ThomasDoubts Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/07/14/whatabout7/ An interesting read. I noticed there is no mention of the sampling bias of the study. I found this interesting at first because I thought it was the kind of thing that ought to be explicitly mentioned. But then I got thinking; what's more interesting is the implication of the selected sample. If you accept that the internet represents the ultimate access to information, should it be suprising that "internet folk" don't accept mainstream views? My grandparents may have heard of Youtube or wikipedia. My parents may have used them once or twice. I've spent weeks/months of real time learning anything I could from the internet. I'm sure it's not just me. For anyone that actively seeks answers, or is willing to challenge convential wisdom, it's easy to shoot down propaganda. Take it from my name; it's easy to falsify something, and maybe that's the best way to learn i.e: figure out everything that isn't true, and juggle what's left over till you stumble onto something. Where conspiracy theorists lose me is when they leave the realm of "that's not true/possible" and venture into the realm of lizard people and whatnot. I feel sorry those people. All the misdirected energy... It never ceases to amaze me however, the degree to which people will disassociate themselves from the past. No number of conspiracy theories turned conspiracy facts will convince them that conspiracies can occur. The media only reports facts. Sigh... It is so incredibly frustrating when people consciously reject facts, as if they're subjective or don't matter. That goes on in both camps, and it just leaves me feeling like I wouldn't go as far as the author does, but suffice it to say, I have a healthy distrust of certain narratives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepin Posted December 8, 2013 Share Posted December 8, 2013 I think conspiracy theorists tend to far better at reasoning and associative connections. I remember watching a video about critical thinking that talked about conspiracy theories, and the author talked about how they are really difficult to understand because they demonstrate that they have a very strong sense of logic, evidence, and argumentation, but that they ignore or look past the irrationality contained within the point of contention. If anyone is honest, I don't think an conspiracy theorist can be considered stupid because they are demonstrating quite complex thinking. Similarly, the more intellectual Christians have an amazing ability to reason and use logic and evidence so long as they aren't alerted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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