Well it's Halloween time and so I decided to do something special and talk about a monster that everyone seems to like these days: Zombies!!!
Zombies are ofcourse the reanimated corpses of people who's only goal in their new life is to eat other people (preferably living).
Now there are lots of things that I (and I'm sure many others) have noticed about zombies, but I've narrowed it down to five different things.
So here are five things I've noticed about zombies:
5. They're hard to kill.
(Author's note: before anyone says it, yes I know zombies are technically dead, but because saying that you're killing them is the simplest term I can come up with when it concerns taking one out, I've decided to use that.)
Thanks to movies and television shows many people have been led to believe that zombies are easy to kill, what with many screens of only a few people taking on huge hordes of the undead, I would believe that too. The problem with this is that this is unrealistic (besides the fighting zombies part) and it would actually be pretty difficult to kill a zombie.
I'm sure that everyone knows that you have to destroy a zombie's brain inorder to kill it (you can cut a zombie's head and the head will still be alive) but this is not as easy as it sounds because the brain is actually a pretty small target. For most people they would have to get pretty close to someone if they are shooting them inorder to hit their brain, especially if you're using a pistol or even a shotgun, and if you have a melee weapon, you have to get up close regardless.
Now some people might think that it is okay to fight up close against a zombies because that is how it is often depicted in movies and TV, but infact...
4. People fight them the wrong way.
I know that in movies and on TV that often times battles with zombies are depicted as being up close and personal type of combat, and if you were to fight one or two of them up close there wouldn't be any problems, but if you were to fight an entire zombie horde... you're zombie food, because while you might be able to take a lot of them out, unless you can escape as quickly as possible, the zombies will overwhelm you and eat you!
The best way (and safest) to fight zombies is from a distance with a rifle, which is more accurate and has a greater range than a shotgun or a pistol.
Also, being up high (like in a tree) helps as well, just be sure you have a way to escape quickly incase a zombie horde is coming and you have to get out of there.
3. The supernatural explanation for them makes more sense than the viral explanation.
In almost all modern versions of zombies they are most often depicted as becoming member of the undead via a virus of some type, and while this make seem like a rational and logical explanation for why a zombie would exist in the first place, really the old traditional way that a corpse reanimates itself, via voodoo magic, makes more logical sense if you think about it.
Once a body is dead, it is dead, and short of a miracle or some break through in science, there is no way to bring it back to life, especially with a virus. A virus might stay in a dead body for a while, but eventually it to will die. Viruses and human bodies simply don't work the way they are depicted in zombie movies and TV shows, and despite sounding logical, it really isn't.
Magic on the other hand would make more of a logical sense of how a zombie comes to be, because magic tends to ignore those annoying little things like "science" and "biology" that would much make the possibly of zombies becoming real via a virus all but impossible.
2. Hollywood tries to make their existence logical.
While zombies have in the recent years have been depicted in many good (and bad) horror movies and TV shows, Hollywood also tries to make a rational, logical, and science based explanation for the existence of zombies, usually as a result of a virus reanimating a corpse, and as I said above, while this may sound plausible, it is almost certainly impossible.
Ofcourse Hollywood being Hollywood has found a way around this by creating zombies that were never dead, but infact is a person whom was infected by a virus that makes them act like zombie.
Despite how far more logical this is than a virus bringing a corpse back to life (kind of) or magic, the person is not really a zombie because they are not dead, they're just someone whom was infected with a virus that made them become insanely violent.
1. They turn people into psychopaths.
While many people might believe that a zombie apocalypse would be fun, the fact remains is that any apocalypse (including one involving zombies) would still be extremely dangerous, and you're still killing people (I know they're already dead and are trying to eat you, but still...). I don't see how anyone could possibly considered that to be fun... unless you're a psychopath.
Now I'm not saying that everyone who wonders or even believes that they would enjoy a zombie apocalypse is psychopath, I'm just saying that if you really do want one, or if you truly believe that it would be fun shooting walking corpses, you should probably have head examined.
Sure, it might seem fun in video games and movies, but really, who other than a psychopath would seriously enjoy shooting people in the head, or taking a chainsaw to them?
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
"You Know You Are a Conspiracy Theorist If…" a deceptive test to make people believe they are a conspiracy theorist
A few months ago I came across this "test" (which I found to be laughable win I saw it) to help a person tell a conspiracy theorist or not (view the test here).
I have some things to say about this "test" and some comments about "questions" that were asked (well, they're not really questions) as well as a few questions of my own:
You are capable of critical thinking.
This is a paradox. If a conspiracy theorist was capable of critical thinking, then they wouldn't be a conspiracy theorist because people who are capable of critical thinking would figure out that a conspiracy theory was BS.
You distrust mainstream media.
So do most skeptics, although for entirely different reasons than conspiracy theorists do.
You like nature.
Lots of people do. What does this have to do with being a conspiracy theorist?
You think it’s a good idea to spend the Friday after Thanksgiving with your family rather than camping outside Best Buy to get a cheap plasma television made in China.
That doesn't make you a conspiracy theorist. That makes you someone who is smart enough not to waste their time in the cold waiting for some store to open in the hope of finding bargains.
You think it’s a little strange that WTC building 7 came down at free fall speed on 9/11 yet it was never hit by a plane.
This might make you a conspiracy theorist, as well as someone who has conveniently forgotten that WTC7 was hit by something... a skyscraper.
You think that drones in America might not be for Al Qaeda.
This might also make you a conspiracy theorist... or it might make you someone who knows drones that fly over America are also used for multiple benign purposes.
You would like to be able to get on a plane without having to engage in a mandatory radiation bath and digital strip search.
As do many Americans, especially those who have gone through that process.
You have read a book in the past year.
What does reading a book have to do with being a conspiracy theorist?
You think you have the right to protest.
According to the first Amendment I don't think I have the right, I have the right, period!
You think the War on Terror is a scam.
That depends on what your definition of "scam" is.
You think the War on Drugs is a scam.
Again, that depends on what your definition of "scam" is. Does your definition mean completely bogus and fraudulent, or wasteful and unnecessary?
You think the anger directed at America from the Middle East could possibly be related to our foreign policy rather than hating how amazingly free we are.
This just means you've done more than five minutes worth of research about the Middle East.
You think the Republicans and Democrats are exactly the same on the important issues affecting our country.
This could mean you're a conspiracy theorist... it could also mean that you're a Libertarian, or you're just ticked off at both political parties.
You think believing in The Constitution does not constitute a terrorist act.
Who the Hell believes that believing in the constitution is a terrorist act? The only people who believe that are idiots!
You have heard of the Bill of Rights and can even name what some of them are.
As most Americans have and can...
You question whether the government loves you.
The government is not a living entity. It neither loves nor hates, therefore it is pointless to ask if it loves you or not.
You think the right to bear arms is not for hunting, rather so citizens can fight back should the government become a bunch of tyrannical thugs.
Yeah, this could mean that you're a conspiracy theorist... it could also mean that you just don't like the government, or you're afraid that the United States "could" become a tyrannical dictatorship.
You don’t own a television, and if you do, all you watch is RT, especially the Keiser Report and Capital Account.
(Reading that alone makes me wonder if this is satire) If all you watch on television is RT (Russia Today) then there is no need to finish this test. You are a conspiracy theorist.
You don’t think the NDAA is the name of Kesha’s latest single.
Who's Kesha?
You think rich, powerful and connected people should be subject to the rule of law and go to jail if they commit crimes. Even if they are bankers and work at JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs.
I'm sure that Bernie Madoff would disagree.
You think corporations aren’t people.
As do most other Americans.
You think Warren Buffet is a phony and a crony capitalist.
This could make you a conspiracy theorist. This could also make you a socialist, some one who doesn't like the rich, or someone who doesn't like Warren Buffet.
You don’t care that Warren Buffet likes cherry coke, hamburgers and ice cream. He’s still a bad guy.
What does what he likes to eat has to do with him being a bad person or not?
You know that gold was made illegal by FDR in 1933 and confiscated from the American people. You know that gold bullion remained illegal for Americans to own until 1975.
So American history experts are now considered to be conspiracy theorists?
You think politicians that push for war should be sent to fight on the front lines. If they are unable, their children should go.
Lots of people think this. It might mean that you're a conspiracy theorist, or it could mean that you're someone that is against war and feels that the ones who start them should be the ones who fight them.
You want your food to be labeled GMO so that you can make your own decisions on what you are consuming.
This could mean you're a conspiracy theorist, or it could meant that you're a health fanatic whom has been lead to believe that GMO foods are bad for you.
You grow your own food.
Lots of people do that. This has nothing to do with being a conspiracy theorist.
You buy raw milk.
You could be a conspiracy theorist, or much like with GMO foods, you could also be a health fanatic who believes that raw milk is better for you than pasteurized milk (the exact opposite is true).
You think food and energy should be included in inflation calculations.
I'm sure most economist would agree with this.
You are aware that the Department of Homeland Security has purchased 1.2 billion rounds of ammo in the past year.
A lot of people are aware of this. A lot of people are also aware that this is just another example of bureaucratic waste.
You question whether said ammo purchases are in anticipation of a Normandy beach style landing by Al Qaeda.
I'm sure if you believe that is the official explanation for why so much ammo was bought (instead of the real official explanation in that it was a good deal on the price it was being bought at) then you're probably a conspiracy theorist.
You think allowing a small group of unelected people (The Federal Reserve) to print unlimited amounts of money and distribute it as they please might not be a good idea.
I might be a conspiracy theorist if I thought this way too about the Federal Reserve, and I would think this way if it wasn't for the fact that members of the Federal Reserve board have to be confirmed by the Senate first before they can take office, and the fact that the Federal Reserve is not incharge of printing money (the Department of Treasury does that).
Now the final part of this "test" says this:
If you answered yes to more than five of the above, you might be a conspiracy theorist.
You also may be on the government’s terror watch list. Be very alarmed and report it to the authorities immediately should you discover your neighbors engaged in such uncivilized thought.
I answered yes to 19 of them. I'm definitely not a conspiracy theorist, and I'm almost certain I'm not on any terrorist watch list.
This test is extremely deceptive, and is meant to make the average person believe that they are a conspiracy theorist by throwing in a bunch of mundane questions that almost every American would answer yes to, and enough of them that it would be nearly impossible for anyone not to answer yes to atleast five. Heck, most of these questions have nothing to do with being a conspiracy theorist, and should not have been on there.
Being a conspiracy theorist has nothing to do with growing your own food or having no trust in the government. It has everything to do with whether or not you believe in conspiracy theories.
I have some things to say about this "test" and some comments about "questions" that were asked (well, they're not really questions) as well as a few questions of my own:
You are capable of critical thinking.
This is a paradox. If a conspiracy theorist was capable of critical thinking, then they wouldn't be a conspiracy theorist because people who are capable of critical thinking would figure out that a conspiracy theory was BS.
You distrust mainstream media.
So do most skeptics, although for entirely different reasons than conspiracy theorists do.
You like nature.
Lots of people do. What does this have to do with being a conspiracy theorist?
You think it’s a good idea to spend the Friday after Thanksgiving with your family rather than camping outside Best Buy to get a cheap plasma television made in China.
That doesn't make you a conspiracy theorist. That makes you someone who is smart enough not to waste their time in the cold waiting for some store to open in the hope of finding bargains.
You think it’s a little strange that WTC building 7 came down at free fall speed on 9/11 yet it was never hit by a plane.
This might make you a conspiracy theorist, as well as someone who has conveniently forgotten that WTC7 was hit by something... a skyscraper.
You think that drones in America might not be for Al Qaeda.
This might also make you a conspiracy theorist... or it might make you someone who knows drones that fly over America are also used for multiple benign purposes.
You would like to be able to get on a plane without having to engage in a mandatory radiation bath and digital strip search.
As do many Americans, especially those who have gone through that process.
You have read a book in the past year.
What does reading a book have to do with being a conspiracy theorist?
You think you have the right to protest.
According to the first Amendment I don't think I have the right, I have the right, period!
You think the War on Terror is a scam.
That depends on what your definition of "scam" is.
You think the War on Drugs is a scam.
Again, that depends on what your definition of "scam" is. Does your definition mean completely bogus and fraudulent, or wasteful and unnecessary?
You think the anger directed at America from the Middle East could possibly be related to our foreign policy rather than hating how amazingly free we are.
This just means you've done more than five minutes worth of research about the Middle East.
You think the Republicans and Democrats are exactly the same on the important issues affecting our country.
This could mean you're a conspiracy theorist... it could also mean that you're a Libertarian, or you're just ticked off at both political parties.
You think believing in The Constitution does not constitute a terrorist act.
Who the Hell believes that believing in the constitution is a terrorist act? The only people who believe that are idiots!
You have heard of the Bill of Rights and can even name what some of them are.
As most Americans have and can...
You question whether the government loves you.
The government is not a living entity. It neither loves nor hates, therefore it is pointless to ask if it loves you or not.
You think the right to bear arms is not for hunting, rather so citizens can fight back should the government become a bunch of tyrannical thugs.
Yeah, this could mean that you're a conspiracy theorist... it could also mean that you just don't like the government, or you're afraid that the United States "could" become a tyrannical dictatorship.
You don’t own a television, and if you do, all you watch is RT, especially the Keiser Report and Capital Account.
(Reading that alone makes me wonder if this is satire) If all you watch on television is RT (Russia Today) then there is no need to finish this test. You are a conspiracy theorist.
You don’t think the NDAA is the name of Kesha’s latest single.
Who's Kesha?
You think rich, powerful and connected people should be subject to the rule of law and go to jail if they commit crimes. Even if they are bankers and work at JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs.
I'm sure that Bernie Madoff would disagree.
You think corporations aren’t people.
As do most other Americans.
You think Warren Buffet is a phony and a crony capitalist.
This could make you a conspiracy theorist. This could also make you a socialist, some one who doesn't like the rich, or someone who doesn't like Warren Buffet.
You don’t care that Warren Buffet likes cherry coke, hamburgers and ice cream. He’s still a bad guy.
What does what he likes to eat has to do with him being a bad person or not?
You know that gold was made illegal by FDR in 1933 and confiscated from the American people. You know that gold bullion remained illegal for Americans to own until 1975.
So American history experts are now considered to be conspiracy theorists?
You think politicians that push for war should be sent to fight on the front lines. If they are unable, their children should go.
Lots of people think this. It might mean that you're a conspiracy theorist, or it could mean that you're someone that is against war and feels that the ones who start them should be the ones who fight them.
You want your food to be labeled GMO so that you can make your own decisions on what you are consuming.
This could mean you're a conspiracy theorist, or it could meant that you're a health fanatic whom has been lead to believe that GMO foods are bad for you.
You grow your own food.
Lots of people do that. This has nothing to do with being a conspiracy theorist.
You buy raw milk.
You could be a conspiracy theorist, or much like with GMO foods, you could also be a health fanatic who believes that raw milk is better for you than pasteurized milk (the exact opposite is true).
You think food and energy should be included in inflation calculations.
I'm sure most economist would agree with this.
You are aware that the Department of Homeland Security has purchased 1.2 billion rounds of ammo in the past year.
A lot of people are aware of this. A lot of people are also aware that this is just another example of bureaucratic waste.
You question whether said ammo purchases are in anticipation of a Normandy beach style landing by Al Qaeda.
I'm sure if you believe that is the official explanation for why so much ammo was bought (instead of the real official explanation in that it was a good deal on the price it was being bought at) then you're probably a conspiracy theorist.
You think allowing a small group of unelected people (The Federal Reserve) to print unlimited amounts of money and distribute it as they please might not be a good idea.
I might be a conspiracy theorist if I thought this way too about the Federal Reserve, and I would think this way if it wasn't for the fact that members of the Federal Reserve board have to be confirmed by the Senate first before they can take office, and the fact that the Federal Reserve is not incharge of printing money (the Department of Treasury does that).
Now the final part of this "test" says this:
If you answered yes to more than five of the above, you might be a conspiracy theorist.
You also may be on the government’s terror watch list. Be very alarmed and report it to the authorities immediately should you discover your neighbors engaged in such uncivilized thought.
I answered yes to 19 of them. I'm definitely not a conspiracy theorist, and I'm almost certain I'm not on any terrorist watch list.
This test is extremely deceptive, and is meant to make the average person believe that they are a conspiracy theorist by throwing in a bunch of mundane questions that almost every American would answer yes to, and enough of them that it would be nearly impossible for anyone not to answer yes to atleast five. Heck, most of these questions have nothing to do with being a conspiracy theorist, and should not have been on there.
Being a conspiracy theorist has nothing to do with growing your own food or having no trust in the government. It has everything to do with whether or not you believe in conspiracy theories.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
5 Things I've noticed about... Conspiracy Theorists on Youtube
If you're someone that makes a hobby of investigating conspiracy theories, you will eventually be lead to one place: Youtube.
Youtube seems to the gathering center conspiracy theorists on the internet due to the huge amount a conspiracy theory videos on that website (and I mean huge).
Now there are a lot of things that I have noticed about conspiracy theorists on Youtube that I could talk about, but I have narrowed it down to five different things.
So here are five things that I've noticed about conspiracy theorists on Youtube:
5. They can come up with some pretty bizarre conspiracy theories.
If you want to find a really bizarre conspiracy theory, then there is no better place to look than Youtube, because the conspiracy theorists on that website can come up with some very bizarre conspiracy theories. In fact some of the weirdest conspiracy theories that I have ever heard of are from videos on Youtube.
These conspiracy theories on Youtube can get so strange, and combined with a person's own behavior either in a video, or in the comments section, that it makes one wonder if that person is either a poe, or a fraud that is looking for attention (or to scam people), or severely mentally ill. In fact some conspiracy theorist on Youtube have been proven to be either mentally ill or frauds.
Some of these videos are so bizarre that I've had to stop watching them at times because I felt that it was driving me crazy (mostly rage) and making me want to destroy my computer in frustration over not only how some one could come up with some thing that crazy and stupid, but also in frustration over why Youtube would allow such a video to stay on the website.
If such videos make me nearly go crazy then I can't imagine what they do to people who take these videos seriously.
4. Their videos can be extremely long.
Sometimes a conspiracy theorist's video on Youtube can be short, sometimes they can be half an hour long, and sometimes they can go on for hours and hours.
Some of the longest videos that I have ever seen on Youtube have been from conspiracy theorists, and I'm not talking about an hour or two long. Some of these videos can be three to four to six hours long. In fact I think the longest one I have ever seen (I didn't actually watch it, I just noted the time) was forty hours long!
The only way someone could watch such videos is if they were unemployed and/or had no life what so ever. They would have to spend all of their time infront of a computer watching these poorly made and researched Youtube videos which would become essentially their only source of information about the world...
Besides just making abnormally long videos, conspiracy theorists on Youtube also tend to do this:
3. They create videos of an event quickly after an event happens.
Thanks mostly due to cheap (many times free), widely available, and easy to use video capturing and editing software, conspiracy theorist can now create videos at astonishingly amazing speeds after some event happens, sometimes even within hours of an event happening.
Usually these videos are pretty short, as well as poorly made and edited, but give them a few days and they will create a far longer conspiracy theory video about that event... that will still be poorly made and edited.
In fact this seems to be a pattern with many conspiracy theorists videos on Youtube, because...
2. They're videos tend to be poorly made and edited.
Some of conspiracy theorist's videos on Youtube are just unwatchable, and it's not just because of the length, or subject matter, or lack of any evidence presented within them when a conspiracy theorist tries to make their case about a conspiracy theory that they claim is real, but because they are just horrible videos to begin with.
Many of the videos are made are just very poorly done, and the editing and placement of segments and commentary within them is just horrible at times and appears to be just thrown together. The commentary alone in these videos are often not well thought out, and many times is just incoherent and often times makes many contradictions, and for the most part makes no sense what so ever.
Kind of sounds like a conspiracy theorist is general rather than just the ones on Youtube.
1. They don't like "non-believers".
Most conspiracy theorists in general do not like people who don't believe them and doubt the conspiracy theories that they are promoting are real, but on Youtube they take it to a different level entirely.
Many of them are just rude and very hostile towards anyone questions them. They down vote comments they don't like and mark them as spam in hopes of hiding the comments that have offended them. They false flag videos they don't like (mostly debunking videos) and outright threaten people who post debunking videos or comments expressing doubt in a conspiracy theory.
That's just the ones who mainly post comments.
The ones who post videos on the other hand might do all of that as well, plus they might just delete your comments from their own pages, and block you.
Kind of shows how open minded they are, doesn't it.
Youtube seems to the gathering center conspiracy theorists on the internet due to the huge amount a conspiracy theory videos on that website (and I mean huge).
Now there are a lot of things that I have noticed about conspiracy theorists on Youtube that I could talk about, but I have narrowed it down to five different things.
So here are five things that I've noticed about conspiracy theorists on Youtube:
5. They can come up with some pretty bizarre conspiracy theories.
If you want to find a really bizarre conspiracy theory, then there is no better place to look than Youtube, because the conspiracy theorists on that website can come up with some very bizarre conspiracy theories. In fact some of the weirdest conspiracy theories that I have ever heard of are from videos on Youtube.
These conspiracy theories on Youtube can get so strange, and combined with a person's own behavior either in a video, or in the comments section, that it makes one wonder if that person is either a poe, or a fraud that is looking for attention (or to scam people), or severely mentally ill. In fact some conspiracy theorist on Youtube have been proven to be either mentally ill or frauds.
Some of these videos are so bizarre that I've had to stop watching them at times because I felt that it was driving me crazy (mostly rage) and making me want to destroy my computer in frustration over not only how some one could come up with some thing that crazy and stupid, but also in frustration over why Youtube would allow such a video to stay on the website.
If such videos make me nearly go crazy then I can't imagine what they do to people who take these videos seriously.
4. Their videos can be extremely long.
Sometimes a conspiracy theorist's video on Youtube can be short, sometimes they can be half an hour long, and sometimes they can go on for hours and hours.
Some of the longest videos that I have ever seen on Youtube have been from conspiracy theorists, and I'm not talking about an hour or two long. Some of these videos can be three to four to six hours long. In fact I think the longest one I have ever seen (I didn't actually watch it, I just noted the time) was forty hours long!
The only way someone could watch such videos is if they were unemployed and/or had no life what so ever. They would have to spend all of their time infront of a computer watching these poorly made and researched Youtube videos which would become essentially their only source of information about the world...
Besides just making abnormally long videos, conspiracy theorists on Youtube also tend to do this:
3. They create videos of an event quickly after an event happens.
Thanks mostly due to cheap (many times free), widely available, and easy to use video capturing and editing software, conspiracy theorist can now create videos at astonishingly amazing speeds after some event happens, sometimes even within hours of an event happening.
Usually these videos are pretty short, as well as poorly made and edited, but give them a few days and they will create a far longer conspiracy theory video about that event... that will still be poorly made and edited.
In fact this seems to be a pattern with many conspiracy theorists videos on Youtube, because...
2. They're videos tend to be poorly made and edited.
Some of conspiracy theorist's videos on Youtube are just unwatchable, and it's not just because of the length, or subject matter, or lack of any evidence presented within them when a conspiracy theorist tries to make their case about a conspiracy theory that they claim is real, but because they are just horrible videos to begin with.
Many of the videos are made are just very poorly done, and the editing and placement of segments and commentary within them is just horrible at times and appears to be just thrown together. The commentary alone in these videos are often not well thought out, and many times is just incoherent and often times makes many contradictions, and for the most part makes no sense what so ever.
Kind of sounds like a conspiracy theorist is general rather than just the ones on Youtube.
1. They don't like "non-believers".
Most conspiracy theorists in general do not like people who don't believe them and doubt the conspiracy theories that they are promoting are real, but on Youtube they take it to a different level entirely.
Many of them are just rude and very hostile towards anyone questions them. They down vote comments they don't like and mark them as spam in hopes of hiding the comments that have offended them. They false flag videos they don't like (mostly debunking videos) and outright threaten people who post debunking videos or comments expressing doubt in a conspiracy theory.
That's just the ones who mainly post comments.
The ones who post videos on the other hand might do all of that as well, plus they might just delete your comments from their own pages, and block you.
Kind of shows how open minded they are, doesn't it.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
6 Conspiracy Theories that have no reason to exist
There are a lot conspiracy theories out there, most of which have no evidence to support the claims made, either because whatever evidence that has been put forth has been debunked, or no evidence has ever been put forth in the first place.
In fact there are some conspiracy theories that have no reason to continue to exist, or have no reason to exist in the first place, such as:
Moon Landing Hoax
Perhaps one of the older conspiracy theories out there, there are a lot of people who do not believe we went to the Moon, and that all of the videos (the hundreds of hours worth) and photos (the many thousands of them) taken from the Moon were all done on a sound stage.
The reasoning behind this is that it is believed by people who claim we did not go to the Moon that we did not have the technology to go to the Moon.
The problem with this argument is that we actually did have the technology to get to the Moon. Also, as surprising as this may sound, we actually didn't have the technology to fake going to the Moon.
There is also a ton of other evidence that says we did in fact go to the Moon, such as several tons worth of rocks and dirt that were brought back, the fact that not one of the hundreds of thousands of people who worked on the Moon landing project has ever said we didn't go to the Moon, or that the Soviets never said that we didn't get there, or the fact that the landing sites have been photographed by satellites orbiting the Moon.
9/11 conspiracy theories
Ever since that tragic day over 12 years ago there have been multiple conspiracy theories put forth concerning what happened that day, and while all of them tend to be different (from both who did it to how it was done) they all have one thing in common: They have all been debunked.
I know, a lot of people in the 9/11 "Truth" movement will say otherwise, and will claim that they have "evidence" that backs up their claims, the facts are is that when this so called evidence has been examined it's been shown to be either incorrect, or completely false, and it is now seriously considered by skeptics and debunkers that the only reason why anyone would continue to make these 9/11 conspiracy theory claims is that they are either self deluded, or mentally ill, or they are lying.
Autism - MMR vaccine connection
Ever since 1998 when Andrew Wakefield wrote and published a "research" paper in The Lancet that concluded that there was a "connection" between the MMR vaccine and autism (research of which has since proven to be both unethical and fraudulent and resulted in both the research paper being formerly retracted and Mr. Wakefield's name being removed from the General Medical Council, which is the British equivalency of having one's medical license revoked) there has been a conspiracy theory going around concerning the alleged connection and vaccine manufactures trying to suppress such information.
Besides the fact that none of this "information" has ever been suppressed, it has been proven by multiple scientific and medical research institutions that there is no connection what so ever between any vaccines and autism, and that all of the claims made by the anti-vaccination movement are wrong and false (and dangerous).
Project Blue Beam
Project Blue Beam was a conspiracy theory that was first brought to public attention in 1994 by an investigative journalist by the name of Serge Monast in which he claimed that NASA would use advance technology to simulate the second coming of Jesus Christ in order to start a New World Order.
So how much of this is true?
None of it.
Monast had no evidence what so ever of Project Blue Beam, or that anything like it even existed, and there is still no evidence to this day that there is or ever was a Project Blue Beam. Plus he also made several claims of when it was to implemented (1995, 1996, and 2000), all of which have clearly never happened.
Chemtrails
The chemtrail conspiracy theories first showed up in 1996, but hasn't really gained popularity amongst conspiracy theorists until about the last few years.
The basics of the conspiracy theory is that the government, or Illuminati, or some other group, is spraying chemicals from airplanes, and that what we believe to be contrails coming off of those planes are actually these chemicals that are being sprayed around the world some sort of malevolent purposes (what ever those purposes may be, as no one can seem to agree upon what they are for).
This conspiracy theory, despite how obviously easy it would be to prove it was true, has never been proven to be true, and that all of the claims made about what chemtrails are suppose to do have been proven false (sometimes at a level in which it is considered to be laughable).
President Obama was not born in America
Even before President Obama took the oath of office in 2009 there has been this huge conspiracy theory floating around that the President was not born in the United States, and is not an American citizen, and that there has been this huge cover up in order to keep him in office. The people who make these claims often times use a "Kenyan" birth certificate that has his name on and date of birth on it as "proof" of this.
Of course there are a few problems with this:
First, that "Kenyan" birth certificate is actually Australian, and it is an admitted hoax.
Second, President Obama has released his long-form birth certificate. The birth certificate that was certified by Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, a Republican.
So what evidence is there that President Obama wasn't born in the Untied States? None.
Every single claim of this conspiracy theory has been disproven, and every single time it's been taken to court, the judges have thrown it out and have even fined and imposed sanctions against some of the people who brought it to court for wasting the court's time.
In fact there are some conspiracy theories that have no reason to continue to exist, or have no reason to exist in the first place, such as:
Moon Landing Hoax
Perhaps one of the older conspiracy theories out there, there are a lot of people who do not believe we went to the Moon, and that all of the videos (the hundreds of hours worth) and photos (the many thousands of them) taken from the Moon were all done on a sound stage.
The reasoning behind this is that it is believed by people who claim we did not go to the Moon that we did not have the technology to go to the Moon.
The problem with this argument is that we actually did have the technology to get to the Moon. Also, as surprising as this may sound, we actually didn't have the technology to fake going to the Moon.
There is also a ton of other evidence that says we did in fact go to the Moon, such as several tons worth of rocks and dirt that were brought back, the fact that not one of the hundreds of thousands of people who worked on the Moon landing project has ever said we didn't go to the Moon, or that the Soviets never said that we didn't get there, or the fact that the landing sites have been photographed by satellites orbiting the Moon.
9/11 conspiracy theories
Ever since that tragic day over 12 years ago there have been multiple conspiracy theories put forth concerning what happened that day, and while all of them tend to be different (from both who did it to how it was done) they all have one thing in common: They have all been debunked.
I know, a lot of people in the 9/11 "Truth" movement will say otherwise, and will claim that they have "evidence" that backs up their claims, the facts are is that when this so called evidence has been examined it's been shown to be either incorrect, or completely false, and it is now seriously considered by skeptics and debunkers that the only reason why anyone would continue to make these 9/11 conspiracy theory claims is that they are either self deluded, or mentally ill, or they are lying.
Autism - MMR vaccine connection
Ever since 1998 when Andrew Wakefield wrote and published a "research" paper in The Lancet that concluded that there was a "connection" between the MMR vaccine and autism (research of which has since proven to be both unethical and fraudulent and resulted in both the research paper being formerly retracted and Mr. Wakefield's name being removed from the General Medical Council, which is the British equivalency of having one's medical license revoked) there has been a conspiracy theory going around concerning the alleged connection and vaccine manufactures trying to suppress such information.
Besides the fact that none of this "information" has ever been suppressed, it has been proven by multiple scientific and medical research institutions that there is no connection what so ever between any vaccines and autism, and that all of the claims made by the anti-vaccination movement are wrong and false (and dangerous).
Project Blue Beam
Project Blue Beam was a conspiracy theory that was first brought to public attention in 1994 by an investigative journalist by the name of Serge Monast in which he claimed that NASA would use advance technology to simulate the second coming of Jesus Christ in order to start a New World Order.
So how much of this is true?
None of it.
Monast had no evidence what so ever of Project Blue Beam, or that anything like it even existed, and there is still no evidence to this day that there is or ever was a Project Blue Beam. Plus he also made several claims of when it was to implemented (1995, 1996, and 2000), all of which have clearly never happened.
Chemtrails
The chemtrail conspiracy theories first showed up in 1996, but hasn't really gained popularity amongst conspiracy theorists until about the last few years.
The basics of the conspiracy theory is that the government, or Illuminati, or some other group, is spraying chemicals from airplanes, and that what we believe to be contrails coming off of those planes are actually these chemicals that are being sprayed around the world some sort of malevolent purposes (what ever those purposes may be, as no one can seem to agree upon what they are for).
This conspiracy theory, despite how obviously easy it would be to prove it was true, has never been proven to be true, and that all of the claims made about what chemtrails are suppose to do have been proven false (sometimes at a level in which it is considered to be laughable).
President Obama was not born in America
Even before President Obama took the oath of office in 2009 there has been this huge conspiracy theory floating around that the President was not born in the United States, and is not an American citizen, and that there has been this huge cover up in order to keep him in office. The people who make these claims often times use a "Kenyan" birth certificate that has his name on and date of birth on it as "proof" of this.
Of course there are a few problems with this:
First, that "Kenyan" birth certificate is actually Australian, and it is an admitted hoax.
Second, President Obama has released his long-form birth certificate. The birth certificate that was certified by Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, a Republican.
So what evidence is there that President Obama wasn't born in the Untied States? None.
Every single claim of this conspiracy theory has been disproven, and every single time it's been taken to court, the judges have thrown it out and have even fined and imposed sanctions against some of the people who brought it to court for wasting the court's time.
Friday, October 11, 2013
7 Reasons why aliens haven't talked to us
For decades now we have been trying communicate with other intelligent life else where in the universe, or at the very least find proof that they are other intelligent life forms out there in the universe.
Despite all of our efforts through SETI and other programs like SETI, we still haven't found any proof that there are other intelligent life forms out there.
So why is it that despite all of our efforts to find and communicate with other intelligent life forms in the universe we still haven't done so?
Well, there are a few reasons why we haven't yet:
They don't exist.
As difficult (and statistically improbable) as it may seem to be, there is a very real (yet microscopic) possibly that the reason why aliens haven't talked to us yet is because their is no other life in the universe, or at the very least that there are no other worlds besides this one that has life on them that have evolved into intelligent life forms.
They're not advanced enough to communicate with us or get here.
One of the reasons why aliens may have never communicated with us or have come to our planet is because they are not technologically advanced enough to either travel to the stars, or create a communication system that would allow them to send out signals into interstellar space. This isn't very surprising since we are barely able to do this ourselves (By the way, we are able to travel to the stars, and we do have a technology that would allow us to do so if we were to give it the funding. It's called nuclear pulse propulsion).
Despite the fact that the universe is around 13.8 billion years old, there is no reason to believe that there are any other civilizations out there that are just as advanced, if not more advanced than we are, and that we may be the most advanced civilization in the universe. But, considering how old the universe is, there is also no reason to believe that there are no civilizations out there that are far more advanced than we are as well, and can easily get from one star to another.
They are able to communicate with us and even get here, they are just very far away.
Maybe they are able to travel between the stars, and even able to send out radio signals, but they just haven't gotten here because of one simple reason: distance.
The universe is a very vast place, and the fact is that unless you have a way to travel and/or communicate faster than the speed of light, it can take years, even centuries, for a radio signal or a space ship to get from one star system to another, so it is entirely possible that the reason why we have never found an alien radio signal, or that an alien space ship has never come here, is because it just hasn't reached us yet.
They are unaware of our existence.
One of the reasons why aliens have never communicated with us is the same reason why we haven't communicated with them: they don't know we are here.
It is entirely possible that an intelligent alien species has seen and heard our radio signals, and either can not figure out where it came from, or they can't understand it and dismiss it as natural phenomenon (which we could be doing with radio signals from space right now that we believe are natural radio signals given off by stars, but are really alien radio signals).
Plus, who is to say that they are even looking for other intelligent life out there like we are? For all that we know aliens might not even believe that it is possible for intelligent life to exist on other worlds, and thus aren't even trying to find other intelligent life forms out there in the universe.
They don't want to.
There is the very good possibility that the reason why aliens have yet to communicate with us is because they have no reason or desire to communicate with us.
This could be because of humans are to violent for them to wish to communicate with, or they may be xenophobic and have no desire to communicate with anyone.
There is also the very real possibility that we are just to primitive for them to consider it worth their time to communicate with. In fact we could be so primitive to them that...
They don't consider us to be intelligent.
Ever hear the old saying that the reason why aliens have never landed on Earth is because they are looking for intelligent life and they didn't find any here? Well, that could be the exact reason why aliens have never come here.
It is entirely possible that we could be so far below an alien species in terms of technology and intelligence that they don't even consider us to be intelligent life forms, and that they could consider themselves to be as far beyond us as we are beyond a chimpanzee.
They have laws that forbid them form communicating with us.
In the Star Trek universe there is this one law that I'm sure that every trekkie knows about: the Prime Directive.
The Prime Directive basically states that Starfleet may not interfere with the development of an alien civilization, particularly a more primitive one, even if the interference is for the betterment of that civilization (unless you happen to be Captain James T. Kirk, in which case it's apparently okay).
It is entirely possible (even likely) that an advanced alien civilization have their own version of the Prime Directive, and are thus forbidden by their own laws from communicating with us, and are limited to just studying us.
Despite all of our efforts through SETI and other programs like SETI, we still haven't found any proof that there are other intelligent life forms out there.
So why is it that despite all of our efforts to find and communicate with other intelligent life forms in the universe we still haven't done so?
Well, there are a few reasons why we haven't yet:
They don't exist.
As difficult (and statistically improbable) as it may seem to be, there is a very real (yet microscopic) possibly that the reason why aliens haven't talked to us yet is because their is no other life in the universe, or at the very least that there are no other worlds besides this one that has life on them that have evolved into intelligent life forms.
They're not advanced enough to communicate with us or get here.
One of the reasons why aliens may have never communicated with us or have come to our planet is because they are not technologically advanced enough to either travel to the stars, or create a communication system that would allow them to send out signals into interstellar space. This isn't very surprising since we are barely able to do this ourselves (By the way, we are able to travel to the stars, and we do have a technology that would allow us to do so if we were to give it the funding. It's called nuclear pulse propulsion).
Despite the fact that the universe is around 13.8 billion years old, there is no reason to believe that there are any other civilizations out there that are just as advanced, if not more advanced than we are, and that we may be the most advanced civilization in the universe. But, considering how old the universe is, there is also no reason to believe that there are no civilizations out there that are far more advanced than we are as well, and can easily get from one star to another.
They are able to communicate with us and even get here, they are just very far away.
Maybe they are able to travel between the stars, and even able to send out radio signals, but they just haven't gotten here because of one simple reason: distance.
The universe is a very vast place, and the fact is that unless you have a way to travel and/or communicate faster than the speed of light, it can take years, even centuries, for a radio signal or a space ship to get from one star system to another, so it is entirely possible that the reason why we have never found an alien radio signal, or that an alien space ship has never come here, is because it just hasn't reached us yet.
They are unaware of our existence.
One of the reasons why aliens have never communicated with us is the same reason why we haven't communicated with them: they don't know we are here.
It is entirely possible that an intelligent alien species has seen and heard our radio signals, and either can not figure out where it came from, or they can't understand it and dismiss it as natural phenomenon (which we could be doing with radio signals from space right now that we believe are natural radio signals given off by stars, but are really alien radio signals).
Plus, who is to say that they are even looking for other intelligent life out there like we are? For all that we know aliens might not even believe that it is possible for intelligent life to exist on other worlds, and thus aren't even trying to find other intelligent life forms out there in the universe.
They don't want to.
There is the very good possibility that the reason why aliens have yet to communicate with us is because they have no reason or desire to communicate with us.
This could be because of humans are to violent for them to wish to communicate with, or they may be xenophobic and have no desire to communicate with anyone.
There is also the very real possibility that we are just to primitive for them to consider it worth their time to communicate with. In fact we could be so primitive to them that...
They don't consider us to be intelligent.
Ever hear the old saying that the reason why aliens have never landed on Earth is because they are looking for intelligent life and they didn't find any here? Well, that could be the exact reason why aliens have never come here.
It is entirely possible that we could be so far below an alien species in terms of technology and intelligence that they don't even consider us to be intelligent life forms, and that they could consider themselves to be as far beyond us as we are beyond a chimpanzee.
They have laws that forbid them form communicating with us.
In the Star Trek universe there is this one law that I'm sure that every trekkie knows about: the Prime Directive.
The Prime Directive basically states that Starfleet may not interfere with the development of an alien civilization, particularly a more primitive one, even if the interference is for the betterment of that civilization (unless you happen to be Captain James T. Kirk, in which case it's apparently okay).
It is entirely possible (even likely) that an advanced alien civilization have their own version of the Prime Directive, and are thus forbidden by their own laws from communicating with us, and are limited to just studying us.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
If the Government is shut down, then who is paying the shills?
It's been a week now since the part of the federal government shut down due to lack of funding because Congress can not agree on a budget.
Since much of the government has been shut down due to funding there is a question I have for conspiracy theorists: Who is paying the shills?
Now according to many conspiracy theorists shills are apparently anyone who goes around the internet spreads what they consider to be "dis-information" to discredit their conspiracy theories (which for some reason is often times backed up with facts and logic).
Basically, skeptics and debunkers (those people claim to be volunteering their time to debunk conspiracy theories on the internet, but according to many conspiracy theorists, are being paid by the government to spread dis-information, and who's only "evidence" they have to prove that they are shills is simply that they disagree with the conspiracy theorist).
So if the government is shut down, then why do shills like myself (according to conspiracy theorists) still have their sites up, and are still posting blog articles debunking conspiracy theories?
Sure there are some Federal agencies still up and running, and their are still some government employees who are considered essential for running the government who are still working (granted many of them aren't actually going to be paid until after Congress comes up with a budget that gets approved by the president).
Now certainly spreading "dis-information" over the internet couldn't possibly be an essential part of government, could it? I can't see any logical reason why it would be.
Maybe the shills are being paid by the [insert some dark and shadowy group here] and that's the reason why they are continuing to spread their facts and logic based "dis-information".
Or, perhaps skeptics and debunkers really aren't shills, and they're not being paid by the government to spread what conspiracy theorists consider to be dis-information.
Perhaps what they are really spreading is research based facts and logic, and that they are doing it on their own and are not being paid by anyone.
Perhaps the real reason why conspiracy theorists believe that skeptics and debunkers are shills aren't because they are, but because they can't accept the fact someone has looked at the facts of some conspiracy theory and have concluded something different, and thus in their minds the only "logical" conclusion that they can come up with is that those people who are saying that a conspiracy theory is bogus is that the person whom is claiming that the conspiracy theory is bogus is being paid to say so.
Since much of the government has been shut down due to funding there is a question I have for conspiracy theorists: Who is paying the shills?
Now according to many conspiracy theorists shills are apparently anyone who goes around the internet spreads what they consider to be "dis-information" to discredit their conspiracy theories (which for some reason is often times backed up with facts and logic).
Basically, skeptics and debunkers (those people claim to be volunteering their time to debunk conspiracy theories on the internet, but according to many conspiracy theorists, are being paid by the government to spread dis-information, and who's only "evidence" they have to prove that they are shills is simply that they disagree with the conspiracy theorist).
So if the government is shut down, then why do shills like myself (according to conspiracy theorists) still have their sites up, and are still posting blog articles debunking conspiracy theories?
Sure there are some Federal agencies still up and running, and their are still some government employees who are considered essential for running the government who are still working (granted many of them aren't actually going to be paid until after Congress comes up with a budget that gets approved by the president).
Now certainly spreading "dis-information" over the internet couldn't possibly be an essential part of government, could it? I can't see any logical reason why it would be.
Maybe the shills are being paid by the [insert some dark and shadowy group here] and that's the reason why they are continuing to spread their facts and logic based "dis-information".
Or, perhaps skeptics and debunkers really aren't shills, and they're not being paid by the government to spread what conspiracy theorists consider to be dis-information.
Perhaps what they are really spreading is research based facts and logic, and that they are doing it on their own and are not being paid by anyone.
Perhaps the real reason why conspiracy theorists believe that skeptics and debunkers are shills aren't because they are, but because they can't accept the fact someone has looked at the facts of some conspiracy theory and have concluded something different, and thus in their minds the only "logical" conclusion that they can come up with is that those people who are saying that a conspiracy theory is bogus is that the person whom is claiming that the conspiracy theory is bogus is being paid to say so.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Be skeptical of what you see on the Internet
Recently on my Facebook page a couple of people posted a very disturbing photo showing a heavily tattooed white male in what appears to be in his 20's apparently forcing a cute little puppy to drink a bottle of vodka. I was even asked by one of the people whom posted the image on their page to post the photo on this blog in hopes of actually finding the person and getting the person arrested, because allegedly that person had not been arrested yet.
I decided not to post the photo for two main reasons:
First, I considered the photo to be just to disturbing and graphic and might not just turn people away, but could result in people sending complaints to Blogger.com over the contents of the post, which could result in this blog having restrictions placed against it, or have the post pulled and removed.
And second, I don't know story behind that photo.
For one thing the person might have been making a very distasteful joke and only made it look like he was pouring vodka down the puppy's throat when in reality the bottle was already empty or sealed (it didn't look like there was any liquid in the bottle, or at least that any liquid was leaving the bottle), or, he could have been taking the bottle away from the puppy after it got a hold of it (and if you've ever puppy, you know they will get a hold of anything they can).
As it turns out, that's exactly what happened [read here]. The person in the photo wasn't trying to hurt the puppy, he was trying to prevent the puppy from accidentally hurting itself.
It literally took me two minutes to find out the truth behind that photo. All I did was take the photo, and dragged and dropped it into Google Image search, and as fast as my internet connection could take me, I found multiple pages that clearly show that the person was not abusing the puppy, which is why the guy was never arrested, because he never committed a crime.
This is a lesson for everyone when they see something like that photo on the internet and they're asked to repost it: do your research first on the subject at hand before you go and repost such a thing. It may not be what it seems, and all you may be doing is bringing unnecessary harm and grief to a person who doesn't not deserve it. Or the person or people may have already been caught and tried and convicted, and thus it would be pointless to repost such a photo.
Besides all of that, if the person is innocent (as this person is) you could be opening yourself up to a potential lawsuit from that person.
The lessons here are always be skeptical when you see something on the internet that outrages you, and do your research first before you repost something. It may not be what it seems.
I decided not to post the photo for two main reasons:
First, I considered the photo to be just to disturbing and graphic and might not just turn people away, but could result in people sending complaints to Blogger.com over the contents of the post, which could result in this blog having restrictions placed against it, or have the post pulled and removed.
And second, I don't know story behind that photo.
For one thing the person might have been making a very distasteful joke and only made it look like he was pouring vodka down the puppy's throat when in reality the bottle was already empty or sealed (it didn't look like there was any liquid in the bottle, or at least that any liquid was leaving the bottle), or, he could have been taking the bottle away from the puppy after it got a hold of it (and if you've ever puppy, you know they will get a hold of anything they can).
As it turns out, that's exactly what happened [read here]. The person in the photo wasn't trying to hurt the puppy, he was trying to prevent the puppy from accidentally hurting itself.
It literally took me two minutes to find out the truth behind that photo. All I did was take the photo, and dragged and dropped it into Google Image search, and as fast as my internet connection could take me, I found multiple pages that clearly show that the person was not abusing the puppy, which is why the guy was never arrested, because he never committed a crime.
This is a lesson for everyone when they see something like that photo on the internet and they're asked to repost it: do your research first on the subject at hand before you go and repost such a thing. It may not be what it seems, and all you may be doing is bringing unnecessary harm and grief to a person who doesn't not deserve it. Or the person or people may have already been caught and tried and convicted, and thus it would be pointless to repost such a photo.
Besides all of that, if the person is innocent (as this person is) you could be opening yourself up to a potential lawsuit from that person.
The lessons here are always be skeptical when you see something on the internet that outrages you, and do your research first before you repost something. It may not be what it seems.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
5 Things I've noticed about... Bizarre Conspiracy Theories
When you dive into the world of conspiracy theories (either as a skeptic, or a conspiracy theorist, or just a curious onlooker) you will ultimately come across some conspiracy theories that sound really, really bizarre...
In fact ever since I started doing serious skepticism and debunking and investigating conspiracy theories I have found conspiracy theories so strange that I could never have possibly have thought of them (which is probably a good thing).
Now while there are a lot of things I have noticed about bizarre conspiracy theories, I have narrowed it down to five different things.
So here are five things I've noticed about bizarre conspiracy theories:
5. They're indicators of mental illness.
First I want to say that anyone who believes that the world is controlled by shape-shifting aliens, or that the World Trade Center towers were brought down by lasers, or that the government is using radio signals to attack peoples minds, or believes in crisis actors, or believes that chemtrails are real is not necessarily mentally ill... I'm just saying it's a pretty strong indicator of mental illness, especially when you consider the fact that others who also believe in such conspiracy theories have engaged in behavior that strongly indicates that they are mentally ill (such as making long and incoherent rants, or harassing people, or making threats), or actually has been found out or proven to be mentally ill.
It's not just the people who believe in them either. Many of the people whom have created the most bizarre conspiracy theories out there are they themselves believed to be mentally ill. Even the ones who are very intelligent and hold college degrees, but come up with these weird conspiracy theories, are automatically assumed to be mentally ill because it's really the most logical explanation for many skeptics concerning a person whom is very smart but believes in really weird stuff.
4. There is no deep end to them.
Have you ever heard or read about a conspiracy theory that made you think, "there is no way that there can be something stranger than this..." Well, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but trust me when I say this, there is a conspiracy theory out there that is more bizarre than what you have just heard or read about. And if there isn't one, one will be invented soon enough.
Now I don't blame anyone for believing that whenever they hear about a crazy conspiracy theory that they believe that it is the craziest conspiracy theory out there, I use to believe that myself when I came across a really bizarre conspiracy, but then I would be proven wrong again and again whenever I kept coming across one even more bizarre than the next one, it kind of destroyed my ability to believe that there is a bottom to conspiracy theory craziness.
In fact some are so bizarre that...
3. They are confused for satire.
It really should not surprise anyone that there are some conspiracy theories out there that are either so weird, or so bizarre, that some people don't believe that it is a real conspiracy theory (well, as real as one can be) and that it was made up as a parody of other conspiracy theories, or some type of satire, or, as some conspiracy theorists may claim, dis-information.
This is something that even I have assumed at times whenever I see a bizarre conspiracy theory, either in the hope that no one can seriously be so crazy that they could come up with such a thing, or that it just looks like satire.
In fact some have actually turned out to be satire (or a hoax) but because some conspiracy theorists can't tell the difference between what is real and what is fake, some of them assume that it is real.
2. Other conspiracy theorists will debunk them in an attempt to look credible.
Sometimes a conspiracy theorist will debunk an even more bizarre conspiracy theory (usually about the same event) in order to either look like they are capable of not accepting every conspiracy theory that is put out there, or to make their own conspiracy theory look more credible by making people believe that they have done their research and have discarded any theories that do not prove true (except their own).
Now the real probable reason why conspiracy theorists reject and even debunk the more bizarre sounding conspiracy theories is because if they don't then it makes it appear as if they also accept those conspiracy theories, and it might also help to make the conspiracy theory that they promote appear less bizarre as well. The only problem with that is...
1. Most conspiracy theories are bizarre.
Just because a conspiracy theory at least sounds "plausible" (and I use that term very loosely) or because a lot of conspiracy theorists accept it, it doesn't mean that particular conspiracy theory isn't any less bizarre then the one that doesn't sound plausible at all. An example of this would be the various 9/11 conspiracy theories, which in my opinion all of them sound just as bizarre as the one that is considered to be the most bizarre, the space laser theory.
The fact is that almost every conspiracy theory there is is actually pretty bizarre, and that the only reason why it might sound less bizarre than other conspiracy theories is that it at least (usually) involves something that might exist, rather than other really bizarre conspiracy theories that involves something that does not exist.
And of course just like with the bizarre conspiracy theories, all conspiracy theories have one thing in common: They all end up getting debunked.
In fact ever since I started doing serious skepticism and debunking and investigating conspiracy theories I have found conspiracy theories so strange that I could never have possibly have thought of them (which is probably a good thing).
Now while there are a lot of things I have noticed about bizarre conspiracy theories, I have narrowed it down to five different things.
So here are five things I've noticed about bizarre conspiracy theories:
5. They're indicators of mental illness.
First I want to say that anyone who believes that the world is controlled by shape-shifting aliens, or that the World Trade Center towers were brought down by lasers, or that the government is using radio signals to attack peoples minds, or believes in crisis actors, or believes that chemtrails are real is not necessarily mentally ill... I'm just saying it's a pretty strong indicator of mental illness, especially when you consider the fact that others who also believe in such conspiracy theories have engaged in behavior that strongly indicates that they are mentally ill (such as making long and incoherent rants, or harassing people, or making threats), or actually has been found out or proven to be mentally ill.
It's not just the people who believe in them either. Many of the people whom have created the most bizarre conspiracy theories out there are they themselves believed to be mentally ill. Even the ones who are very intelligent and hold college degrees, but come up with these weird conspiracy theories, are automatically assumed to be mentally ill because it's really the most logical explanation for many skeptics concerning a person whom is very smart but believes in really weird stuff.
4. There is no deep end to them.
Have you ever heard or read about a conspiracy theory that made you think, "there is no way that there can be something stranger than this..." Well, I don't mean to burst your bubble, but trust me when I say this, there is a conspiracy theory out there that is more bizarre than what you have just heard or read about. And if there isn't one, one will be invented soon enough.
Now I don't blame anyone for believing that whenever they hear about a crazy conspiracy theory that they believe that it is the craziest conspiracy theory out there, I use to believe that myself when I came across a really bizarre conspiracy, but then I would be proven wrong again and again whenever I kept coming across one even more bizarre than the next one, it kind of destroyed my ability to believe that there is a bottom to conspiracy theory craziness.
In fact some are so bizarre that...
3. They are confused for satire.
It really should not surprise anyone that there are some conspiracy theories out there that are either so weird, or so bizarre, that some people don't believe that it is a real conspiracy theory (well, as real as one can be) and that it was made up as a parody of other conspiracy theories, or some type of satire, or, as some conspiracy theorists may claim, dis-information.
This is something that even I have assumed at times whenever I see a bizarre conspiracy theory, either in the hope that no one can seriously be so crazy that they could come up with such a thing, or that it just looks like satire.
In fact some have actually turned out to be satire (or a hoax) but because some conspiracy theorists can't tell the difference between what is real and what is fake, some of them assume that it is real.
2. Other conspiracy theorists will debunk them in an attempt to look credible.
Sometimes a conspiracy theorist will debunk an even more bizarre conspiracy theory (usually about the same event) in order to either look like they are capable of not accepting every conspiracy theory that is put out there, or to make their own conspiracy theory look more credible by making people believe that they have done their research and have discarded any theories that do not prove true (except their own).
Now the real probable reason why conspiracy theorists reject and even debunk the more bizarre sounding conspiracy theories is because if they don't then it makes it appear as if they also accept those conspiracy theories, and it might also help to make the conspiracy theory that they promote appear less bizarre as well. The only problem with that is...
1. Most conspiracy theories are bizarre.
Just because a conspiracy theory at least sounds "plausible" (and I use that term very loosely) or because a lot of conspiracy theorists accept it, it doesn't mean that particular conspiracy theory isn't any less bizarre then the one that doesn't sound plausible at all. An example of this would be the various 9/11 conspiracy theories, which in my opinion all of them sound just as bizarre as the one that is considered to be the most bizarre, the space laser theory.
The fact is that almost every conspiracy theory there is is actually pretty bizarre, and that the only reason why it might sound less bizarre than other conspiracy theories is that it at least (usually) involves something that might exist, rather than other really bizarre conspiracy theories that involves something that does not exist.
And of course just like with the bizarre conspiracy theories, all conspiracy theories have one thing in common: They all end up getting debunked.
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