When it comes to conspiracy theories there is a wide variety of them, but few people try to explain their appeal as thoroughly as the author Maggie Koerth-Baker through her article “Why Rational People Buy into Conspiracy Theories.” The author’s paper starts by talking about the incident at the Boston Marathon and how, even though one of the brothers had been arrested, there were still theories being created in order to explain the possible events and motives behind the attack. It is explained that the best way to determine someone’s belief in a theory is if they believe in other theories due to the fact that a conspiracy theory isn’t so much a response to a single event as it is an expression of an overarching worldview (Koerth-Baker 343). …show more content…
This section was given in order to show why conspiracy theories are appealing to the average person and how anybody can create one. Next, research data on the general personality and mental state of conspiracy theorists was introduced with believers being more likely to be cynical and have low self-worth (Koerth-Baker 343). Afterward a brief explanation is given on the amygdala, a part of the brain which activates after fear is felt, and how it is crucial to the creation of the various theories we have today. There has also been research showing a correlation between theorizing and strong support of democratic principles due to the fact that conspiracy theories wouldn’t exist without real conspiracies coming to light (Koerth-Baker 344). Then, Koerth begins to talk about how an abundance of available knowledge on the internet has made destroying conspiracy theories even more difficult due to the constant use of confirmation bias. In 2006 scientists discovered an event called the “backfire effect” where any attempts to debunk a theory makes it more popular to the people, but the effect seems more noticeable when it supports a worldview or ideology (Koerth-Baker …show more content…
Though, in hindsight, this isn’t quite so surprising since someone has to be skeptical about a topic in order for a theory to be created in the first place. These results probably won’t result in a massive movement but they do show how skeptical the average American is of the world around them and the paranoia that’s lying underneath the surface. The general population would have no need for conspiracy theories if real conspiracies, such as Watergate, hadn’t show how vulnerable their private lives were along with how unreliable the government could be. Koerth-Baker and I have no ill-will towards the government, but, in the end, these wild accusations would not exist if true events that could undermine the trust of the people hadn’t been revealed to the
Holling was a very interesting and very relatable person. He’s this pre-teen thats in middle school. He has a dad that only cares about work, his mom works around the house and his sister she work for Bobby Kennedy and she is a flower child. Holling is the only student in his classrooms on wednesday afternoons with Mrs. Baker. Half of his class is catholic, and half is lutheran, and they leave early on wednesdays to go to church.
Debra Lynn Baker had a nice life. Her early stages in Wichita, Texas were a commonplace out of some lazy screenwriter mind. She was young and good-looking woman that married her childhood sweetheart, Tony Baker in 1975 and remained married for 20 years. They had a son, Charles in 1976 who played football in high school. The Bakers were a nice family.
much evidence that proves it. As far as who was part of the conspiracy, I came to the consensus
The day that President Kennedy was assassinated, people started to view the world differently. His death was the first time that a conspiracy theory transformed into a conceivable form of knowledge among the general public. "It was because of Kennedy's death in Dallas that the conspiracy theory was born" (Wensley). It started with an article written ...
Several rhetorical concepts are used to approach the readers of this article, these being proofs known as reasoning (logos), credibility (ethos), and emotion (pathos). Conspiracy theorists, such as Mock, often use logic or reason to attract readers. They understand that conspiracies are seen as lies and paranoia, so to build their audience they appeal to their logical side. In today’s society logic is everything, and being able to prove something is what is important. Making a reference to a factual document or book is always a source of proof. The reference towards a dictionary is used because it is something we use every day, something that is impo...
Many historical events were taking place at the time in history the “Miss Polly Baker and “The Minister’s Black Veil” were written. For one, there was not a severance of church and state as of yet. In this essay, I will attempt to elaborate on the content and the similarities in these well-known pieces of American literature.
It is clear that while political scandal, primarily the 1974 Watergate scandal, played a large role in the rapidly declining confidence in government between 1968 and 1980, it is not the sole or even the dominant factor. The Watergate scandal only impacted on the Nixon era, and subsequently lead to measures that should have prevented further distrust in the government. Instead, the role played by the four presidents who held office in those years was the main reason behind the decline in confidence. The role of the presidents and their White House administrations encompassed political scandals, and also clearly influenced other factors such as the role
It is human nature to try and find the unseen hand in a crime. When calamity struck on November 22, 1963, the country began to search for the unseen hand in the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The United States was completely taken under shock when news came to them that Kennedy had been shot in Dealey Plaza. 70% of Americans believe Kennedy was assassinated under some type of conspiracy. Few know the facts to what they believe, but most just believe, but most just believe as an escape route to the reality that a small man such as Lee Harvey Oswald can kill a man as big as John F. Kennedy. While people feel Lee Harvey was accompanied in the killing, the fact of the matter is that there is no evidence to prove Lee Harvey Oswald was part of a conspiracy.
In researching this and many other conspiracy theories, one can see many uses of sensationalism, mainly by the media. This media- the news (local and national), magazines, tabloids, television shows, movies, and so on- has a huge e...
Everyday citizens often live unaware of their government’s inner workings. The knowing of political espionage is often too heavy of a subject to be inducted in conversation. True, prima facie, modest twists and turns of information may not be considered substantial, but this inconsideration leaves much to be uncontrolled. It is easy for political leaders to become power crazed, to not realize the massive implications that come of their actions. Only after all is said and done do the people actually realize their government is an opaque mask of deception. The Watergate Scandal substantially impacted Americans’ trust in their government.
As the mind matures and grows, new opinions are formed with the help of the revolutionizing consciousness of humanity. The human conscious allows humanity to develop individually and gain unique cognitive patterns and thinking processes. However, these opinions can be manipulated by environmental sources, like the media. The media’s puppet strings can be used to influence the minds of the masses and control their overall thinking process. It takes away an individual’s freedom to think for themselves and form their own opinions. Manipulation is a key ingredient in attaining support for a side of an argument. News networks have this ability to twist the minds of their listeners and unconsciously force them to believe in their words. Two of the
Ever noticed somebody being blamed because nobody owns up to what has been done or when others know the truth but will not say anything so the person will still get accused? Many people live to hide the truth from everyone or twist facts up so it will cause confusion between people. When this happens is what introduces us to the topic of conspiracy theories. A very famous conspiracy theory is the killing of John Fitzgerald Kennedy. President Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald but did Oswald really kill the president? People may never know the truth behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy, many people have conspiracies on the assassination such as the “umbrella man,” the CIA doing it, and Lee Harvey being on a payroll. Lee Harvey Oswald was not the
Professor and Classmates the conspiracy theory I will be discussing is the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr on April 4 1968 in that James Earl Ray was convicted of the assassination. Today over 40 plus years later it is still a mystery concerning Dr King assassination to whether James Earl Ray acted alone to carry out this assassination. The murder of Dr King was later believed to be a conspiracy theory involving a bar owner Lowyd Jowers and several other coconspirators. One of the biggest theories of this assassination was that Dr. King son Dexter King met with James Earl Ray with the blessing of his family in prison and shook his hand and professed belief in his innocence. Another theory is that the government FBI and the mafia was
Since the beginning of settled civilizations, people have had more mutual sharings than ever before. By the same token, there have been some conspiracy theories that are usually against the culturally accepted beliefs of religions, science and society. A conspiracy theory can be described so differently. However, as in his text, Marshall Brain explicates, a conspiracy is generally defined as a theory seeking to explain a disputed case or matter as a plot by a secret group or alliance rather than an individual or isolated act (Brain). Especially, after the new media has become quite popular, more and more conspiracies are theorized every single day, which aim to catch society’s attention via such media tools as the internet, journals and newspapers. Thus, people who theorize those conspiracies tend to use such objects as spiritual and mysterious ones in order to interest people. To illustrate, many examples can be given. For instance, many people have claimed that they were abducted by aliens, although they could show no evidences. Here, a citation from Blackmore could facilitate to understand the circumstance better. She states that people occasionally claim that they have been abducted from public places by aliens, in this case that may provide them with witnesses and affirmations but no evidence could be shown so far (Blackmore). As it is well known, only a small number of people believe such alien abductions, however, rating of this kind of news is quite high on media, because humankind has been wondering if there are extraterrestrial creatures out of the earth. Another example can be conspiracy theories which are about the origins of religions such as the rejection of Jesus Christ. There are some people who pay attention to...
Many of the American public seem to have a desire to believe whatever is the current fad—such things as the 50th anniversary hype in 1997 of alleged government cover-ups of alien autopsies in Roswell, New Mexico or that current advances in cloning will be used by those in power (politically or economically) for subversive means. These beliefs may stem from a variety of factors and fear is certainly one of those factors. Fear comes in many forms—fear of the unknown, fear of that which is not understood or is misunderstood (often resulting in erroneous conclusions), fear that something important is being kept from all but a select few (conspiracy theories).