The growth of belief in conspiracies - where does it come from?

 

Dr Michael Shermer, Editor of Skeptic Magazine distinguishes between real conspiracies, the assassination of the Arch Duke Ferdinand in 1914 or Abraham Lincoln from the extreme conspiracy theories of our era. 

You might also look up the use of panic and scare mongering by Titus Oates and the Horrid Popish Plot - ask Mr Gardner about that one.

 Conspiracy theories fill an emotional need to believe that 'someone' or some group is in control of events. Even if they are 'devils' or 'aliens'. If the alternative is an age of uncertainty with no consensus about whether god or gods exist, is there a meaning to life or is it all just as Paul Auster wrote "The Music of Chance"?
Samuel Beckett suggests we are 'waiting' for someone to rescue us instead of acting ourselves.
Because religion offers 'absolute truths' it provides structure and comfort to a world that often seems random and cruel.
"God if he exists, contributes to the chaos by his silence." Michael Sinclair.

Other conspiracy theories:
Water fluoridation is effective at reducing cavities in both children and adults. Generally accepted fact by the majority of scientific community.
OR
Water fluoridation is a government plot to exercise mind control on the public.
Water fluoridation is a communist plot to exercise mind control on the public. USA 1950-1960.
Pakistan extremists kill medical workers because they believe that the anti-polio vaccination programme is a CIA plot to make people infertile.

The challenge for TOK learners is to weigh the evidence, follow the scientific method, look at the sources and their authority.

The Prophet Hen of Leeds


That's right. In 1806 a prophetic hen was discovered in Leeds, England. It conveyed its barnyard wisdom using the king's English on the side of its own eggs. Of course it was discovered that the owner of the hen was using acid to write "Christ is coming" on the side of the eggs, and then shoving them back into the chosen fowl.
It was a hoax by Mary Bateman, who had written on the eggs using acid and reinserted them into the hen's oviduct.^{[3] WIKIPEDIA - SEE ALSO BOOK BELOW}

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds 

Who hijacked the MH370 saga? Australia's PM and conspiracy theories - Features Israel News | Haaretz

Who hijacked the MH370 saga? Australia's PM and conspiracy theories - Features Israel News | Haaretz

Chinese artist Ai Weiwei detained by government. Here is his TED film.

CONSPIRACY THEORIES and Flight MH370 - knowledge question - what actual evidence do we have now?

Above - CNN - Randy Kaye examines some of the conspiracy theories around M H 370

SilkAir Crash - Past example of air crash where some parties refused to accept the findings of the professional investigators? Emotion as a way of knowing?

Egypt Air Crash - pilot suicide or mechanical failure? How emotion influences how knowledge is constructed.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/mar/16/duncancampbell

              

                                    Revenge drove pilot to crash plane       The co-pilot of EgyptAir Flight 990, which crashed off New England in 1999, killing 217 people, deliberately crashed the plane as an act of revenge, according to a source close to the investigation. Gamil el-Batouty had earlier been reprimanded for sexual misconduct and the executive who told him he would not be allowed to fly US routes again was on board the plane.

The report by the National Transportation Safety Board is due to be published shortly. It will conclude that el-Batouty forced the New York-to-Cairo plane down. The report will not attribute motives to him as to why he took the action nor will it suggest that he deliberately crashed the flight.

      

PART 2 above

Part 3 below - 

      

However, sources close to the investigation paint a picture of el-Batouty as a man facing ruin in the light of a series of allegations of sexual misconduct, including exposing himself to teenage girls, propositioning hotel maids and stalking female hotel guests.   

THE GUARDIAN - FEMINISM and Corporate Advertising

                                     



CLICK ON LINK

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/apr/23/feminism-adverts-great-way-sell-stuff

'Korean Plastic Surgery' Pictures Go Viral

Tales from the Organ Trade - Trailer

The Kennedy Assassination - Beyond Conspiracy

The Kennedy Assassination - Beyond Conspiracy

Zakaria Cnn War on Drugs and Prison population - YMCMB-MMG.COM

Harlem Shake meets Arab Spring: Egyptian police arrest YouTube 'exhibiti...

Celebrate YouTube's birthday with animal videos - Jeannie Moos CNN

OCD bank robbers

Talk with book collector Stephen Orgel

Professor Stephen Orgel, a great scholar, lecturer and writer. Why we should annotate as we read - to interact with the text.

Keith Chen: Could your language affect your ability to save money?

Thanks to Madhav for suggesting this video for our TOK blog. He sent me the link to the TED BLOG which you can find here and is a great resource for all IB students, university students and enquiring minds everywhere.



http://blog.ted.com/2013/02/19/5-examples-of-how-the-languages-we-speak-can-affect-the-way-we-think/

Women in Nazi Germany

Helen Mirren on Vasily Kandinsky

Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944)

RAT Terrorizes NYC - why are rats feared?

                                    Emotion as a Way of Knowing - do they inspire fear in every cultue? In this instance the rat was probably more terrified than the commuters. Europeans are still taught that rats were responsible for the plague or Black Death which killed millions.

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, resulting in the deaths of
an estimated75 to 200 million people and peaking in Europe in the
years 1348–50 CE.^[1][2][3] Although there were several competing
theories as to the etiology of
the Black Death, analysis of DNA from victims in northern and southern Europe
published in 2010 and 2011 indicates that the pathogen responsible was the Yersinia pestis bacterium, probably causing several
forms of plague.^[4][5]

The Black Death is
thought to have originated in the arid plains of central Asia, where it then
travelled along the Silk Road,
reaching the Crimea by 1346.^[6] From there, it was most likely carried
by Oriental rat
fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships.
Spreading throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, the Black Death is
estimated to have killed 30–60% of Europe's total population.^[7] All in all, the plague reduced the world population from an estimated 450 million
down to 350–375 million in the 14th century. 

The aftermath of the
plague created a series of religious, social, and economic upheavals, which had
profound effects on the course of European history.
It took 150 years for Europe's population to recover. The
plague recurred occasionally in Europe until the 19th century. Wikipedia.

Shakespeare The Merchant of Venice Film 2004 AL PACINO SHYLOCK

Kevin Spacey on JFK and Crucial Impact of the Arts

Family Guy - Visiting Ground Zero - Postmodernism in popular culture

This clip is more than just a cartoon. At one level it exposes Peter's ignorance about the origins of the hijackers and his obsession with Iraq. The Bush-Cheney Government were keen to invade Iraq and were happy to promote this confusion in the run-up to the Iraq war. So Peter as a typical 'average' American male, who relies on limited sources for his knowledge is fixated on Iran and Iraq which had nothing to do with the attacks on New York.  (Watch Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" which shows there was no conspiracy but the American Government worked hard to avoid embarrassment to the government of Saudi Arabia - from which 15 of the hijackers originated. The hijackers were acting independently, they were not acting for any Arab Government and the the Saudi Government condemned the 9/11 attacks.)

**********************************************************

This cartoon also reminds us how popular culture has changed from the 'innocent' patriarchal cartoons like "The Flinstones" to the more satirical and intellectual commentary represented by Lisa in "The Simpsons" to a truly postmodern and subversive programme in "Family Guy".

The final joke is that the audience includes smart people like Bryan the dog or Lisa but many more people like Homer Simplson and Peter Griffin.  Modern cartoons contain social commentary for those smart enough to realise what's going on there but many people miss it and just assume 'its a cartoon, right?"  

Most Conspiracy Theories debunked by Harvard Professor Cass Sunstein

There are real conspiracies. History provides many examples where EVIDENCE is available and where respected academic sources uphold the evidence. The assassination of Julius Caesar, the many attempts on Hitler's life, most famously by Count Von Stauffenberg. But was JFK murdered by a lone assassin or by a conspiracy? To answer that question one needs to look at the evidence. Was Princess Diana murdered by the British Secret Service? Was General Patton murdered by elements in the US Government to stop him running for President? Was putting fluoride in water a sinister plot in mind control by the US government?
To answer the riddle of Malaysia Flight 370 should we simply watch the tv series "Lost"? Or should we follow the evidence? The plane was directed off its flight path by some human intervention. Who did it and why and under what circumstances? We must wait for the evidence. The internet hates a data vacuum and so conspiracy theories thrive. T.S. Eliot in "Burnt Norton" from Four Quartets:

... human kind

Cannot bear very much reality

Inside The Nazi War Machine 1/3 - Inside The Holocaust - WARNING DISTURBING IMAGES

IB Class of 2013 students share tips for success in the IB and gaining college admission.

Some of the IB Graduates of May 2013 who attended a special assembly for our current IB students. They  shared experiences of their new lives in top universities in the USA and UK. Later they popped into my classroom to say hello.

Mr. C.'s IB English Blog : Sweet Delight, Endless Night - William Blake

Mr. C.'s IB English Blog - BD Somani Int School : Sweet Delight, Endless Night - William Blake

Cable News Ratings: MH370 Obsession Boosts CNN And Fox News, While Al Jazeera America Avoids Indulgent Coverage

Cable News Ratings: MH370 Obsession Boosts CNN And Fox News, While Al Jazeera America Avoids Indulgent Coverage



Why the obsession with the missing airline when there is so little real information available about what we really know? How do we know what we know? What are the sources? Is the media coverage responsible and ethical? Should we consider the feelings of the families more before we all speculate on the media and the internet?