conspiracy theories
Most of this note comes from the brilliant video “in search of a flat earth”
“The shape of the earth might actually be the least important belief of ‘flat earth’”
It’s trivial to set up experiments debunking the flat earth, but flat earthers are not available for change
conspiracy theories are in some fashion “syncretic”, in that they pull from various belief systems, elements of science, and myths. That said, part of this may be because there is no unifying body defining conspiracy theories.
conspiracy theories often tie in the apocalypse and accelerationism
conspiracy theorists manufacture an opposition who they claim actively suppresses the truth.
Conspiracy theories play into the temptation of clarity in response to the recognition that something is wrong. They recognize on some level that the way society is built leads to unfulfillment and oppression, but look for the simplistic answer that there is a single unified evil that is doing the oppressing and can (in theory) be taken down, instead of the reality that the world is more complex, buffeted around by forces beyond anyone’s control, and that evil doesn't really exist
Many conspiracies died down in favor of Qanon, a “big tent conspiracy” that can contain other conspiracies within it.
Conspiracy theories have an element of truth that makes them seem reasonable.
Some people just play with conspiracy theories for fun, but it is still a dangerous radicalization pipeline
Conspiracy theories bring in ARG elements, having their “players” solve puzzles about the way the world works.
Finally, conspiracy theories give their believers intellectual power.
