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You know I only found out recently that predates the Simpsons Isaac Send a noteboard - 06/04/2013 06:18:13 PM

I always think of the episode with the heroic inanimate carbon rod, turns out it's from Empire of the Ants.


View original posti was going to post the conspiracy theory poll from PPP but i found it to be a bit too depressing to think about when you get right down to it. i understand people's need to find patterns in things that are inexplicable, but i find that there are too many people buying into things that are easily debunked with stuff like facts. it's kind of silly on the face of it, but at the same time people really need to get some critical thinking skills and stop believing every crackpot that has a good powerpoint slideshow.

Conspiracy theories are all generic, like ethnic jokes, all you need is a theme, a sinister interpretation, and a willingness to throw Occam's Razor into the garbage. I've often been tempted to try and make one from scratch and see if it got wings, I'm still pretty sure I invented the Dihydrogen Monoxide Poisoning gag, and I know how to load something up with believable technobabble. Maybe something claiming aliens had created the new minor planets in an attempt to control humanity's future by altering astrological principals?

Wait, I've got it... the NWO has infiltrated NASA and suppressed the Discovery of Planet X, in order to throw off astrologers while using their own more accurate predictions to help them rule the world.

I don't think the belief values should be taken to seriously, poll firms use these things for calibration curves on top of keeping their name recognition and revenues up in off years. Subtract out the lowest scores for unsure and do and you probably know the real values of belief versus people being dicks on the phone, getting their answer backwards, or a typo by the recorder... though the results are still pretty sad. Some of those aren't exactly conspiracy believers either, "Do you believe aliens exist?" one is going to nail not just the Roswell anal-probe crew but probably most scientists, geeks, etc. I wish they'd included education background on this one instead of just age, gender, party.

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.
- Albert Einstein

King of Cairhien 20-7-2
Chancellor of the Landsraad, Archduke of Is'Mod
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Human Intelligence, Aliens, and Conspiracy Theories - 04/04/2013 02:46:55 PM 883 Views
That XKCD is one of my favorites - 05/04/2013 06:21:50 PM 511 Views
i, for one, welcome our new lizard people overlords... - 06/04/2013 04:35:09 PM 356 Views
You know I only found out recently that predates the Simpsons - 06/04/2013 06:18:13 PM 363 Views

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