather than calmly assessing the counter argument. It's why you can never convince a conspiracy theorist that they're wrong.

Then there is social media. These wacko theories can now spread like wildfire, the these "social" media provide another human need - feeling social and part of a community. Collaborating with other theorists in these settings is comforting and non-threatening.

And finally, the ultimate expression of conspiracy theory is the belief in religion. Religious teachings explain that random things don't just happen, they provide simple, comforting explanations for everything that is incomprehensible (life, death, creation of the universe, etc), and provide a sense of community (church) for those with similar beliefs.

Basically, humans want simple, comforting, easy answers, that events aren't random. We want to feel in control. And we want to feel that way with other similar-minded individuals.

Fortunately for me, I grew up embedded in math, science and engineering, so I don't have the same need to find simple explanations for incomprehensible or random events. I've learned to control my emotional response and allow my analytical response to act first (well, sometimes at least), and other than PA and PE and a pizza-making forum, I am basically anti-social, so I don't fall victim to rumors on Facebook or Twitter or the other electronic gossip columns. And I gave up all religious beliefs in my teens when the science/engineering part of me convinced me that there is "no need for God as a hypothesis" (adopted from mathematician Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace).

For more about what drives conspiracy theorists, you can consult the research of Dr. Daniel Jolley, professor of psychology at Staffordshire University, who has posted some interesting videos summarizing his findings... https://www.danieljolley.co.uk/research" rel="nofollow - https://www.danieljolley.co.uk/research

 

1) the bloke who reckoned the earth must be flat because he could see Seattle across the water.

2) the guy who did an experiment to "prove" the earth did not rotate 15 degrees per hour, but it proved the opposite so he just ignored the result.

Cambus741 wrote: unfortunately I know a few people who have been taken on by the absurd notion that all the manned missions to The Moon were somehow faked.  Of course none of the conspiracy theorys about that notion stand up to any kind of scrutiny, but they still adamantly believe this nonsense.

 

^This.....

as R A Wilson once said..if you take the average person on the street...by definition 50% of the people are dumber than that.

Cambridge leading philosopher of science Hasok Chang is rather keen on phlogiston these days. In case you're interested, see from around 16:50 here:

http://www.lse.ac.uk/philosophy/blog/2017/05/17/hasok-chang-a-pragmatist-conception-of-reality/" rel="nofollow - http://www.lse.ac.uk/philosophy/blog/2017/05/17/hasok-chang-a-pragmatist-conception-of-reality/

(I think I'm in the audience there, though not visible.)

And its getting worse in America, it seems, with religion replacing politicians in making laws for everyone to live under ... they don't even think they are doing the same thing as folks in a few other places in the world ... and the judges and Supreme Court in this country are not capable, or aware, that they are allowing a religious attitude to take over government ... something that their very constitution was hoping to avoid and make sure it did not happen!

And then, we have ... the others ... confusing issues so badly to make sure you do not know what is right or wrong ... a perfect ruse, for religion to step in many times in the history of humankind!