When a conspiracy is over, what's next?

I just replied to a thread about HAARP. It was a quick snipit and link with an attempt at humor. But it made me think. Is the smashing of a theory and showing it to be nothing like it's thought to be a welcome thing? Even here, where the motto is "Deny Ignorance", a conspiracy detractor is looked upon with a bit of disdain.

So what is the general opinion of you as a conspiracy reader? Are you interested in the truth? Is the proliferation of the conspiracy something that you would rather have? Please share your thoughts, I am genuinely interested.

a reply to: network dude

Critical thinking is always a good thing.

a reply to: network dude

I think you are a big meanie for doing that. You probably told all of your friends that Santa and the Easter Bunny were not real, just because grown men believed that was no reason for you to squash their dreams.



All joking aside, if a 'conspiracy' is flawed from the outset there is not much you can do to make it viable other then have the Original Poster feign having no knowledge of it or using bogus/out of context sources which makes for a very frustrating dialogue.

The truth is very often boring and mondane but at the same time puts the blame were it belongs. Conspiracy is often filled with excitment and puts the blame somewere else so we can feel good about our selfs. Me I try to go for the truth.

Most of the kids I told there was no santa were genuinely glad to hear it. And pissed, why do parents do that? Their notion of lying is closer to innocence; "why do people purposefully lie, theres no reason for it".

Try asking parents the same question. Why do you lie about Santa? That whole contrived multi convoluted fantasy is nothing more than lies.

And the first lesson kids learn. How to lie...

I used to believe a lot of things that were fun to think about, and even get a little pissed when someone brought truth into the mix. Then I started to witness people actively ignoring truth in favor of the conspiracy. That kind of turned me into a debunker. Now when I hear of a conspiracy, I am excited, but not to dive into the "what if" portion of it, but to find facts that discredit it. If I nor anyone else can find facts to show it's a farce, then it deserved a lot more attention. But I just see the things that can be explained, should be, and for the simple reason that no more energy or discussion should be wasted on it, when real life issues exist. But that's not my call to make. And why I posed this question. Especially in light of where I am.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus
a reply to: network dude

I think you are a big meanie for doing that. You probably told all of your friends that Santa and the Easter Bunny were not real, just because grown men believed that was no reason for you to squash their dreams.



All joking aside, if a 'conspiracy' is flawed from the outset there is not much you can do to make it viable other then have the Original Poster feign having no knowledge of it or using bogus/out of context sources which makes for a very frustrating dialogue.

Santa is real. If you believe, you will receive. Plus, they wouldn't be able to track him on weather radar if he wasn't real. (I rest my case)

a reply to: network dude

I accept your logically sound argument.

network dude

My problem is that I don't trust anyone. I don't trust the CTers saying HAARP is a doomsday weather weapon and I don't trust the government shills saying its just a normal project, nothing to see here.

It's quite the dilemma.

I do believe that, whatever the case, we don't have the whole story.

I certainly don't caper about trying, not only to convince myself that I know the truth, but trying to convince others of the accuracy of my opinions as well.

most..not all..but most ppl here are seeking out some hidden truths, or to smash up nonsense. To be in the know either way.

a theory is put forward, then kicked and beaten until either it falls apart, or whatever is left is solid and you add on from that.
skepticism is the best friend of conspiracy theories though, as the point is to try and uncover the truth..and you will never find truth if you keep heaping bullcrap on top of things without trying to debunk anything.

If a theory has run its course, then its run its course and needs to be archived until something new pops up that relates, but until then, consider it debunked and move on.
What to do then?...never a shortage of new wacky and weird things to discuss in these parts. I love the net though. it can burn through or prop up a CT within weeks or even days what would have taken decades pre-internet.

originally posted by: CagliostroTheGreat
I do believe that, whatever the case, we don't have the whole story.

I certainly don't caper about trying, not only to convince myself that I know the truth, but trying to convince others of the accuracy of my opinions as well.

I hear what you're saying, and see merit in your words, but I dont trust you, because you could be a alien trying to create mistrust in our officials for your inevitable invasion plans. Perhaps the officials are telling the whole story, but the reptilian menace wants to confuse everyone.


-narrows eyes at you-

SaturnFX

Exactly. I don't trust me either. I have often considered the possibility that all I am is a cog in the conspiracy machine, ticking down to the Final Clampdown.

I for one find it frustrating that some ATSser think its there job to spread jokes around on the internet.
Frustrating because the thread gets derailed and quickly offtrack when someone randomly vomit out random jokes that they find funny and just love to clown around in a thread where people is trying to have a meaningful discussion and sharing information, perhaps not meaningful for the clown that wants throw some lame jokes around, but meaningful for someone else.

Its annoying as hell and I and many others report those clowns for derailing and presenting off topic material

None of us know anything for certain and to assume so is arrogant and lacks intellectual honesty.

The more I learn the less I know.

a reply to: intrptr

Every time I tell someone that this is why we won't be doing santa in our house, that our son will understand WE are the ones who recognize his good behavior, I am always told that I'll be depriving him of the experience that believing a lie isn't the end of the world..... That's a crap response imo.....


There will be no Santa here, sorry to the rest of my family lol.

As far as the OP, I'd say I search for the truth, even if it isn't as glamorous or entertaining as the conspiracy may have began.

-Alee

Double post!!! Oops

-Alee

originally posted by: onequestion
None of us know anything for certain and to assume so is arrogant and lacks intellectual honesty.

The more I learn the less I know.

I disagree. You have the choice in this life to accept what you are told, disbelieve what you are told, or verify what you are told to find the truth through life experience. Once you investigate something and experience it's intricacies, you are able to form an opinion based on fact. If you never spend the actual time to investigate things, you will likely live your life with the paranoid slant firmly intact. It's OK not to know something, but to actively ignore it, not participate in it, yet you fear it, yea, that's a problem.

When a conspiracy is over, what's next?

The dirty, ugly truth, and next, the Stars.....

Truth is always a good thing , but often quite boring.

sarcasm on.

The more time I spend on ATS the less I believe that conspiracy's now a days serve a purpose other than entertainment .

Most stuff is already debunked by the many debunker experts ATS has.

And the rest of the CT's become well eh... quite boring or absurd.
Nowadays most posts aren't well ... that interesting...Just look at the new posts ???

sarcasm off.

pffff.... Let's play pokemon go , oh yeah and Putin is made out of Darkmatter !

You all swear to never speak of it again and start planning how to spend your millions.

Oh, from the point of view of us pions? It's NEVER over!!!

All kidding aside, I think there will always be people that question it, whether you definitively prove or disprove a conspiracy. Some "conspiracies" are widely proven historical facts now, and people still doubt them, like the US government assassinating leftist political leaders in Latin america in the 80's. Bottom line is presenting the evidence is always a good thing, so people who care to do some research can find it. Whether people accept the evidence is a different story entirely, but any work that helps clarify a conspiracy will help all the clear-thinking people who stumble upon it later. Also, I think it's good to have a healthy mix of skeptics, paranoids, and sheeple in the population, it helps promote a free flow of ideas (even if most of the ideas are wrong haha).

Keep up the good work!