conspiracy theories and other paranoia

[smith2267]

Are we more subject to this sort of malcognition than NT's are?
I wouldn't have thought so, but I am seeing more examples here than I expected.

 

[RubenX]

I think so... I often see conspiracy theories everywhere. Tho I do recognize when some theories go "over the top". But I often agree with many of their points. The best example would be the Zeitgeist movies.

 

[King_Oni]

I don't know... I've heard a lot of people on the spectrum being quite naive... whilst another part of the community doesn't fall for anything.

I personally... I'm always interested in reading about them, but I don't get jumpy and panicked by them. If I worry about them I'm not living my life and doing whatever I want to do.

However; probably because aspies tend to have extreme obsessions they might get really inquisitive and research stuff to great extents. An aspie friend of mine was a bit in conspiracy theories and I found that with him; as long as you look long enough at something you'll find your arguments to support it.

 

[Deno]

I think Aspie's are good at picking out patterns and connecting the dots. But some Aspies just like Neuro-typicals are ignorant to specific things, and some simply have different interests and so pick out different patterns. So when someone believes they have connected what others think of as unrelated dots, they simply regard them as wrong. If someone wants to be logical they need to research and find out why this person feels this way about that set of events or whatever it is. Be able to explain both ends of the discussion, only then can you look at things objectively. People that do not do this and instead say "I have no time", or "other things are more important" or just "that can't be right so why look in to it" are never going to know the truth, because they refuse to take the time to look at all the facts, instead of only the ones that strengthen their belief whether it be true or not.

 

[IContainMultitudes]

Some relevant links on this subject:

Why People Believe in Conspiracies: Scientific American

Confirmation bias - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

When in doubt, shout

Four reasons why people believe in conspiracy theories | SmartPlanet

Confirmation Bias ? You Are Not So Smart

xkcd: Conspiracy Theories



A good quote from Michael Shermer on this subject:

?The more elaborate a conspiracy theory is, and the more people that would need to be involved, the less likely it is true.?

I think one reason why a lot of this stuff bothers me is because it seems to be essentially anti-science.

 

[Geordie]

I believe (and still believe) in really unproven stuff like Sai Baba and the New World Order, although I don't believe in Santa, though I consciously tell myself, perhaps they are just visual phenomenon, who knows?

Think about it, especially about the NWO - If all the world's bankers are out there to screw us and cheat our money, stuffing it into their pockets under Quantitative Easing, then well, perhaps it's them trying to assert their place in the social order in a messed-up era. But if they must maintain this sort of lifestyle behind closed doors, imagine, how many opportunities they will miss because of their choice to keep their money! If they have to stay safe behind barbed wires and all these exclusive gated communities, even from home to school, work and play, then they'll miss the hustle and bustle of the crowds!

 

[Gomendosi]

A good quote from Michael Shermer on this subject:

I think one reason why a lot of this stuff bothers me is because it seems to be essentially anti-science.

Conspiracy theories have also always seemed anti-social to me, and that may be why Aspies are drawn to them. I just think there are far more important things in my life to worry over.
I have no opinion one way or the other as to whether these things are true or not nor whether the people that believe them are right or not, but this is what I feel;

A conspiracy theory is like a religion and I simply don't care what you do with it, so long as you?re not forcing it on me I am happy to talk to you about it, within reason.

I just mean that people can get passionate about anything and not realise they are making others uncomfortable or feel threatened, if somebody says they are putting sawdust in the bread and I don't want to talk about it, they should respect my wishes and move on to something else. Being Aspergical and a conspirisist would be social suicide I think... my two cents ; ]

 

[IContainMultitudes]

I think I'm going to close this thread now. We had a problem recently with someone who was posting lots of stuff of this nature who seemed to be out to bait people into arguments, and if discussions of such non-AS related subjects are going to stir up trouble here, they're not worth it, and we would prefer it if people who want to discuss "conspiracy theory" topics do so on one of the many forums dedicated to such topics that are on the internet. This isn't about suppressing "weird" or unpopular ideas, it's about preventing arguments over subjects that are not especially relevant to an AS discussion forum that are likely to upset people.

(I'm not singling out the OP for anything here, I just think this discussion has gone about as far as it needs to go.)