an ebola reminder

[MagicManICT]

[L]ike all conspiracy theories, they are there to inform you of the flip side of the coin. For some that side might be too much truth to handle and they would not accept it even if 100% proof would hit them in the face.

They neither inform nor are the "flip side" of the coin. They can be 100% factual, and still wrong because they draw the wrong conclusions or decide to ignore the facts presented all together. Many just try to throw as much **** against the wall as possible and hope that even just a little bit sticks. This is why conspiracy theories always suck. They conjure up demons, but can't prove any of it, or are just bold-faced lies masked in bits and pieces of select facts and the truth.

[Syndarn]

Of course everything has a flip side. It's a matter of perspective. You are unwilling to even look at the other side for the exact reasons i mentioned in my previous post. There is no amount of evidence i could bring forth that would help you realize what's going on unless you take the first step yourself, and thinking objectively that it might always be a possibility that the theories might be true. If you go in with a attitude of this is nonsense. It will always be nonsense to you even if it would be a 100% fact for me. I can only share my perspective and you can only start experiencing any of it if you are willing to accept a part of my perspective of it. That's how you grow and get moving. But as always i understand the need to keep everything safe and static like it used to. It's scary when things change, it puts you out of balance doesn't it? Out of balance is considered weak, can't have that right. You will die.

[Spazzmaticus]

I think what Magic is saying isn't that the issue is one-sided. He's just saying that a conspiracy theory is not the flip side of a generally accepted theory. In the realm of reason we don't use the word "theory" as frivolously as you might think. It doesn't mean that you just "guess" about anything and then shift the burden of proof unto the people that are sceptical to your case.
You can make any ridiculous claims you want but that doesn't mean that it has any validity. If I make the case that Al Gore is secretly a watermelon in disguise then that isn't the flip side of anything. It's just an absurd statement and people would do well to disregard it. Thankfully, science and reason is indifferent. The earth still revolves around the sun regardless of what your God-given opinion on the subject might be.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophi ... n_of_proof

[MagicManICT]

I think what Magic is saying isn't that the issue is one-sided. He's just saying that a conspiracy theory is not the flip side of a generally accepted theory. In the realm of reason we don't use the word "theory" as frivolously as you might think. It doesn't mean that you just "guess" about anything and then shift the burden of proof unto the people that are sceptical to your case.

1. Issues don't usually have 2 sides, so there is rarely one side and the "flip side." Most social, political, and even scientific issues have many possible sides. Maybe a better phrase would be the "odd side of the dodecahedron?"

2. Theory has a very specific meaning. As Spazzmaticus says, the appropriate word would be "hypothesis," and even then that would imply that you're taking the facts and applying some level of logic to them. In cases of conspiracy theories, you can't even call it a hypothesis. then again, when I was in school, one of my friends popped off "It's just a theory, it could be wrong" one day, and the saying became our thing any time someone was randomly guessing.

3. The burden of proof is always on the one presenting a theory. This is why the US and most other industrialized nations have moved to a innocent until proven guilty. A prosecutor's thoughts and ideas of what happened are just a theory of what the truth is based on the facts available. If you presume that a theory is correct without analyzing it, one can be lead to believe anything. However, by presuming that a theory may or may not be correct, but not necessarily wrong (and can be revised), we become more intelligent overall and can find deeper and deeper truths.

I'm not saying that anything that comes from the "metaphysical" school of thought is outright wrong. I studied it for a very long time. Many things, such as many Eastern medicine practices, have, through research, proven to be good ideas. Other things, such as magic spells, have, so far, proven to be nothing more than pure fantasy. A person just needs to take a good analytical look at everything they read, even those sources that are supposed to be highly reputable.

[Procne]

Look, Syndarn is in "imprinting" phase. His beliefs are set in stone and you can't convince him to anything. If you present him facts which are against his beliefs then he will automatically label them as "false"

[Syndarn]

Well i used to for many years believe in vaccines and such.. i was once like you. I know of all the evidence that speak for it since i believed it myself. What you are asking me is to revert back to my old ways of thinking. I'm not gonna do that because i believe those beliefs were based on false beliefs and corruption and they not longer serve me, i threw them out a long time ago. In sense Procne is right. But the same thing applies for you all else. I have already seen your side of the coin for a long long time ago. I know exactly how you are gonna feel if you let yourself believe in what i say, so i don't judge you lot. I felt like **** for a long time to be honest. It takes a bit of courage to choose to be different than the rest.

If vaccines suddenly would actually work like they are supposed to, and not change you. They would actually work with you like a good food supplement, then i would consider taking one. But as long as they are like this, even damaging your DNA, i'm not very keen on taking any. So if all of the conspiracy theories are BS and there is nothing to blame for it. On a scale from 1-10 how good do you feel like the US is doing in growth and such and health? and if there is nothing wrong and there is none to blame in this modern age, the future looks very grim for you.

It's not like i'm trying to make things worse for you, in fact i'm trying to help. I'm just saying take a step out of the box that's called your comfort zone and get a new perspective.

As Einstein said.

[Inotdead]

...

Just out of curiosity, what do you think about moon landing and 9/11?

[Dallane]

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Just out of curiosity, what do you think about moon landing and 9/11?

here we go lol

[pistolshrimp]

Lots of crazy ****.

[Dallane]

I blame the reptilians