Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study. (yes I know we don't need a study)

[CousinIT]

https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/science/2021/07/25/conspiracy-theorists-lack-critical-thinking

The more people believe in conspiracy theories, the worse they perform on critical thinking tests, a new study has confirmed.

The French researchers ran two studies, where they assessed the critical thinking skills of 338 undergraduate students using a French version of a teaching and testing tool known as the Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test.

They then scored the students’ tendencies towards conspiracy beliefs and their personal assessment of their critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking is the objective analysis and evaluation of a situation – and requires a number of cognitive skills.

These include the ability to think systematically, see other perspectives, change your mind when new evidence arises, identify relevant versus irrelevant information, identify and discard logical fallacies, be aware of biases and avoid them, and look beyond the obvious.

None of this is particularly easy.

What the researchers found was a strong association between lower critical thinking skills and an increased tendency toward believing conspiracy theories.

This isn’t a new idea – instead, it persuasively builds on previous research.

[Demovictory9]

1. Water is wet

[Goonch]

2. ;-{)🖖

[Sibelius Fan]

3. I think we've known this since at least the time of the JFK assassination

when CTs ran rampant, culminating in Oliver Stone’s self-described “fictional” account of that event.

[Shermann]

4. Has FXN ever broke one of these CT's wide open?

It is conceivably possible to do if you can get a deep state insider to flip and produce a bunch of documents.

There was Climategate, which amounted to little more than some low-level mishaps.

So there's really evidence of absence here.

Mostly what we have are weak circumstantial cases built on some vague motives. Democrats SAY they are following the science on mask mandates, but what they REALLY want is control. Because once they get that control...well...SOCIALISM! So at worst it is gaslighting, and at best it is completely unfalsifiable thought crimes.

I have relatives who listen to right-wing news and find these "dissertations" so convincing. But this deep state conspiracy stuff is just a really convenient presupposition. It's never demonstrated or challenged, just built upon as a foundation. So when they eagerly debate me I can easily prove lack of soundness to the whole shithouse, and they seem flummoxed.

Also: The term "Conspiracy Theory" is being generous, "Conspiracy Hypothesis" is typically a better characterization.

[thucythucy]

5. "Conspiracy delusion"

might also work.