To ask why Americans seem fixated on conspiracy theories?

[movingonok]

I know other nations are too but not to the extent of Americans.

Is there a simple answer? Mistrust of authorities?

Not just today's guff but all the way back to alien abductions and assassination of JFK etc.

I can't remember where I read it but apparently college students in USA think the whole world uses the American dollar! What?!

Let me guess....you read it somewhere on social media🙄Must be true then!

Some people even believe the Diddy sex trafficking thing.
But the mainstream media has clarified that no such thing has ever happened, so it can't be true.

And if there was anyone else notable involved in his 'parties' then obviously it will be on the news. It wouldn't be covered up.

???
You do realise the excellence and brilliance of much of the research and writing and culture which comes out of the US?
How can you condemn an educational system which has produced 70% of Nobel laureates, for example?

No! I lived in that States for years.

Ya. Fukcers.

Exactly how many Americans do you know OP?
What percent of the population do they make up?

I'd like to ask why you make sweeping statements, but the answer is obvious. 🙄

@GettingStuffed

There's also a difference in educational, there is little to no critical thinking throughout the educational system even at university level.

That is egregiously untrue. Two of my DC, educated in the UK went back to the US for university and were completely humbled by their peers. The UK system of rote learning 3 subjects and regurgitating information on formulaic exams is hardly an exemplar when it comes to critical thinking.

@suburberphobe
I can't remember where I read it but apparently college students in USA think the whole world uses the American dollar! What?!.

Um, you read that 'somewhere' but you can't remember where. I mean, if you stop to think about the fact that the US has nearly 6000 colleges and universities, including 7 of the top 10 in the world, do you really believe that can possibly be true for more than a handful? Sounds almost like a conspiracy theory...

It's not cool to see Americans as different in so e way.

I'm very keen on Americans.

And much of that excellence happens only at the PhD and post-doc level, or in specialist degrees such as Medicine or Law. In my experience, most US undergrad degrees are much easier and demand a lot less rigour than in many other countries.

GettingStuffed and others are hardly showing much facility for 'critical thinking' with these preposterous and ignorant generalisations.

I don't get why anyone from the world would see what!

Yeah, and those people were previously undergraduates in that same system.

In my experience, most US undergrad degrees are much easier and demand a lot less rigour than in many other countries.

That's quite a broad unsubstantiated statement.

What is your experience? My 3 children grew up in England and 2 of them went to university in the US. The brilliance of their peers and the quality of the education they got there were beyond all comparison better than the experience of my third child at Manchester University.

That is just a sample of a couple of kids. There is certainly a very wide variety in the experience people have at US universities, which cater to a huge population with very different backgrounds, needs, and abilities; it is undeniable that the opportunities they offer to undergraduates can be spectacular, and it is absurd to underestimate this.

Two mine also went back, the third to Oxbridge. The US experience far surpassed the UK.

I live in the US. It is a massive country with vast differences between the states. Because it is such a massive country, more people numerically will believe in conspiracy theories than British people, but the percentages of population are fairly similar. There is a myth that only stupid or uneducated people believe in conspiracy theories, that is not true. And it is fairly common for people to believe at least one conspiracy theory. For example, one third of British people believe that Princess Diana's death was not an accident, believing instead various explanations for who murdered her and why.

It is true much of the US news is poorer quality than BBC. But GB News is rising in popularity in the UK and the BBC is under constant attack from some of the public who want the public funding of the BBC to end. If that happened, it would only be a few years until UK news was similar to US news. You have to pay tax in some form for the wider public good to fund services like the BBC.

This is a crackpot theory that is currently going around. SO ridiculous- it's laughable but really, it makes me feel like crying.

All Americans aren't like this, regardless of what the author says about us. Unfortunately, these theories make the news because they're salacious and so out there.

One last thing, pay attention to the people these conspiracies can be traced back to. They've found that the more outrageous the things they say are, the bigger the audience that wants to hear trash.

The controlling the weather conspiracy theory originates in people hearing about governments attempts to control weather through seeding of clouds and subsequent rain. This attempt is real, but is controversial and not that successful.
But the conspiracy theory takes this kernel of truth, and expands it to all weather.

Welll, not salacious, but certainly shocking. Yes it is shocking to see people who are clearly functioning members of society with apparently fairly normal lives spout such mad rubbish. But of course the programmes don't show how many people they had to talk to before finding someone who would tell them what they wanted to hear. Nor did they pop round the corner to the pub nearest to the British head office to test out if they could get similar responses nearer to home.

I've had a highly educated man tell me all about how Elizabeth I ws actually a man. Leaving aside that there is historical evidence of her menstruating, if Elizabeth could have been seen as a boy, she would have been, and the entire history of this country would have been radically different. But it's less boring to believe that some amorphous authority decided to hide the fact she was male because reasons.

Can you ask her why they have it in for Manchester? Many of us would like to know!

I hate anti-Americanism. It's generally bourne of stupidity.

All the Americans I know are educated and intelligent, and the vast majority of Americans I meet out in the world are interested and open-minded.

It's you who are small-minded @movingonok with your ridiculous stereotypes.

The theory was that Elizabeth I died as a young child and was replaced by a similar looking available baby that happened to be a boy (it had to be done immediately and no girl baby that could pass for her was available). Then of course she didn't marry which some took as proof she wasn't a woman so couldn't marry and give away the truth.

She of course had a lot of enemies and this was one rumour designed to undermine her legitimacy as Queen.

You've experienced at least 100-200 American universities?

Including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, University of Chicago, Duke, Rice, Amherst, Bowdoin, Colby, Muhlenberg, Knox, Princeton, U Michigan, Columbia, Cornell, John's Hopkins, Washington University in St Louis, Brown, MIT, CalTech, Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Haverford, Carleton, Dartmouth, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, Georgetown, Harvey Mudd, Carnegie Mellon, Pomona, Northwestern, Claremont McKenna, UNC Chapel Hill, College of William and Mary, Ohio State, U Illinois, U Wisconsin, Davidson, Hamilton, Grinnell, College of the Holy Cross, Colorado College, Swarthmore, Washington and Lee, Texas A&M, USAF Academy, West Point, US Naval Academy, Williams, Wellesley, Barnard, Middlebury, Colgate, Bates, Smith...

@KhakiPombear
Indeed. PBS is partially funded by taxes. It is a very good source of news, both national and international.

You read it somewhere...

I see.

I love that the poster 'read it somewhere' whilst making a point about intellectual rigor.

You couldn't make that up.