Why is it when...

[varkam]

someone posts information to the internet (let's call him Kavid Dirby) people will cling to it and hold it up as the troof(tm) while ignoring obvious problems such as conflicts of interest, logical fallacies and general ignorance, whereas when specialized organizations (for instance the CDC) say things that they disagree with they will cry conspiracy theory or some other such nonsense?

[TZ]

1. My plain unvarnished opinion

Is because they don't want to admit that their beliefs are totally and completely IDIOTIC! Or they are too stupid to even know how stupid they are!
I have a feeling I know the thread you are talking about. I've just about had it with this idiotic anti-vax stuff! It MUST be the thimerosol even though the vaccines were given THREE YEARS AFTER thimerosol were removed.
Goddamnit there are some stupid people on this site. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[Tindalos]

9. Yes but vaccines can remember the thimerosol even after it's removed

Didn't you know that?

:eyes:

[Pale Blue Dot]

10. Of course... they're homeopathic!

It all makes sense now!

[realisticphish]

11. so

shouldn't we be injecting pure mercury in? It's the least diluted possible, so it should be the least powerful, right?

[lizerdbits]

2. They have already formed their opinion

Anyone who confirms it is a crusader for truth and anyone who doesn't is out to get them. I also think people feel like they're smarter if they don't accept what is believed by most people, especially if it's a subject they don't truly understand. It's "cool" on the left to be anti establishment.

[Pale Blue Dot]

3. I'm reading the book "Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me)"

I highly recommend it. It's about the lengths we, as human beings, will go to to avoid cognitive dissonance. It explains a lot of woo behavior generally, and a lot of the discourse on this site specifically.

[varkam]

4. That's been on my reading list for quite some time...

I'll bump it up a few notches. Thanks!

[Adsos Letter]

5. I have been studying a certain amount of "conspiracy stuff"...

as an adjunct to a broader program of earning a BA (and now almost an MA) in History. Here is a book I found well worth the read:

"Selling Fear: Conspiracy Theories and End-Times Paranoia" by Gregory S. Camp.

It is one of many excellent books out there, although a bit dated (1997). It was published by a Christian publishing house (Baker Books) but the analysis of many conspiracy theories can be utilized without the mild religious message, which appears as a separate chapter at the end.

A couple of others which have proven most excellent in my studies have been:

"When Time Shall be no More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture" by Paul Boyer (Harvard, 1992)

and

Expecting the End: Millennialism in Social and Historical Context edited by Kenneth G. C. Newport (Baylor, 2006)


Last, but certainly not least, especially regarding cognitive dissonance, is the classic "When Prophecy Fails: A Social and Psychological Study of a Modern Group that Predicted the Destruction of the World" by Festinger, et. al. The study is dated (1956) but the issues are timeless.


Just some of the great studies out there which I have found interesting and useful. :hi:

[Pale Blue Dot]

7. The Festinger study is cited in "Mistakes Were Made" as well. nt

[lizerdbits]

8. Sounds very cool

I'll have to get that one.

[NMMNG]

6. If it's posted on the Internet, it's twoo

Duh!