Are there any conspiracy theorist left here?

a reply to: Xarian6

I read this as you and others getting upset by less and less people shouting out complimentary confirmation of your and their biases.

We all suffer from confirmation bias, but from my experience, those into the fringe of things seem to embrace it more than most. And, to be fair, those on the other side of the spectrum also embrace it with troubling severity.

It seems the minority, those in the middle ground, have the right balance. I personally believe I'm planted somewhere there in the middle, but others most certainly will disagree, and it's their prerogative.

I can give you a pretty good example of this confirmation bias too. there was a study done a few years ago, and a lot of the conspiracy sites jumped on it with triumphant satisfaction. The headline they carried was proudly stating that conspiracy theorists are smarter than non-conspiracy theorists, citing this study.

But no one, it seemed, bothered to read the actual study, as it's results pointed to exactly the opposite of what the headline said.

In my mind, this exemplifies conspiracy theorists to a tee...ironically, confirming my biases too.

But I at least didn't seek out this confirmation, it was served up on a silver platter.

You want to be taken seriously? Then I suggest you question EVERYTHING.

a reply to: MotherMayEye

Using a scientific method to approach such subjects is a good foundation from which to start from.

A classic example is UFOlogy. To cut through all the hoaxes, you need this foundation, otherwise you will get nowhere.

I cut my teeth on UFO's on this site, looking at cases with a scientific eye, but the subject itself is far from scientific.

a reply to: Chadwickus

There are still a few 'middle-ground' guys and girls who can entertain an idea without having to believe it. Or the decent skeptics who can ask questions and challenge an OP without being an arse about it. We've got a few members who can present weird stuff in a way that isn't provocative or defensive.

^^^ They are the ones I respect the most.

I was in a thread the other day with scores of replies from people who hadn't read the OP's link or anything about the topic. Some very strong opinions were bouncing around and the scathing sarcasm made me chuckle. It takes a big pair of balls, or something else, to dismiss or accuse based on actual, zero subject knowledge.

On the other hand, there's no requirement for anyone to reply to someone else. When a prickly skeptic targets a thread with insinuations of fakery, lies and "you're crazy," I never understand why the OP feels obliged to speak to them. Likewise, in a science thread, I've no idea why a member will answer someone giving it the 'all a lie' shtick like the flat earthers. It's so obvious that these types of posters aren't interested in a convo and won't ever change their position.

That makes them a waste of time and effort to engage with.

On the old social scattergram, those around the centre offer the most balance and it's always worth keeping an eye out for the smart outliers imo.

originally posted by: Chadwickus
a reply to: Xarian6

I read this as you and others getting upset by less and less people shouting out complimentary confirmation of your and their biases.

Then you read it wrong.

I'm highlighting a pattern, that's over all platforms, noticed by the smart folks that notice things..
And it's just the tip of the rather ugly iceberg.

i've never expected confirmation on my thoughts, nor compliments, nor stars etc.. I've lived my whole life noticing things and getting crap for speaking about it.. and hitting the (ingrained) wall of social fear those conversations lead to.. i'm used to being alone in my thoughts or just walking away and waiting for "reality" to catch up to my "fantasy"... too many times have we been right.. then ignored, when proven right, by the same folks that vehemently opposed such observations.. then those naysayers get the carrot and we get beaten with the stick.

It's backwards. and by design so no-one ever works out anything we just go in the same circles hitting the same "problems" every few pages/events, it's kept that way, WE are kept that way.. that's why sites like this exist.

Once you notice that, not just once but over about 6 months or longer, repeated over and over again.. smart folks make choices, many just walk away.. all.. by design

This problem is global, not just in one place/site.. there's big money behind dividing the populace into opposing factions, far more resources than I or the next poster could muster to counter.. and rules have changed so even if we get pro-active and catch agents at the game... we get banned... so.. who's in charge of truth then.. certainly not us.. not now, not ever.

a reply to: Chadwickus

Fair.

A while back, I was convinced that a man was an operative during 9/11. I had never believed in 9/11 conspiracy theories. Turns out that guy was an actor. Funny thing is, I'm usually decent at knowing when people are honest. Something still makes me wonder why he was able to emotionally present his story the way that would be expected. I've debated with myself since that possibly he knows something and that allowed him to take his own story seriously, like truth by proxy.

But because of that, I started to question what I read in Trump. Disingenuous is not an emotional trait that is visible with him. But now that I have learned that even my ability to read people can be somewhat flawed, or if not, I can be caused to doubt myself, my guard is up even more and I pay even more strict attention.

Or do I? Because I thought I did already.

I don't even believe in the typical UFO theories and yet I've seen one here in Ballston Spa, NY. I know that I saw something insane, but no reports or videos or anything even come close to resembling what I saw. Made an ass of myself mentioning it at all. Because I witnessed it all by myself.

A political quiz I took labeled me as only one point toward conservative/authoritarian. The dot that represented me was touching "0".

It's interesting because I am quite passionate about my stances. Those who know me know me as two different people - the quiet, observant, resting "I hate you" face type (it's just my face, dawg, chill) - the on-my-feet public speaking, passionate, man of a million facts and possibilities and the inevitable conclusions to every scenario type. Well, there is the one person few get to see... that's the if you argue or fight with me my mission is checkmate, foo type. Rare, that person is a cortisol injection overdose to the perceived enemy.

But I've learned to treat people as tomes instead of soldiers of different factions. I analyze the tomes and acquire as much information as possible, and set them on the memory shelf and wait for experience to prove which memory tomes to keep and which to place on the bad selection shelf. If a tome has new insight, I stay quiet. If old insight that I know, I communicate. If old insight proven wrong, the character of that one will determine whether I stay quiet. A tome written upon with a pencil can be erased and rewritten, and evidence of the scars of life underscore and highlight the changes; but a tome written in ink can only be replaced should it be in error.

Well I've decided to join today randomly cause atleast people on here are talking about the subjects that I enjoy (open minded), and usually there's always someone who's on to something also in YouTube comments aswell, conspiracy theorist love being right so after I scroll through people's stuff the truth just builds, this past cpl weeks personally as a conspiracy theorist / truth seeker/simple observer a cpl cases like jfk, malcolm X kurt cobain I feel are now solved, just a Lil taste of the conspiracies I've been following for years also 9/11 I feel is wrapping up aswell, the only thing that stops some people is they're disbelief cause it's hard for them to accept that lies have been produced & mass distrubuted on a world wide scale and they were 1 of the many fooled , people get insulted thinking that about themselves but I learnt that we have to get that people only know the information they have at a certain time, so we can't be too harsh but patient cause what's taken years for us to grasp is just too much a leap out of a blissful state to digest, hello above top secret

a reply to: onequestion

Show me a conspiracy theory worth looking at and Ill be a conspiracy theorist again.

a reply to: lortl
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Nope. Just a bunch of people that discuss the things they hate and call others names. For example, anyone who thinks differently than someone else. Also, membership requires that you may only complain and gripe while never offering solutions or wisdom.