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Study: Conspiracy theorists are not necessarily paranoid
A new study from psychologists Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz helps to untangle the relationship between belief in conspiracy theories and paranoia. The researchers found that conspiracy theorists are not necessarily paranoid. While paranoid people believe that almost everybody is out to get them, conspiracist believe that a few powerful people are out to get everybody. Their findings were published in the European Journal of Social Psychology.
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Dont forget, the US government listening to your phone calls and reading your emails was a whack-a-doodle conspiracy theory, once upon a time.
True. Although, I find it hard to care much about conspiracy theories - mainly because a) the theories can't really be proven (not saying they're false, just that we don't have enough info to say yes or no to them) and b) I simply don't have enough time on my hands to sit around and debate about things that might be. Whereas I find it easier to focus on things that ARE.
"Theory" doesn't always mean something to be proven or not. Sometimes it's a way in which we can understand. The germ theory of disease, music theory, and the magic bullet that killed Kennedy are well past being tested as suggested above. We reason under uncertainty, sure that's a challenge, but things we don't understand exist just the same. Whether we even try to fathom them or not. Everybody talks about the whether, but there may not be much we can do about it. But maybe, just maybe, there is.