jessie1: One problem is that often people have very poor criteria of what constitutes "evidence", or are simply incapable of understanding the topic well enough to weigh up the available evidence in a reasonable manner. As such they assume they are right.
The default assumption people make in most circumstances is that everything they think is right, and that we should require evidence to be proven wrong. In reality, that's a foolish way for someone to live their life - and is very much the way of thinking that leads these conspiracy theorists to believe what is, quite simply, utter bollocks. Science is one mechanism by which people assume the opposite: In science you must assume what you think is probably wrong, and then have to prove otherwise.
The evidence as to which of these ways of thinking is more successful is apparent when you consider that we can share these ideas across vast distances, using the internet, on computers in air-conditioned rooms, and powered by electricity generated potentially hundreds of kilometres away by massive spinning magnets. Scientific thinking - constantly assuming that everything we know is wrong - works. For users who are over 40 years old? It's the reason you're alive!
Quite interestingly, I've noticed one thing most of these fringe ideas, conspiracy theories, anti-scientific nonsense, (and interestingly, religions) have in common: The presumption that bad things don't really just happen to good people for no reason, but that bad things happen to innocent people because evil people cause them to happen. Obviously there are some exceptions to this, but it's certainly a rather curious pattern!
I have some examples of some of these nonsense ideas, and I have outlined the underlying theme in each:
- Anti-vaxxers: "Innocent children can't just get autism. Therefore they must get autism because pharmaceutical companies and scientists want to make money off dangerous vaccines."
- AIDS: "Viruses can't suddenly appear and kill millions of innocent men, women, and children. Therefore, AIDS is either not a real disease, or is a genocide tool used to kill black people"
- Climate change: "If the climate changes for the worse, people will suffer worldwide. Including me and my children and grandchildren and millions of other innocent people. Therefore, there isn't really climate change. Therefore it's just climate scientists trying to scare people to make money."
- 9/11: "Thousands of innocent people can't have been killed just because of a bunch of lunatics... that would mean that the US government couldn't stop a bunch of terrorists... AND THAT MEANS IT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN! MAYBE EVEN TO ME! Therefore, the US government was in control the whole time, planned 9/11, and is still in control now."
- Cancer: "An innocent one third of the population can't just get this disease that kills them. It means myself, my partner, or my children could suffer the same fate. Therefore, scientists and big pharma know about some cure (homeopathy, DCA, or some other bollocks) and are hiding it in order to make money."
- Al queda/Hussein/Gadaffi: "Millions of innocent people couldn't have lived under this horrible regime for so long. Someone would have done something much sooner. Therefore, Al queda/Gadaffi/Hussein wasn't as awful as we are told, and the US government just wanted him gone in order to steal all of the country's opium/gold/oil in order to make money."
- Religion: "Six million children each year under the age of five can't possibly die in war, starvation, disease, and poverty for no reason, after living their lives in horrible filthy hovels with little to no hope of happiness. Therefore they will be rewarded by a magical protecting father figure who created the universe, loves everyone, and has a palace in the clouds. Also, I find gay people 'icky', so he probably hates them too."
- JFK: "A lone lunatic can't just shoot a president everyone likes. If that's the case, and even THE PRESIDENT OF THE USA can't be protected, it could happen to anyone. Therefore, it was a government conspiracy.
- Aliens: "I don't understand the frailties of the human psyche. Therefore, the government is hiding that aliens exist. Never mind that they have no reason to do so, and if they feared invasion they would actually be better off gaining support from the population and the rest of the world to develop technologies with which to defend against this threat. They know everything, control everything, and keep us all safe at night and protected from even the most bizarre and outlandish forces."
- Reptilians: "People can't honestly be okay that some people can't just be born into inherited wealth, opulence, and leadership while others are born into squalor, filth, and poverty. Therefore, aliens are wearing human skin suits and secretly controlling society. Admittedly, this is unlikely because it would assume David Icke isn't insane, but gosh darn it, I WANT TO BELIEVE."
