Sheeple
Sheeple
This is an interesting article, http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=092006B. I thought the last two sections "The Enlightenment Connection" and "The Hermeneutics of Suspicion" had some relevance to many discussions here.
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Canuckster1127
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Re: Sheeple
That is a fascinating article. I think you're right too. It has relevence in some areas on both "sides" of the arguments that occur in this realm.sandy_mcd wrote:This is an interesting article, http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=092006B. I thought the last two sections "The Enlightenment Connection" and "The Hermeneutics of Suspicion" had some relevance to many discussions here.
Dogmatism is the comfortable intellectual framework of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is more decadent than the worst sexual sin. ~ Dan Allender
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David Blacklock
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Sandy mcd refers to the article "Why Conspiracy Theories Exist"
Excellent article: In our hunter-gatherer days, if you heard a fairly large noise on the other side of those trees, it made perfect sense to assume it was a tiger. The tendency to immediately look beyond the obvious is most likely an evolutionary by-product, trip-wired by predator-detection circuits that don't demand much legitimate use in today's safer world.
We are pattern-seekers - just look at the complicated games we have invented to occupy our minds. This helpful trait is sometimes misdirected, causing us to seek patterns that don't exist.
Everyone has a cheater-detection module - an intuitive asset that is immensely valuable in negotiating a happy path through life. But exaggerated use of this handy talent results in paranoia.
In short, humans are a species with an impressive array of cognitive equipment that they tend to misuse - with an astounding unawareness of that misuse.
A good conspiracy theory usually comes from someone who is not an insider, who uses partial or circumstantial evidence, addresses a process that has broad emotional impact to a wide audience, reduces complex phenomenon to simple, immoral actions, argues using logical fallacies, and enjoys zero credibility in expert communities. I believe this is what we have with the alternate 9/11 theories.
One last thought - those who fall for one conspiracy theory tend to fall for them all. For anyone falling into this category, I suggest a reading campaign in critical thinking, starting with the well-researched "Debunking 9/11 Myths," described in the article you posted. A person can kick this habit if he/she really wants to.
Excellent article: In our hunter-gatherer days, if you heard a fairly large noise on the other side of those trees, it made perfect sense to assume it was a tiger. The tendency to immediately look beyond the obvious is most likely an evolutionary by-product, trip-wired by predator-detection circuits that don't demand much legitimate use in today's safer world.
We are pattern-seekers - just look at the complicated games we have invented to occupy our minds. This helpful trait is sometimes misdirected, causing us to seek patterns that don't exist.
Everyone has a cheater-detection module - an intuitive asset that is immensely valuable in negotiating a happy path through life. But exaggerated use of this handy talent results in paranoia.
In short, humans are a species with an impressive array of cognitive equipment that they tend to misuse - with an astounding unawareness of that misuse.
A good conspiracy theory usually comes from someone who is not an insider, who uses partial or circumstantial evidence, addresses a process that has broad emotional impact to a wide audience, reduces complex phenomenon to simple, immoral actions, argues using logical fallacies, and enjoys zero credibility in expert communities. I believe this is what we have with the alternate 9/11 theories.
One last thought - those who fall for one conspiracy theory tend to fall for them all. For anyone falling into this category, I suggest a reading campaign in critical thinking, starting with the well-researched "Debunking 9/11 Myths," described in the article you posted. A person can kick this habit if he/she really wants to.
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AttentionKMartShoppers
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All hail evolutionary psychology, the idiot step-child of Darwinism.The tendency to immediately look beyond the obvious is most likely an evolutionary by-product, trip-wired by predator-detection circuits that don't demand much legitimate use in today's safer world.
Well, beyond that-wouldn't a 1400+ year old ideology and religion that demands the death, conversion, or conquering of non-Muslims be a pretty non-trivial explanation? But that's called Islamophobia by the same people who blame Bush for 9/11. Well, not one for one...but they seem to be cheering for the same team-everyone but us (Bill Maher was on TV saying that life was better under Saddam Hussein than the US military for goodness sakes).
Conspiracy theories amuse me.
"My actions prove that God takes care of idiots."
He occasionally stumbled over the truth, but hastily picked himself up and hurried on as if nothing had happened.
- On Stanley Baldwin
-Winston Churchill
An atheist can't find God for the same reason a criminal can't find a police officer.
You need to start asking out girls so that you can get used to the rejections.
-Anonymous
He occasionally stumbled over the truth, but hastily picked himself up and hurried on as if nothing had happened.
- On Stanley Baldwin
-Winston Churchill
An atheist can't find God for the same reason a criminal can't find a police officer.
You need to start asking out girls so that you can get used to the rejections.
-Anonymous
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David Blacklock
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Attn KMart Shoppers says: wouldn't a 1400+ year old ideology and religion that demands the death, conversion, or conquering of non-Muslims be a pretty non-trivial explanation?
DB: It sure would. Have you heard about the "chemtrails?" It's a take-off on "contrails." The gov't is putting mind control chemicals in airliners fuel which floats down on our neighborhoods. Look it up on the internet. Advertisers there are selling antidotes for use in your neighborhood.
DB: It sure would. Have you heard about the "chemtrails?" It's a take-off on "contrails." The gov't is putting mind control chemicals in airliners fuel which floats down on our neighborhoods. Look it up on the internet. Advertisers there are selling antidotes for use in your neighborhood.
[This is way off topic and should be moved to some more appropriate forum.]AttentionKMartShoppers wrote:Bill Maher was on TV saying that life was better under Saddam Hussein than the US military for goodness sakes
What's so obviously wrong with Maher's claim? It depends on how you define "better", but from what I have read it is not a foregone conclusion that more people were being killed per day under Hussein than per day since the removal of Hussein. Certainly, life is much, much worse for Christian Iraqis now than before the invasion [at least for the ones still alive].
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David Blacklock
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Yes, the people of Iraq were better under Hussein - but we're not. Not only has this folly of our alpha male leader cost us untold dollars, but this war effort has boosted Iran to a position of greater strength than it had before - and how are we ever going to get out?
War may be needed at times, but Iraq wasn't one of them...
A quote:
Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to greater danger."
-- Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials
War may be needed at times, but Iraq wasn't one of them...
A quote:
Of course the people don't want war. But after all, it's the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it's always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it's a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to greater danger."
-- Herman Goering at the Nuremberg trials