The Conspiracy of Conspiracies: What Makes Us Tick?

All of us, at one point or another, has wondered why the world cannot just wake up.

This thread is for gwydionblack, and everyone else that read his/her thread. I just read the thread " I am tired..." about how discouraging it is, that people cannot wake up.

Believe me, I know first hand how irritating it can be when you are trying to get someone else to believe. Or maybe not believe, but just understand. Or maybe not even understand, but to just be open-minded enough to hear me out.

Society has spent generations teaching us what "the box" is. How to stay inside the box, how to think outside it. Maybe there is no box. We are constantly told from day one what we should and shouldnt think. Then, we spend our whole lives listening to others.

To politicians.

To religions.

To writers.

To the television.

However, when you start thinkinig for yourself....something is wrong. You realise that everything might be wrong.

Now I cannot speak for the people who browse you-tube all day trying to find the latest "wake you up" video, but I can speak for people like myself. I dont buy into many things without evidence to support it. Not Zeitgeist. Not the full of it guys that have their own agendas. Not the hoaxers.

But alot of conspiracies..have plenty of evidence. Alot are a part of our history.

But what makes us think that something isnt 'right" with the world? Why do we seek this forbidden knowledge?

What makes me/you so different than everyone else? Intelligence? Common sense? The hatred of being lied to/taken advantage of? Angsty anti-conformity?

What makes us think the way we do? I want to hear your opinions, but first, let me supply you with what I found when I googled "the psychology of conspiracy theories". The results were not what I expected.


The "we are chemically imbalanced" approach:

These stories sound crazy, but they may be the brain's efforts to make sense of its own internal messages, suggests #ij Kapur, professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto and vice president of research at the Canadian Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. In addition to other brain abnormalities, schizophrenics have too much dopamine. Just as addicts' desensitized dopamine systems make them feel that nothing matters, high levels of the neurotransmitter make schizophrenics believe that everything is significant.

Source article


Well, I have to say I disagree with the medical reasons. But even if that accounts for alot of us, it doesnt account for all of us.


The "lack of cognitive bias" approach:

My skepticism is further strengthened by the fact that we humans have an assortment of cognitive biases that can distort our judgments and allow us to maintain beliefs despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Some of these biases include the tendency to see patterns where none exist, and to interpret new information and recall old information in ways that confirm our expectations and beliefs.

Source article

This article goes on to say more than just cognitive bias. It goes on to discuss that people like all of us, might have two factors in common.

1. Strong individualist values

2. Lacking in a sense of control.

Once again, I think this can account for some of us...but certainly not all of us. Certainly not me. Maybe the next one?


The "if everything is a sham, I dont have to work to be a better person" approach:

Successful conspiracy theories are those that to some degree empower the believer against what are perceived as external forces that he/she blames for some unpleasant or undesirable facet of their lives. In addition conspiracy theories serve to absolve the individual of some degree of self-accountability since, if the individual is being “oppressed” by some powerful conspiracy, the individual’s efforts at self-advancement will always be futile and thus become nothing more than “a waste of time.” Sadly, it seems that conspiracy theories and their advocates are now deeply engrained in the popular psyche and without prospects for their ultimate refutation.

Source article


Alright. Touche'. You have a point. I know people like this.
Maybe it's a deep-seated issue, with being an underachiever. Maybe you dont want to progress, and this is the perfect reason why.

But once again, it may account for some of us...but not all of us. Not me.


So ATS, I ask you......"what makes YOU believe"?

Along with your thoughts on the material provided, I would like to hear your stories.

What made you think, for the first time....that something isnt right? What was that moment that you realised that the world is a struggle of power...and youre losing?

When was the first time you got angry, that the powerful upper 1% controls the world, and you are an economic pawn?

When did you first see a UFO picture, and say.."Holy cow, this IS possible"?

Or when did you look back at history, and discover...it's been edited?

Your stories and opinions..go.

I will share mine:


I had a book at my nana's house called "Arthur C Clarke's Mysterious World". It covered UFO's, cryptozoology, bigfoot, nessie.....pretty much everything. It blew my 12 year old mind, and I can still see some of the pictures in my memory today.

Ever since, it has been a growing interest.

reply to post by InertiaZero


I guess just the idea that there is something else going on. I always had that feeling. I always had the feeling that there was something larger that everyone was missing. I have recently found out that I was correct all along. My existence is now directed at unseating and crushing that which has fooled us all along.

Awesome thread, IZ.

Those could count for alot of us , but not for me, and like you said, not for you either.

I think I was always drawn to the mysterious side of life.
I know for sure that after I read Jonathan Livingston Seagull and The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ that I started waking up.
From there it just kept growing.

What makes me believe?

Well as a child my family traveled all over central and south America. When we where in Chile my father and mother saw a UFO (i don't remember it since i was very young). Since I could remember my father would ask me, What would you do if you see an alien? As a child i was fascinated with this. Then i forgot it all, I join the Military and saw how much they lied to us. Which made me question everything the government ever told me about everything. Which in turn made me research everything i saw on the news. So i guess i don't like being lied to.

So I think the general concensus, is that we can't all be loony.

While it is hard to understand us, what about the people that go about their lives without questioning?

Do ya'll find it hard to believe that everyone can be SO distracted, that they never put in a thought as to why things work the way they do?

Maybe society has taught us to function under distraction? Maybe people are happy living a lie.

Maybe both sides of the fence are complicated to understand.

reply to post by dragonsmusic


No reply in the form of a rhyme, this time?

Those are both very thought provoking books. That also brings up something I left out of our main post. I forgot to mention that rarely are the people on this site idiots. Most of us know how to write well, we are well read. Intelligence certainly isnt a lacking factor.

"The distance between genius and insanity, is only measured by success".

What truth have you found, over time? Certainly not all the paths to truth you have taken have ended in a "road closed" sign.

I will share mine: The more I research our current government, the more I have realized how much it is connected to our previous government. All of our leaders are like one big incestuous pool, that we continue to re-elect. There is no conspiracy in this, but there is misdirection. It is also not information that you attain casually, it is info you must seek out. Like the Tri-Lateral Commision, for example.

Hey nice topic...

This probably won't help, but I can only tell you about myself.

I have always, from a very young age, as long as I can remember (4,5, 6) had a thirst for the paranormal, ET, conspiracies etc. Even at those young ages I 'felt' there was more happening in the universe than what we were being told.

Literally it has been with me from the beginning, always.

Whether it's a part of my DNA, a throwback from a past life or a mental disorder I know not, I will say I have no agenda, I just crave the TRUTH. I'd love all the wacky and crazy stuff to be true, but I'll be quite happy to find out one way or another that they're all bogus.

Hope the thread flies to the moon!

All the best, KF!

[edit on 22-2-2010 by kiwifoot]

This is a clever system that nature has provided us with, that we easily can transfer into a simple metaphor; there is life, there is death, and both are important to sustain life as a whole.

When we understand this simple metaphor, we also begin to understand the question of who we are, why we're here, and what we're living for. We are a product of something we cannot change nor isolate ourselves from. There's really no higher meaning that can explain why this system works like it does, but in order to live, we need something to believe in and hold on to. Not necessarily a god, but maybe something more simple and practical. For most people, simply being alive and having the wonderful opportunity to be a part of this system, is enough reason to keep on living.

I am often asked, "Why do you care?" I care, because without my forefathers, I wouldn't be sitting here today and writing this down. I care, because without my culture, I would not have been the person I am today. I care, because without ideals, I have nothing to live for, and a life without meaning is just that - meaningless. I care about this mystical, organic process, because it's the origin and the underlying mechanism that creates all of what we experience; trees, stars, love and art.

Modern people feel insecure towards this realization, as it means they are not the centres of the universe and that their feelings, opinions and ideas - not even their mere existence - really has any significance from a larger perspective. In 80 years or so, we'll all be dead and the people we brought to life will be the next generation to experience the things we did. Herein lies the key, the only realistic self-reassurance that we as modern individuals must recognize in order to move on: we haven't created our own life or the things we see around us, we're just living on borrowed time and thus it makes sense to offer that same experience to our coming generations, like the previous ones did for us. That's the least we can do, and when thinking about it, something beautiful and honourable that we ought to dedicate our lives to.

reply to post by kiwifoot


I feel like Im just naturally drawn to certain subjects as well.

Once again, doesnt make you loony.

The occult, UFOs, government control...all things Ive always gravitated to. Not to mention all of the sci-fi that I liked since I saw Star Wars as a kid.

Maybe we are hard-wired to be interested in certain things.


Funny, when I make a thread like this, to learn about all of the other members, I end up learning alot about myself.

Modern people feel insecure towards this realization, as it means they are not the centres of the universe and that their feelings, opinions and ideas - not even their mere existence - really has any significance from a larger perspective.

reply to post by concernedcitizan



Do you think that this insecurity, is something that most people cannot deal with? Is that the basis for their willful distractions?

I agree, that in the end, we are not special. We are not the hero in an epic story, but we are not the bad guy either. Most of us are simply in between. I guess that might be hard for some people to swallow.

reply to post by InertiaZero


I'm glad, it's good to know that there are more like me!

I've often wondered if we are all really on the same page, just some of us read from top to bottom, and some read from bottom to top!

Let me explain, the skeptic will look at a topic and say "What a load of rubbish, I'm happy believing in the mainstream paradigm, show me the proof!"

And the believer will say "Well I have no real proof, but it's possible, and until I see otherwise I'll keep it on the table, Show me the proof though!"

In the middle of the page is the truth, we'll all get there eventually, but us CTists go from bottom to top, a little backwards!

I hope my ramblings make sense!!

reply to post by InertiaZero


I think with me it was back around 1973 (I was about 14) when there was a brief news story I heard on the radio that had to do with the Roswell crash (it wasn't the Marcel interview; that was later in 1978). I don't remember what the news was that required a mention of Roswell, but it was first I had heard about that crash. What struck me most about what I heard was the complete nonchalance about Roswell, as if the crash was a given--which was unheard of for mainstream news outlets.

Up to that point in my life, any talk of "little green men" I had overheard was in the context of looniness and gulliblility of the witness/believer. To hear such an incredible thing talked about almost in the context of historical fact, has stuck with me all these years. It was the first time in my life I realized that everything just might not fit into the nice comfortable paradigm we've all been led to think exists.

reply to post by kiwifoot


Bravo!! I think you nailed it!!

There are two sides, either way, and the truth is there in the middle. personally, I dont care by what means truth is discovered. I only care that it is there.

I certainly dont care if I am wrong, either. If the truth were to come out about say...hypothetically, UFOs. That they are all government craft and we have had ZERO contact with aliens....well....Im ok with that.

Im sure I would have plenty of skeptics with "I told you so" attitudes bombarding me, but at least I would know the truth.

The method is unimportant, the truth is all there is.

reply to post by InertiaZero


It's comforting to have an excuse for what may be random. It gives us the ability to think we have an ordered universe, where your not at the whim of just physics or mathamatics. Then again some conspircies do exist. It only takes two to tango. Being "in the know" (sometimes) can have an almost narcotic effect, nothing is as big a turn on as access to the holy of holy's. (forgive spelling, eyes are not what they used to be)

Well for me there are multiple points where this occurred. I was caused by my love of philosophy and a heavy interest in Quantum Mechanics. Both made me question what I knew, and upon pondering what knowledge was, I came up with my own epistemological belief. Through this belief it made me question EVERYTHING I thought was true and the truth, and well...I plummeted down the rabbit hole with a grin across my face and a twinkle in my eye.

I'm a skeptic, but a skeptic isn't someone that holds belief in one system and disbelief in another; I hold no belief in either. But I do lean towards the conspiracy theorists side in that there is something going on, people at work trying to accomplish things, certain knowledge either being hidden from us or being discredited, and basically a reality for different than what we think is real. But I don't really believe in any one theory postulated in a book, film or internet message. I think there are resonances in all of them and that they're on the right track but still not there yet. Too many nuances unexplained, too many inconsistencies in some theories, and some are just plain wrong.

What I have discovered, the only thing I'm certain of, is that as I traversed the rabbit holes came centers where multiple rabbit holes converged. And from there more cavities with more convergence. I am convinced, that at the core of all conspiracies, whether ET, political, economic, religious, scientific, whatever, the same forces are at play. There is something causing all of this and all these conspiracies link to these subvert forces at play in our lives.

But I don't really believe in any one theory postulated in a book, film or internet message. I think there are resonances in all of them and that they're on the right track but still not there yet. Too many nuances unexplained, too many inconsistencies in some theories, and some are just plain wrong.

reply to post by SpectreDC


I feel that way too, alot. I dont buy into alot, these days.

It is easy to do a little research, and form a hoax. or better yet, not an intentional hoax, but you were just misinformed.

I dont believe alot of the "mainstream" conspiracies. They arent exactly hidden knowledge.... when they made movies about the illuminati and what not. dan brown books are everywhere.

So I totally see where youre coming from, and kudos for being interested in actual science as well. Lots of people arent, and come off sounding silly.

Originally posted by InertiaZero

But I don't really believe in any one theory postulated in a book, film or internet message. I think there are resonances in all of them and that they're on the right track but still not there yet. Too many nuances unexplained, too many inconsistencies in some theories, and some are just plain wrong.

reply to post by SpectreDC

 

I feel that way too, alot. I dont buy into alot, these days.

It is easy to do a little research, and form a hoax. or better yet, not an intentional hoax, but you were just misinformed.

I dont believe alot of the "mainstream" conspiracies. They arent exactly hidden knowledge.... when they made movies about the illuminati and what not. dan brown books are everywhere.

So I totally see where youre coming from, and kudos for being interested in actual science as well. Lots of people arent, and come off sounding silly.

Well my interest in science isn't from a scientific point of view but rather a philosophical point of view. Like how Newton's model of reality, what we can call Classical Mechanics, had major philosophical implications in MANY fields of thought, even political and economic theory, Quantum Mechanics should do the same. Essentially, I'm practicing a scientific skill along with spiritual skills, using philosophy to reconcile them both and try to see what the picture of truth I draw from all of this is.

Also, there is a kernel of truth in everything. Dan Brown, Alex Jones, David Icke, they all have interesting as well as #ing retarded ideas. The key to all of it is to filter out the bull# and keep the tiny little diamond of truth that remains. That's what I aim for. I'm skeptical of pretty much everything outside a few things and I'm speculative of everything that comes my way.

I would never claim that my ideas, theories, beliefs and what I hold to be "The Truth" are in fact the truth, but from my own perspective they are developing in that direction. It's a multi-faceted approach using science, philosophy, esoteric traditions of inner truth seeking and certain psychotropic substances of which I'm not allowed to discuss about according to forum guidelines.

I think the best conspiracy theorist is a philosopher. Someone that has a solid understanding of a variety of epistemological ideas, a solid foundation of logic, an acceptance of the spiritual and the application of the scientific method. Sometimes all together, sometimes separated, to really be a good conspiracy theorist you need to first even ask oneself what IS truth, how do I gain knowledge, is what is true and what is the truth the same, and so on so forth.

Extremely well written and thoughtfully created post IZ (can I call you Izzy?).
I'd never read so many causes of mental discontent laid out before. You have some interesting ideas about how or why one might wander mentally away from the pre-packaged ideas that society would have us all believe.
For myself, I remember both the Kennedy assassinations, MLK and Watergate. When those events were still recent news I heard a great deal of grumbling about how this and that didn;t add up, my parents were devastated by the losses and never really bought in to the official stories.
The Watergate hearings we watched every day at school and as time went it on it became apparent to everyone that we had a whole government full of liars.
Vietnam was another reason I decided to ALWAYS question the government and their versions of events. My Lai was a terrible wound to the national conscience, thinking that "our boys" could massacre an entire village. My brother was draft age and had his number come up my whole family would now be Canadian.
I must give credit to my parents for instilling in me a good sense of curiosity and an inclination towards analytical thinking. They often questioned what was being presented as fact on the news and challenged me to think of alternative versions of events and to look closely at what motivations were involved. I was also fortunate to have several teachers in high school and college that prodded me further in same direction.
But maybe at the end of it all we're just weird, mental mutants that allow for the possiblity of evolution.
That's quite the fetching young lady in your avatar.
I'd star and flag you for that but the thread merits it anyway.
Nicely done Izzy

edited for poor speeling

[edit on 22-2-2010 by Asktheanimals]

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Actually. I would love to be called IZZY!


As for everything else, thank you for your contribution.
I had some really great teachers also. Some real free thinkers.


And to spectreDC, I agree that a philosopher is perfect for the job. Well said!!!