The Term "Conspiracy Theory"

A piece of me dies inside whenever I hear "Did you hear about so and so, Tim?" followed by a pompous " Oh please, thats just one of those stupid conspiracy theories "

Now, let me break it down for you;

Definitions provided by www.dictionary.com

Conspiracy - definition -

noun, plural -cies. 1. the act of conspiring. 2. an evil, unlawful, treacherous, or surreptitious plan formulated in secret by two or more persons; plot. 3. a combination of persons for a secret, unlawful, or evil purpose: He joined the conspiracy to overthrow the government. 4. Law . an agreement by two or more persons to commit a crime, fraud, or other wrongful act. 5. any concurrence in action; combination in bringing about a given result.

Theory - definition -
noun, plural the·o·ries.

1. a coherent group of tested general propositions, commonly regarded as correct, that can be used as principles of explanation and prediction for a class of phenomena: Einstein's theory of relativity. Synonyms: principle, law, doctrine. 2. a proposed explanation whose status is still conjectural and subject to experimentation, in contrast to well-established propositions that are regarded as reporting matters of actual fact. Synonyms: idea, notion hypothesis, postulate. Antonyms: practice, verification, corroboration, substantiation. 3. Mathematics . a body of principles, theorems, or the like, belonging to one subject: number theory. 4. the branch of a science or art that deals with its principles or methods, as distinguished from its practice: music theory. 5. a particular conception or view of something to be done or of the method of doing it; a system of rules or principles: conflicting theories of how children best learn to read.

I don't know how or when the definition of conspiracy theory changed from

1. a theory that explains an event as being the result of a plot by a covert group or organization; a belief that a particular unexplained event was caused by such a group. 2. the idea that many important political events or economic and social trends are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.

to

(My own definition)
1. An irrational or controversial story that consists of ideas passed off as fact, usually created by someone with extreme paranoia, where the topic, or main message, often goes against the establishment or current power.

Such a change in definition (Not literally, but figuratively) allows for topics such as "The 9/11 Conspiracy Theory" or the "JFK Assassination Conspiracy Theory" to be easily grouped in with topics such as "The Superbowl Conspiracy" or "The Families Across the Street Conspiracy" by someone who does not have a serious interest in hearing an alternative THEORY or to someone who has already come to a conclusion beforehand.

I just wanted to have this information available on a single page for myself and anyone else who decides to use this thread. If you've come to argue about what is said, take it up with dictionary.com as I did not write this to incite the not hedged, but razor-sharp, criticism of ATS. With that being said, if you have any criticisms to how I've presented the information, as well as a suggestion as to how I could have conveyed my message in a clearer format, I encourage you to reply as I would love