Conspiracy Theories. there is ZERO debate.

[oldE]

So, if I say I know diddly squat about something, am I bragging?

Best
Les

[jyl]

Doesn't a quarter of the US population think the world is flat, or something like that?

Many people are astoundingly persuadable, if the assertion (1) aligns with beliefs and biases they already have and (2) is about something outside of their personal direct expertise.

Basically, they want to believe it, and have no strong reason not to.

[javadog]

You might want to investigate apocalyptic style, as it relates to discourse.

You might recognize it, out in the world.

[Superman]

If two people cannot agree on the facts, then they cannot come to agreement on the problem or the solution(s).

Another similar dynamic is that if a smart person and a dumb person discuss a disagreement, the conversation will be far more frustrating for the smart person than for the dumb person.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

A German expat I follow

13 things about the USA I just CAN'T get used to | German Girl in America

[David]

I know someone like this I was introduced to by a fellow pelican. It’s extremely amusing and pretty amazing if you consider the depth of their knowledge. Complete crazy but still amusing... to a point.

[fintstone]

Maybe they are right. Before the camps were "liberated" many thought the Holocaust was a conspiracy theory (and some still do). The same with the Lewinsky until the blue dress surfaced...and don't forget "Russia, Russia, Russia." History is replete with stories where misdirection made the facts seem a bit unlikely. There were probably folks that warned the Trojan Horse was filled with soldiers and were laughed at (at least for a short while)...and Washington crossing the Delware in winter...utter nonsense. Sometimes when folks push other's positions as inaccurate just a little too hard...folks should be a bit skeptical.

[Noah930]

I have a flat-earther in my office. She is super-sweet of a person, but believes in astrology, chemtrails, crystals, etc. I just try not to engage in any of those types of conversations with her.

[fintstone]

I know what you mean. It is sorta like the folks that predicted a 20-foot rise in sea level “in the near future” back in 2006 and used the money they made off their followers to buy beachfront property...yet the same people that bought into that nonsense still buy the imminent catastrophe when goofy little girls from Sweden without any scientific education/background declare it true. So many are just so gullible. Like most most of these far out theories, all one has to do is follow the money to see how they start. Everyone is selling some sort of snake oil...and people line up to "testify" so they can get on the gravy train. Anyone need a slightly used crystal or astrology reading?

[sc_rufctr]

[Steve Carlton]

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Noah930

I have a flat-earther in my office.

Well it's a good thing the earth isn't flat or cats would have pushed everything off the edge of it by now.


My sister was dux of an expensive girls school, so fairly smart (at the time) but the stuff she believes in is incredible. Mainly covid stuff but lets not go down that route.

[Pazuzu]

I hate conspiracy theories.




Unless it's mine

I'm convinced that superheros, like from the comics, are based on real, rare people from history, and that at any time there are a handful of people on the planet with super-human abilities. Sight, hearing, strength, balance, even the ability to change shape (somewhat...like, grow hair at a highly accelerated rate, hours instead of days). Mutant versions that generally either die off, or are killed, and cannot find a way to let that mutant super-human gene propagate.

You read stories in the news, some kid in Ghana fights off a pack of hyenas unscathed to save an infant, or someone picks up the side of a flipped car in the middle of nowhere to save a trapped person, or someone who walks into a burning building to save a grandma and comes out unharmed.

No one laughs when you talk about a kid who can speak 4 languages, or someone who can memorize chapters of a book, but you laugh when someone claims that a child turned into a fox to escape a mob, even when the entire village agrees.

[fintstone]

Speaking of conspiracy theories...get a load of this car accident and tell me who/what is to blame:
https://mydailyfreedom.com/woman-slams-sports-car-blames-driver-privilege/

This counts for bonus points for sports car content.

[LWJ]

Aristotle said you can argue as a rapist, a seducer, or a lover.

Anyone who won’t listen to alternate opinions with an open mind is not engaging in a discussion. It is a lecture. Or, argument as a rapist, if that sounds better.

Now you should ask if you want to hear their lecture or not.

[Heel n Toe]

It finally happened... this is just now being shown on all cable networks... an ET craft landed in Thailand. Buddhist monks have surrounded it and are chanting, thereby preventing it from leaving.

[Steve Carlton]

That's awesome! Are they here to serve man?

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

That's awesome! Are they here to serve man?

Those ETs left with a bad taste in their mouths back in the 60s. These guys are supposedly asking for a box set of the complete works of Ray Charles... so they definitely have good taste.

[tabs]

Originally Posted by Starless

So he's a witch?

No he isnt

[tabs]

Originally Posted by oldE

So, if I say I know diddly squat about something, am I bragging?

Best
Les

Yes you are.