What is your favourite conspiracy theory?

[julieca]

I love the crazy conspiracy theories. So my favourite ones are that birds arent real and that Paul McCartney is dead and the man we see now is a lookalike.
What about you?

@godmum56 I had never heard it before him (or since) he didn't believe in God so not sure he took it that far.

The Titanic being the Olympic theory is plausible.

Prince Charles being a vampire, less so...

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure there are very reputable Physicists and institutions currently researching the theory that "we're a simulation".

You're right, scary thought.

It really isn’t. That’s what science does. Investigates theories and finds the evidence or not. If science rejected a theory based on “it’s bonkers” it would never have got started. Most of the time when an eminent scientist centuries ago said “you know what? I’ve been thinking about this thing and…..” They were labled as kooks for thinking about it.

@Iwantacampervan

We are all living in some kind of computer game being controlled by a higher being. No, we're an experiment run by the white mice.

42

The Titanic being the Olympic theory is plausible.

Until you look at actual data.

@Planesmistakenforstars - let me know what you think!

@CaveWoman1

Cats are more intelligent than humans. They are the dominant species on this planet, & keep us as pets.

If that was true, none would ever get run over

@BoredZelda

I have no idea if it is true or not. I could believe it though.

Which is the real problem with conspiracy theories. This stuff is spouted, then it is repeated and it is halfway around the world before the truth has its boots on. No information on why you “could believe it” What people usually mean when they say this is, you want it to be true. Not sure why but I have my suspicions. Unlike you, when I am unsure of something like this, I won’t just spout it I will keep it to myself rather than influence someone else’s opinion needlessly.

Terry Pratchett??

"Facts are indisputable. They are known, evidence based and proven."

Unless we are there to see an event for our own eyes can we always trust the source?

Scientific 'evidence' has been maniupulated over the years and spouted as fact. In fact, the very nature of science is to continue to change what it once saw as fact as more evidence and a wider perspective becomes clearer.

Is the media always correct when they dish out one fact after another?

The BBC showed the funeral of Sir Jimmy Saville, who was buried in state. They stated as fact what a great man he was.

Terry Pratchett??

Is that where I heard it? Probably. Sounds like him. 😆

I think many people believe Diana was murdered.

that Neil Buchanan is Banksy

Unless we are there to see an event for our own eyes can we always trust the source?

Where the evidence is provided, yes.

Scientific 'evidence' has been maniupulated over the years and spouted as fact. In fact, the very nature of science is to continue to change what it once saw as fact as more evidence and a wider perspective becomes clearer.

Manipulation is a strong word here. But again, if there is manipulation, that is provable which means the results of that are not fact.

Science doesn’t state fact unless it is incontrovertible and will not change. That doesn’t happen often. Science talks about theory. Evolution is a theory not a fact. Big Bang is a theory not a fact. Gravity is a theory not a fact. But the world is round, that is a fact that is provable.

Is the media always correct when they dish out one fact after another?

Only when they provide irrefutable evidence,

The BBC showed the funeral of Sir Jimmy Saville, who was buried in state. They stated as fact what a great man he was.

That is an opinion, not a fact. It is not something that is provable.

That you believe things to be facts when they are not, is why people are so confused about these things.

Science usually deals in probability. Usually the threshold is 95% confidence. There is no such thing as fact in science because even if you are 99.99999% certain something is true, there is still that tiny possibility that it isn't.

You can witness something with your own eyes and it might not be what you actually think. I think in court cases, witness testimony is actually quite unreliable. You will often get many witnesses to a crime saying different things.

But the world is round, that is a fact that is provable.

I think it is considered an ellipsoid. But in the future, someone may invent a more sophisticated measuring device that proves it is actually something else. Who knows? It is extremely unlikely the world is flat though, but it may have a nuance to its shape that we can't measure yet.

I also think it is extremely unlikely that Diana was murdered.

It would have been much easier to kill her and make it look like suicide.

To kill someone by car crash is extremely unreliable. To do so on foreign soil is extremely risky and to do so in the middle of Paris in front of a pack of paparazzi with cameras is utter madness. An accident seems much more likely.

@MamaWeasel

I thought the Titanic one was proven to be true I watched a very compelling programme about it

I've seen stuff that proves the Olympia did not sink in place of the Titanic.

@BoredZelda

Unless we are there to see an event for our own eyes can we always trust the source?

Where the evidence is provided, yes.

Scientific 'evidence' has been maniupulated over the years and spouted as fact. In fact, the very nature of science is to continue to change what it once saw as fact as more evidence and a wider perspective becomes clearer.

Manipulation is a strong word here. But again, if there is manipulation, that is provable which means the results of that are not fact.

Science doesn’t state fact unless it is incontrovertible and will not change. That doesn’t happen often. Science talks about theory. Evolution is a theory not a fact. Big Bang is a theory not a fact. Gravity is a theory not a fact. But the world is round, that is a fact that is provable.

Is the media always correct when they dish out one fact after another?

Only when they provide irrefutable evidence,

The BBC showed the funeral of Sir Jimmy Saville, who was buried in state. They stated as fact what a great man he was.

That is an opinion, not a fact. It is not something that is provable.

That you believe things to be facts when they are not, is why people are so confused about these things.

So, how do we know if evidence is irrefutable?

We have to trust a source.

How can we be 100% sure that source is correct? None of us know, unless we were there.

Doesn't that make the media opinion based?

Could they be just one big conspiracy theory?

Doesn't that make the media opinion based?

Could they be just one big conspiracy theory?

Trump certainly thinks so!

I remember there was a newspaper article about someone I knew and it was full of so many mistakes. I was shocked at how sloppy the reporting was.

@Werehamster

But the world is round, that is a fact that is provable.

I think it is considered an ellipsoid. But in the future, someone may invent a more sophisticated measuring device that proves it is actually something else. Who knows? It is extremely unlikely the world is flat though, but it may have a nuance to its shape that we can't measure yet.

I really don’t get the flat Earth theory. We can see with our eyes the sun and moon are spheres, if they were discs why would we always see the flat side and not a line (if that makes sense) so by that theory why would the Earth be the only flat disc in space?!

Queens a lizard

@Libertaire

The ‘faked’ moon landings theory.

It’s a sort of back-handed tribute to the incredible engineers, scientists & pilots who, without the aid of computers took WW II missile technology and developed it into a system which took humans to another world then brought them home safely that so many people born decades afterwards simply cannot believe they actually did it.

I remember the first time I went to Cape Canaveral I attended a talk by a retired astronaut. He said that by the late 1960s NASA were reasonably confident that they could put humans on the moon, but bringing them back alive was a completely different matter, and nobody really knew if it would work until it did. The crews were incredibly brave men.

They did have computers but they were very basic number crunchers. The average digital watch is more powerful. They had slide rules too.

@Redrosesandsunsets

These are making me laugh. I’ve heard people believe and send info around saying all Covid vaccinated people will be self isolating by this Christmas with an unknown sickness, and then all people who have taken the vaccine will die by mid 2022. ok then but how does that sit when it doesn’t happen? What will those people do with their beliefs? Extend them out to a later date? Who knows.

Isn't that what the Christian fundamentalists do when determining the date of the Second Coming?

I really don’t get the flat Earth theory. We can see with our eyes the sun and moon are spheres, if they were discs why would we always see the flat side and not a line (if that makes sense) so by that theory why would the Earth be the only flat disc in space?!

Ancient civilisations knew the world was round. They worked it out through observation. In fact the idea that people used to think the world was flat is said to be a joke perpetrated by a Victorian scientist.

I do think that some conspiracy theories come from strong religious views, such as the world only being 6,000 years old and dinosaurs not really having existed. And some from string political believes, such as Obama's fake birth certificate and pizza-gate. Some from racist or misogynistic points of view and some because people like to gossip about people they perceive as outsiders as a way of bonding and solidifying our place in society. Gossip, scandal, conspiracies, it's nothing new and we've been doing it throughout history especially about the rich, powerful and famous. These days, rumours spread more easily because of the internet.

The flat Earth thing is probably because that's what their peers believe . I have a few people I know who are Trump supporters and the weird shit they believe blows my mind, but I think they believe it because they want to believe it because they want to believe that he is right about what he says, so they support him no matter what bullshit comes out of his mouth.

@CounsellorTroi

I really don’t get the flat Earth theory. We can see with our eyes the sun and moon are spheres, if they were discs why would we always see the flat side and not a line (if that makes sense) so by that theory why would the Earth be the only flat disc in space?!

Ancient civilisations knew the world was round. They worked it out through observation. In fact the idea that people used to think the world was flat is said to be a joke perpetrated by a Victorian scientist.

It’s ridiculous. As a conspiracy goes it’s a crap one too. Conspiracies usually stem from the public thinking the authorities are trying to hide something but what could everyone be hiding from a supposed flat Earth? Why would it matter?! Also if you work in Gov like I do you’ll know there’s not enough competency to hide something that big 🤭