ngl, it kind of bums me out to see youve jumped off the cryptid train. theyre one of my favorite weird things to discuss with people, because while the probability is they’re not real, the “what if” of it all is super fun. it’s also what introduced me to your work in the first place.
that said, these political conspiracies are not fun, and i agree with you they just keep getting nastier. it’s really disappointing to see people who in your life that you’ve thought of as intelligent getting swept away in things like COVID-19 is made up.
Excellent topic to cover. Dr. Dentith's responses were a delight to read (and I appreciate their very specifically punctuated name)!
I will admit to at least half-heartedly believing in one conspiracy theory, and it concerns the 1996 commercial jet crash of TWA Flight 800. All the official stuff and most of the media coverage tells us that it was an equipment malfunction, and indeed that he plane basically disintegrated midair off of Long Island. But there are those who don't buy that story and insist it was shot down, for reasons unknown. Perhaps in error.
I had a relative on that flight. And for psychological reasons I've never been able to parse out, I know that's why I lean toward the "conspiracy" answer. It's a very Fox Mulder way of thinking. When you lose someone in such a manner, you do feel a fervent need to seek the Truth.
this was a really good read, i’ve always been drawn to “harmless” conspiracies, loch ness monster or the existence of aliens, i think it’s fun to think that there’s creatures out there that we haven’t confirmed, that there’s more to this earth than what we know. but then i read conspiracies that are just so mean hearted and have awful real life applications, and they kind of ruin what i thought was a fun hobby or something to discuss at a party. i assume there’s a middle ground but it’s hard to find it because i wouldn’t want your alex jones types to think that i’m siding with them..
thanks again for the emails david, i can’t believe it’s been a month already! :)
As a result of this article/interview I ended up watching a bunch of old clips from V:the series. The nostalgia on that runs deep. Very interesting discussion! Dr. Dentith's perspective on how to handle these conspiracy theories is very refreshing, enlightening and smart! I have to look into his website and podcasts. I also want to read Jess Berentson-Shaw's book "A matter of fact" at some point. Good stuff!
Hi David, Thanks for delving into this on behalf of civilised society. This was a good read.
I’ve only recently found your “internet pamphlet” (love that term) as a result of trying to find some answers myself.
After lock-down I caught up with an old mate I hadn’t seen in ages. He’s a wee bit older than I am, but our friendship is based on the common interest of old cars and motorbikes. He’s usually a good laugh to hang out with, although I’ve always known that his background is very anti-establishment with an inherent distrust of all governments. He usually has an opinion on something and that was as far as it went. Sometimes it was even quite funny.
However, it sounds like he’s spent the last two months during lock-down down Facebook rabbit holes:
Covid: He kept babbling on about “socialist agendas” and the government pushing their ideologies.
Chch shooter: They’ve used it to remove guns from society and push Islam into the mainstream.
UK: They’re brainwashing kids with trans sexual nonsense and more Islam indoctrination theories.
Nothing was free from some twist of a government hand being behind it somewhere. I managed to ignore it for the most part, but I feel I’m going to lose a mate to the nut jobs. How do I approach this? He admitted to pretty much getting all his news from Facebook, abandoning mainstream media as it’s full of “bias and agendas”. There’s no doubt many of his other mates, both online and IRL, are in the same boat. Therefore, much of his social life is an echo chamber where they all whip themselves into a frenzy of conspiracies. So, from his perspective, I’m likely the ignorant fool blindly being fed bullshit.
Anyway, I didn’t have a point to all this, just wanted to vent a little bit and this seemed like an appropriate place where perhaps I may find some help with trying to pull my friend back from the brink.
Gotta love your honesty, always. Just what I needed to read lately, very fun to catch up.
Also imo, I feel like people enjoy conspiracy theories because it kinda makes the world a bit less boring, specially since, you know, we're all stuck inside.
I just want to say that I'm teaching "Lord of the Flies" to my 8th graders and the article you added about the Tongan shipwrecked kids gave me a much needed hopeful closure to the novel. Thanks!!!
I especially loved this newsletter and Dr Dentith had such insightful answers!
I have to admit I sometimes assume conspiracies when weird shit happens in the world 🙈 and honestly with a lot of political issues in general...but M confirmed something that I had started thinking about since reading your posts on these issues...that where you grow up shapes your views. And me, being liberal and living in the U.S....it’s sometimes hard to feel like anything our government here does DOES’T have some ulterior motive! Is that too cynical?
I have so little faith in our system that it basically always seems they are somehow, someway in it for money and power.
(Having said that, I do my part to be a good human...I’ve been staying home and if I have to go out I wear my mask. I don’t hijack trains. Etc. I also don’t think anyone would say I have mental issues...pretty sure at least 🤷🏻♀️)
Anyway, I guess my point in all this was that I wonder if there are higher concentrations of “conspiracy theorists” in populations who just don’t trust their governments or news sources. I know tons of Bernie supporters here who are labeled as such.
It seems nice to live in a place with transparency and trust in your system!
I heard a quote from medieval(?) philosopher Thomas Aquinas yesterday that your article reinforced: ‘that which is received is received according to the condition of the receiver.’ Now I want to read Conspiracy Theory Theories!
This one helped me out too. Having worked as a cop for nearly 23 years in London, I’d heard (& investigated) some conspiracy theories. Some involved plots to murder others, some involved aliens and a lot of tin foil on windows & one notable one resulted in me being stalked by a defendant with a large knife waiting for me by my car after duty!
I also think there’s room for a lot of research into how be more persuasive without causing harm to others, in other words how do we gently say “no that’s codswallop, shut up”?
I guess critical thinking plays a big part in deciding how to react and come to your own conclusions, and I’m trying to do my bit for future society by instilling the need for critical thinking in my kids.
As an aside - isn’t it nice when somebody as clever as your friend says Trump is precisely what you think he is! It’s like a hug in a paragraph right there 😆
pop culture conspiracy theories are my guilty pleasure though:// like remember when everyone was freaking out because a 'pedofile' was watching kids through the talking angela app like wth was that. Or the one about Avril Lavigne dying so they replaced her like who mAKES THIS UP
ngl, it kind of bums me out to see youve jumped off the cryptid train. theyre one of my favorite weird things to discuss with people, because while the probability is they’re not real, the “what if” of it all is super fun. it’s also what introduced me to your work in the first place.
that said, these political conspiracies are not fun, and i agree with you they just keep getting nastier. it’s really disappointing to see people who in your life that you’ve thought of as intelligent getting swept away in things like COVID-19 is made up.
Excellent topic to cover. Dr. Dentith's responses were a delight to read (and I appreciate their very specifically punctuated name)!
I will admit to at least half-heartedly believing in one conspiracy theory, and it concerns the 1996 commercial jet crash of TWA Flight 800. All the official stuff and most of the media coverage tells us that it was an equipment malfunction, and indeed that he plane basically disintegrated midair off of Long Island. But there are those who don't buy that story and insist it was shot down, for reasons unknown. Perhaps in error.
I had a relative on that flight. And for psychological reasons I've never been able to parse out, I know that's why I lean toward the "conspiracy" answer. It's a very Fox Mulder way of thinking. When you lose someone in such a manner, you do feel a fervent need to seek the Truth.
Anyway great piece, thanks for sharing.
wow what an interesting job Dr Dentith has!
this was a really good read, i’ve always been drawn to “harmless” conspiracies, loch ness monster or the existence of aliens, i think it’s fun to think that there’s creatures out there that we haven’t confirmed, that there’s more to this earth than what we know. but then i read conspiracies that are just so mean hearted and have awful real life applications, and they kind of ruin what i thought was a fun hobby or something to discuss at a party. i assume there’s a middle ground but it’s hard to find it because i wouldn’t want your alex jones types to think that i’m siding with them..
thanks again for the emails david, i can’t believe it’s been a month already! :)
As a result of this article/interview I ended up watching a bunch of old clips from V:the series. The nostalgia on that runs deep. Very interesting discussion! Dr. Dentith's perspective on how to handle these conspiracy theories is very refreshing, enlightening and smart! I have to look into his website and podcasts. I also want to read Jess Berentson-Shaw's book "A matter of fact" at some point. Good stuff!
Hi David, Thanks for delving into this on behalf of civilised society. This was a good read.
I’ve only recently found your “internet pamphlet” (love that term) as a result of trying to find some answers myself.
After lock-down I caught up with an old mate I hadn’t seen in ages. He’s a wee bit older than I am, but our friendship is based on the common interest of old cars and motorbikes. He’s usually a good laugh to hang out with, although I’ve always known that his background is very anti-establishment with an inherent distrust of all governments. He usually has an opinion on something and that was as far as it went. Sometimes it was even quite funny.
However, it sounds like he’s spent the last two months during lock-down down Facebook rabbit holes:
Covid: He kept babbling on about “socialist agendas” and the government pushing their ideologies.
Chch shooter: They’ve used it to remove guns from society and push Islam into the mainstream.
UK: They’re brainwashing kids with trans sexual nonsense and more Islam indoctrination theories.
Nothing was free from some twist of a government hand being behind it somewhere. I managed to ignore it for the most part, but I feel I’m going to lose a mate to the nut jobs. How do I approach this? He admitted to pretty much getting all his news from Facebook, abandoning mainstream media as it’s full of “bias and agendas”. There’s no doubt many of his other mates, both online and IRL, are in the same boat. Therefore, much of his social life is an echo chamber where they all whip themselves into a frenzy of conspiracies. So, from his perspective, I’m likely the ignorant fool blindly being fed bullshit.
Anyway, I didn’t have a point to all this, just wanted to vent a little bit and this seemed like an appropriate place where perhaps I may find some help with trying to pull my friend back from the brink.
Gotta love your honesty, always. Just what I needed to read lately, very fun to catch up.
Also imo, I feel like people enjoy conspiracy theories because it kinda makes the world a bit less boring, specially since, you know, we're all stuck inside.
gotta love your honesty with the interviewed
I just want to say that I'm teaching "Lord of the Flies" to my 8th graders and the article you added about the Tongan shipwrecked kids gave me a much needed hopeful closure to the novel. Thanks!!!
I especially loved this newsletter and Dr Dentith had such insightful answers!
I have to admit I sometimes assume conspiracies when weird shit happens in the world 🙈 and honestly with a lot of political issues in general...but M confirmed something that I had started thinking about since reading your posts on these issues...that where you grow up shapes your views. And me, being liberal and living in the U.S....it’s sometimes hard to feel like anything our government here does DOES’T have some ulterior motive! Is that too cynical?
I have so little faith in our system that it basically always seems they are somehow, someway in it for money and power.
(Having said that, I do my part to be a good human...I’ve been staying home and if I have to go out I wear my mask. I don’t hijack trains. Etc. I also don’t think anyone would say I have mental issues...pretty sure at least 🤷🏻♀️)
Anyway, I guess my point in all this was that I wonder if there are higher concentrations of “conspiracy theorists” in populations who just don’t trust their governments or news sources. I know tons of Bernie supporters here who are labeled as such.
It seems nice to live in a place with transparency and trust in your system!
Thanks for the interesting read...as always! ☺️
I heard a quote from medieval(?) philosopher Thomas Aquinas yesterday that your article reinforced: ‘that which is received is received according to the condition of the receiver.’ Now I want to read Conspiracy Theory Theories!
Thanks for this David, I needed it today!
This one helped me out too. Having worked as a cop for nearly 23 years in London, I’d heard (& investigated) some conspiracy theories. Some involved plots to murder others, some involved aliens and a lot of tin foil on windows & one notable one resulted in me being stalked by a defendant with a large knife waiting for me by my car after duty!
I also think there’s room for a lot of research into how be more persuasive without causing harm to others, in other words how do we gently say “no that’s codswallop, shut up”?
I guess critical thinking plays a big part in deciding how to react and come to your own conclusions, and I’m trying to do my bit for future society by instilling the need for critical thinking in my kids.
As an aside - isn’t it nice when somebody as clever as your friend says Trump is precisely what you think he is! It’s like a hug in a paragraph right there 😆
pop culture conspiracy theories are my guilty pleasure though:// like remember when everyone was freaking out because a 'pedofile' was watching kids through the talking angela app like wth was that. Or the one about Avril Lavigne dying so they replaced her like who mAKES THIS UP
Then there's this too. 😕
https://aobrempongnana.wordpress.com/2020/05/15/who-offered-me-20million-dollars-to-put-a-little-toxic-in-my-covid-19-remedy-madagascar-president-exposes-who/?fbclid=IwAR0mGKDmE2DStGra5s0ZopZkRLYp2f1DiVFl3na3zaC7qQwOkSaNotoosng