Memories of the 28th Century

Why do people believe conspiracy theories? Apparently there are several reasons, but most reasons amount to intellectual laziness, by which I mean that people don't bother thinking about the matter but just accept something that fits what they want to believe without examining the facts. You are entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts.

Within the last few days I ran into a few people who still believe that the 9/11 attacks were not what has been presented by the investigators. One of those people cited "reasons" that have no basis in reality: that the WTC had been closed for days before the attacks; that there were drums of Thermite preplaced in the towers; and so on. If someone had looked into it, then it would be clear that there was no Thermite used, nor was there any need for it, and the towers certainly had not been closed for days before the attack; although most businesses had been closed over the weekend. The reasons cited for thinking that the official story of 9/11 is false just doesn't hold water.

Every one of those "reasons" has been shown to be completely lacking credibility.
1. Inside Traders Knew About Attacks Before They Happened.
The people buying and sell the stocks and futures were tracked down, and they had trading strategies that explained exactly how they traded. There was nothing mysterious.
2. Air Defense Was Told To ‘Stand Down’.
That's a strange claim to make, because interceptors were sent up immediately and were almost in place to shoot down, if that was determined to be the action to take. It might be that someone wonders why the order to fire was not given, and that was because there was a hope to force the liners down.
3. Planes Didn’t Make Twin Towers Collapse, Bombs Did.
That is quite false. The fires started by the planes softened the steel to the point where the towers collapsed. Apparently some people don't realize that steel starts to soften at 300 F, and the temperature of the towers was something around 1000 F, or higher. At that temperature steel is quite soft. In addition, concrete crumbles when it is heated. It was just a matter of time; there was no need for explosives.

4. The Pentagon Attack Scientifically Doesn’t Hold Up.
Someone didn't bother looking at the evidence. There is a video of the plane coming down and into the building.
5. Flight 93 Was Completely Staged
That is silly. There was plenty of evidence that it actually happened.
6. Hijackers Are Alive. How Did Their Passports Survive Explosion?
It is quite likely that there are several persons with the same names as the hijackers. There aren't many different Arabic names. And it is entirely possible that there had been identity thefts prior to the hijackings, but those names and origins are what was used to buy tickets for those flights.
7. Cell Phone Calls Made From Plane Were Faked.
Cell phone calls can be made from airplanes; although they are banned by current regulations. There may be question as to whether there were antennae ion suitable locations.
8. Jewish People Knew Attack Was Going To Happen, Took Off Work On September 11th.
This is false. Many of the people who died were Jewish. Exact numbers are not available, but a minimum of four hundred Jews died in those attacks.
9. Black Boxes Found By Search Crew Kept Secret.
Not so
10. The Bin Laden Tapes Are Fake.
Bin Laden claimed responsibility within a few days, and there has been confirmation since then.
11. Aluminum Planes Can’t Penetrate Steel Structure Of World Trade Center.
I don't think that anyone claimed that the airframes sheered off the towers. The planes smashed in and started fires. There is no reason to think that anything other than the fuselage penetrated to building, and the wings were ripped off the planes.

In the last few years I have met a fair number of people who believe in various conspiracy theories, and a few who believe all of them. Many of the people who believe such things see psychiatric social workers or therapists on a regular basis, and some of them are on anti-psychotic drugs. I find it interesting that many of them also believe the stories and propaganda that the IPCC and similar organizations emit. Generally, the believers have trouble differentiating between fact and fiction, and they do not have enough critical judgment to make them research the matters until they find the actual facts. It is also unfortunate that some many things are lumped together as “conspiracy theories”, everything from who carried out the 9/11 attack to whether there has been climate change. If one looks at a comprehensive list of conspiracies, then it is likely that there are some things that are based in reality, and some of the theories have been so worked over that it is difficult or impossible to separate the chaff from the grain.

The Assassination of J.F.K. is a particularly difficult matter, because there is so much evidence for other people having been involved. There is even a video of a woman who claims to have been LBJ’s mistress, who claims that LBJ was behind the assassination. Then there is James Files, a convicted hitman, who claims that he was the man in a police uniform near the grassy knoll, and that he fired the killing shot that hit JFK in the head and blew out part of his brain. Sound analyses of the movies suggest that there were several shots, and at least one bullet was found in the plaza that wasn’t from Oswald’s rifle.

Looking at the list of the twenty-five most popular conspiracy theories, it looks like works of fiction are sometimes taken at face value. I am amazed that doubts about the Holocaust still exist, but someone should get the history books to correct the numbers. It appears that about three million Jews were killed in the death camps, but that's more than enough. And I get a laugh that there are people who think that the Moon landing was faked. I'd love to find out how the stories about the New World Order came about; that is one of the best examples of misdirection that exists.

Number seven on this list is the "Phantom Time Hypothesis. Apparently someone thinks that large chunks of history were completely fabricated. I never heard of this before, but it could be a good plot device for a work of fiction.

The list also mentions "peak oil", which is an interesting theory. And there are other strange ideas, but I won't comment on all. Look at the list and see what you think. The one about Jesus isn't very good, but the Piso family theory is much better http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/esp_sociopol_piso.htm. I ran into the author several years ago online, and I got a good laugh and suggest that he put the whole thing together in a book and make as much money as possible from it. Everything on the list is there, because some people don't use care when they think; they just grab an answer, deven if the answer is illogical.


So what do you believe? Do you accept any conspiracy theories as fact? And if so why?

My next post will be on countering conspiracy theories, showing that they are wrong.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/ma...anted=all&_r=0

http://www.slate.com/articles/health...about_jfk.html

This is a survey to find whether someone believes conspiracy theories. It is interesting by flawed.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/...-say-about-you

9/11 conspiracy
http://newsone.com/742485/the-11-mos...racy-theories/

http://list25.com/top-25-most-popula...racy-theories/