People Share 40 Conspiracy Theories They Claim Are "Too Logical To Ignore"

Steven told Bored Panda the type of interpretation of reality that recognizes only a single cause as a factor in political, social, or historical change is known as monocausal. Reality is often more complex.

"If a theory explaining an aspect of reality has monocausal tendencies (or even shamelessly presents itself as monocausal), it is highly likely to be wrong. We should develop a habit of thinking about this every time we hear a theory supposed to explain some 'hidden truth' to us. Then, if you think to yourself, 'Wow, that sounds pretty monocausal!'—it's a sign you should do your research."

Steven believes that people's fascination with conspiracy theories has to do with the desire for simplicity and clarity in an overly-complex, often-muddled world. "The world is complicated: many processes are going on that we don't have time to follow, don't have the knowledge to explore, don't have an awareness of their existence. Conspiracy theories are usually simple: in their worldview, one cause determines everything (the world is ruled by lizard people, etc.)," he explained.

"They present (at least at first) a clear and lucid vision of the world—often based on Manichean [good vs. evil] opposition. They give the false impression of thoroughly understanding and explaining the world in a simple way." Other reasons for the spread of conspiracy theories include teleological thinking, e.g. thinking about the purpose of something rather than its cause. Although Steven doesn't think that the moral aspect (that's the "good vs. evil" part) isn't the core element that explains why conspiracy theories are so popular, there's still a strong correlation between the two. 

"Studies prove that people who believe in one conspiracy theory are much more likely to believe in another. In this sense, I think that every conspiracy theory is wrong. They differ only in scale, but they are all part of the same mechanism."

Joseph M. Pierre, a professor of psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, told Bored Panda during an earlier interview that conspiracy theorists tend to focus on certain events when twisting the truth for their own purposes.

“It is true that certain historical events do tend to attract conspiracy theories and there is evidence that times of societal upheaval or crisis when people are feeling unsafe and desperate for clarity offer a kind of fertile soil for conspiracy theory beliefs,” he said.

“Over the past 60 years, the assassination of JFK, the death of Princess Diana, and 9/11 are the most obvious examples of national traumas surrounded by conspiracy theory beliefs. We should acknowledge that many conspiracy theories, like the idea that the Earth is flat, aren’t really based on any kind of obvious traumatic event,” the professor explained to Bored Panda.

“People who believe in conspiracy theories are also often attracted to the Manichean narratives that conspiracy theories offer, involving battles of good and evil pitting against each other in an almost apocalyptic fashion. So, it should come as no surprise that conspiracy theories might sprout up from World War II—a real-life apocalyptic battle between good and evil,” the expert said.

Meanwhile, Lee McIntyre, a Research Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University, told Bored Panda that when debating conspiracy theorists like Flat Earthers, you should ask them upfront what evidence they think would be enough to prove them wrong.

“I used that question in person at FEIC [Flat Earth International Conference] 2018 and it was very telling. Most of them just said ‘proof’ and I said ‘proof of what?’ They couldn’t be specific. This shows that their beliefs weren’t really based on evidence in the first place,” the expert said how conspiracy theorists tend to think.

“At one session I heard many Flat Earthers talk about losing family members, getting kicked out of their churches, losing jobs… who would do that for fun? These are hardcore science deniers. As hard as it might be to accept, there are people who believe this stuff and are willing even to put their lives on the line for it! One rocket guy crashed trying to prove Flat Earth. They aren’t pretending,” McIntyre told Bored Panda.

“Conspiracy theories have been around since Nero in the Roman Empire. They pop up in times of turmoil or mass unrest when people try to make sense of the world, but can’t. Flat Earth is in some ways just a run-of-the-mill conspiracy theory. They’ve all grown in popularity because beliefs (even fringe beliefs) are reinforced by peer approval, and that is now readily available on the internet. Virtually all of the flat earthers I met were converted based on Youtube videos. Some then went to the conferences. After that, they were ‘down the rabbit hole.'”

According to the expert, conspiracy theories can go viral and ‘infect’ new people. “It’s important to remember that these pathologies of human reasoning exist not just to defend themselves but to proselytize new members. They are virulent. They are infectious. I wish Flat Earth were the worst of them, but it isn’t. It’s the scourge of our age. And it will only continue to get worse.”