Conspiracy Theories

More education was associated with less belief in conspiracy theories, and this seemed to be explained in part by more educated participants feeling more in control, having less belief in simple solutions, and having stronger analytical skills. [1]

Basics

• From Wikipedia:
  • A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.
  • The term has a pejorative connotation, implying that the appeal to a conspiracy is based on prejudice or insufficient evidence.
  • Conspiracy theories resist falsification and are reinforced by circular reasoning: both evidence against the conspiracy and an absence of evidence for it are re-interpreted as evidence of its truth, whereby the conspiracy becomes a matter of faith rather than something that can be proved or disproved.
• Thought Distortions , Echo Chambers , and Education System Failures / Misinformation all blended together
• Can lead to real life consequences such as:
  • Reduced Herd Immunity due to less vaccinations
  • Technology not being adopted due to fears (5G, Wind Turbines)
  • People not following safety precautions (Airplane Crash Position CAUSES harm...)
  • Actual, Real World, Violence (People who try to "take down" groups can harm random people, happened to some pizza place in the USA, radicalization, etc)

External Links

• The Wikipedia Page on Conspiracy Theories
• A Video on how Conspiracies are Becoming More Problematic Due to the Internet
• About Qanon - [2]. Quote: QAnon carries on a tradition of apocalyptic thinking that has spanned thousands of years. It offers a polemic to empower those who feel adrift. In his classic 1957 book, The Pursuit of the Millennium, the historian Norman Cohn examined the emergence of apocalyptic thinking over many centuries. He found one common condition: This way of thinking consistently emerged in regions where rapid social and economic change was taking place—and at periods of time when displays of spectacular wealth were highly visible but unavailable to most people. This was true in Europe during the Crusades in the 11th century, and during the Black Death in the 14th century, and in the Rhine Valley in the 16th century, and in William Miller’s New York in the 19th century. It is true in America in the 21st century.