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Has being a Conspiracy Theorist actually provided any practicality in your life?

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posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 09:20 AM
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This website has helped me more than being a CTer. I find that many CT's are bogus or overhyped. I distrust mainstream accounts of many things, but I also don't trust many of the CT's that people on this site push. The site's deny ignorance logo helps me better sift through things and helps me critically think about many events that occur.



posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 09:28 AM
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One thing you will learn here over time, if you know something to be absolutely true and real, is the power of skepticism and disbelief to harden the mind blind the eyes. You will also learn about the unbelievable and herculean effort to suppress truth. This effort goes way beyond conspiracy friends. There is a very real goal to blind you by those that live in the shadows via a façade, to keep you in the foyer, hypnotized by ambiance, herded by tools and useful idiots.



posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 09:37 AM
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Logarock
One thing you will learn here over time, if you know something to be absolutely true and real, is the power of skepticism and disbelief to harden the mind blind the eyes. You will also learn about the unbelievable and herculean effort to suppress truth. This effort goes way beyond conspiracy friends. There is a very real goal to blind you by those that live in the shadows via a façade, to keep you in the foyer, hypnotized by ambiance, herded by tools and useful idiots.


The truth isn't suppressed by one malevolent entity though. There are many parties involved with silencing inconvenient truths that expose their duplicities. The reason it looks concerted is because there are so many people working their shady angles that eventually one shady angle bumps up against another shady angle and the two assholes work together to suppress the same truth since it is convenient for both of them.

Do not downplay the power of skepticism, it allows one to see through fallacies, poor evidence, and rhetoric. Not to mention, it has helped you come to the conclusion that we are being duped, so you use it yourself.



posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 09:52 AM
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I find knowing is better. I hate being left in the dark. Knowing at least I know what I am dealing with.



posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 10:47 AM
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reply to post by Krazysh0t
 



Skepticism is a tool. One must use it wisely and not let it rule the mind.



posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 10:52 AM
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reply to post by Logarock
 


You should be skeptical of everything, even your own beliefs (especially your own beliefs). The path to the truth is paved with skepticism. If your belief can survive any skeptical inquires then it is most probably the truth or as close to it as you can get. So what you said makes no sense.
edit on 27-1-2014 by Krazysh0t because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 11:03 AM
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Krazysh0t
reply to post by Logarock
 


If your belief can survive any skeptical inquires then it is most probably the truth or as close to it as you can get. So what you said makes no sense.



That is simply a logical fallacy. It assumes that anything under the heading of skepticism is trying to push an issue to truth. Skepticism has a yin and yang just like anything else. Any good skeptic should know that.



posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 11:09 AM
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Logarock

Krazysh0t
reply to post by Logarock
 


If your belief can survive any skeptical inquires then it is most probably the truth or as close to it as you can get. So what you said makes no sense.



That is simply a logical fallacy. It assumes that anything under the heading of skepticism is trying to push an issue to truth. Skepticism has a yin and yang just like anything else. Any good skeptic should know that.


How is it a logical fallacy? If someone is being skeptical just to be skeptical and you are sitting on the side of truth, his skeptical claims won't hold up to evidence and proof. Whether you convince the person or not of their folly is another issue. It also doesn't discount the person's arguments either. Their points may help you think about your position in a new light (even if they are wrong). Also keep in mind that there is no possible way to ever know the 100% truth of anything. Skepticism (even the kind you are hinting at) help open and illuminate the holes in mainstream truths as well as the fringe ones as well.
edit on 27-1-2014 by Krazysh0t because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 11:28 AM
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It's helped with research and reading things online.

I've read enough UFO debunking to know what news sources are credible.

Things from spelling errors, Google search results all coming up with all conspiracy blogs, no links, bad photos, no original source, not following basic resource/work-cited guidelines, and known hoaxers for example.

That is what I've gained, a trained eye.



posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 11:48 AM
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reply to post by Krazysh0t
 



I have not denied anything that you have said really. In a large way you are preaching to the choir. However if you are going to deny that skepticism is not the answer to all things, that it doesn't have an infallible formula, that skepticism is often subjective, that skepticism can simply be an excuse to shield the mind, that good research and skepticism are not synonymous then you are not really being skeptical but having cognitive difficulties.



posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 12:00 PM
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Practicality in my life?
Well I'm practically a masochist now. Got a splitting head-ache, but just HAD to log on and see what you're all talking about today! (lol)

Seriously though, good thread and great responses!
I feel like I've been stuck in the 'why?' stage of life.
If anything, I love the 'theories' more than the 'conspiracies'....know what I mean?
It's no so much that I believe everything is a conspiracy, but I really enjoy the theories that members come up with...the trading of information...and the way some things come together like puzzle pieces.

Sometimes the topics discussed do depress me...sometimes I take a small break from the site.
I always come back though, because I can't find people 'in real life' to talk about the big picture. Everyone is all wrapped up in their own little world, and I just CANNOT sit and talk about new curtains or Tupperware!

Practicality. Yes. I no longer blindly trust/believe other people above my own gut instincts/feelings/experiences. I trust myself much more now. I believe that is practical, lol.

(I talked to a friend last week, and tried discussing Fukushima. He said, "I thought that was fixed now." Ahhhhhh! I HAD to log onto ATS to be with you guys afterwards!) *sigh* the memory of that alone just started my head throbbing again.

jacygirl



posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 12:13 PM
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Conspiracy theory lead me to investigate and study NeuroLinguistic programming or more commonly called by the acronym NLP.

Now I can readily tell the BS artist from the sincere and the merely stupid with an agenda.

Even absolute morons can be articulate and witty. They are still fools. Thanks ATS for helping me to deny the ignorant.



posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 12:27 PM
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Logarock
reply to post by Krazysh0t
 



I have not denied anything that you have said really. In a large way you are preaching to the choir. However if you are going to deny that skepticism is not the answer to all things, that it doesn't have an infallible formula, that skepticism is often subjective, that skepticism can simply be an excuse to shield the mind, that good research and skepticism are not synonymous then you are not really being skeptical but having cognitive difficulties.



You are confusing skepticism with contrariness. When someone misuses skepticism or refuses to change their stance on being skeptic despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they are just being contrary. Contrarianism doesn't require intelligence to espouse, it just requires you to take the opposite opinion of your opponent. Skepticism does require intelligence because it requires you to understand both sides of the argument so you can ask the right questions about it. I can understand the confusion between the two concepts since it can be hard to tell the difference between someone who is being contrary versus someone who is being skeptical, not to mention contrarians hide behind the label of skepticism to hide their idiocy.



posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 01:01 PM
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Yes, it has.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Going down the rabbit hole was a depressing experience for the first few years (one helluva shock to the system), but it taught me to grow a thicker skin. I now look at the world around me with a far more analytical and critical mindset... no longer buying into the smoke and mirrors of being an unwitting victim to bull**** propaganda, out of control consumerism, bogus elections, believing everything I hear and read, trusting our official leaders to have our best interests in mind, etc.

For the past decade, I've been putting my financial affairs in order - completely getting out of debt, downsizing, relocating out of the city and moving to the countryside, becoming more self-sufficient, cashing out investments and putting the monies to better use, and so on. I no longer pay into the "system" making other people rich with my hard earned dollars.

I stopped living under the delusion that all is well and the false belief that our government is going to roll in and save the day if all hell breaks loose.

I'm ready for anything now.

It scares me to think of how I was living my life over a decade ago... I would have been up poop's creek without a paddle had the SHTF. That's no longer the case. I'm now prepared: mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially.


Moral of the story: Knowledge truly IS power.




posted on Jan, 27 2014 @ 08:24 PM
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Logarock
reply to post by Krazysh0t
 



Skepticism is a tool. One must use it wisely and not let it rule the mind.



My signature quote from Carl Sagan says it all and applies aptly to Conspiracy theories. Skeptical scrutiny....i.e. critical thinking is an art that is lost on many conspiracy theorists I have met. Many people on ATS label me a skeptic. They are right. I am. But they misinterpret my agreement on this point that I don't believe in conspiracy AT ALL. That, my friends, is not true. You can't work with government or law enforcement and *not* see examples of conspiracy. As long as there is corruption in the world, so there will also be conspiracy.

However, as another poster so eloquently pointed out, you have to know how to pick your battles. You have to know what can ultimately affect your life or future. Most importantly you have to decide what you can, will, or should do about it, if anything... That, in my opinion, is where most CT's fail.

Marty, I'm glad to hear that you are putting some perspective in your life. You have good and wonderful things in your life. Don't let real or imagined "theories" remove that reality as the main focus of your life.



posted on Jan, 28 2014 @ 01:06 AM
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reply to post by olaru12
 


Good call. NLP and marketing is so closely linked and guarded as professional techniques. They are the classic conspiracy that effects the real world.

I think the subject / history of. Should be taught at school.

So many people do not want to know how susceptible they are to suggestion. The illusion of control .....



posted on Jan, 28 2014 @ 08:11 PM
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reply to post by Im a Marty
 


Absolutely not, it's made my life more difficult if anything. But I wouldn't have it any other way, because I'd rather live in the light of truth than the shadows of ignorance.

I do miss the bliss of ignorance though. It was nice when I used to think the world was perfectly okay, that life on earth was normal and our social conditions acceptable, and that there were no malevolent agendas at play. But you can only live under a rock for so long before it falls on you.



posted on Jan, 28 2014 @ 08:52 PM
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I stopped paying taxes.

SUPER practical. Thank you CT'ers! If it weren't for all your hard work I would still be losing $25,000 a year for nothing but interest payments to banks. With that money I will be able to own my own property without further damaging my economy by taking a "mortgage" from other poor and unaware taxpayers.

Conspiracy Theories changed my life as in I may be ablr to have one now.
edit on 28-1-2014 by MALBOSIA because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 28 2014 @ 09:31 PM
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reply to post by MALBOSIA
 


Being a conspiracy theorist has led me to develope an insatiable interest in subjects not necessarily conspiracy related, such as near earth objects, coronal mass ejections, the Yellowstone super volcano, the Large Hadron Collider, bigfoot , the Louisiana sinkhole, radiation/Fukushima ,Mars, and quantum entanglement just to name a few. And it's all such great fun.
edit on 1/28/2014 by MissSmartypants because: punctuation



posted on Jan, 29 2014 @ 10:55 AM
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reply to post by Im a Marty
 


I'd say yes searching for the truth has definitely helped me to make more sense of the world I found myself in.

I was a very angry kid, because I saw all that was wrong with the world, but I lacked understanding.
In gaining more understanding (by studing conspiracies, paranormal, unknown, and my own personal experiences) I am continually expanding. In striving for truth I keep my soul burning bright.

If I had stopped looking for answers I would have compromised myself and given away my power. To turn my attention away and ignore what I know in my soul and bones would be to turn away from my own self and god.

While the conspiracy theorist's path may be difficult because of a number of factors, we have seen the thread that points to the mysteries to be unraveled, there is no turning back once ignorance is gone. I'd say yes ignorance is bliss, because truth is stranger than fiction.




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