Community aspects of Conspiracy Theory

Where does this stem from, and I don't mean that in a negative way, its just that half a century ago salesman knocking at the door was pretty much routine. It's how people got their milk, newspaper, vacuums, carpets, shoes, plastic containers, make up, clothing, and so much more. Back then salesman were invited in and offered iced tea or coffee. So what's happened in the last 50rs or so.

ETA: Sorry if we've veered this interesting topic TV started off its course.

Perhaps....pre-Internet...? Conspiracy Theories began by simple face-to-face communication.

After all, this is how "religion" developed....
 
Damn!! I think I "love" you....not in that way...but as a "fellow Human being".....

Much appreciated. Myself and the wee man sat down and watched "Mandela" at the weekend, and the bit he came away with was "No child is born to hate another child, no matter their colour. Hatred is taught, but it does not come naturally to children. It is far easier to teach love" ... or words to that effect. He couldn't believe that a place like apartheid South Africa could have existed in a time when people drove cars, armies had tanks, and there were phones. I dread telling him about Palestine today ...
 
Much appreciated. Myself and the wee man sat down and watched "Mandela" at the weekend, and the bit he came away with was "No child is born to hate another child, no matter their colour. Hatred is taught, but it does not come naturally to children. It is far easier to teach love" ... or words to that effect. He couldn't believe that a place like apartheid South Africa could have existed in a time when people drove cars, armies had tanks, and there were phones. I dread telling him about Palestine today ...
The world would be a better place if children ran it. They don't see color or care about wealth. They don't discriminate and feel everyone deserves the same thing. My son used to talk about utopia all the time and asked why we couldn't live in a world where everyone was equal and had the same house or drove the same car. He likes to believe there are alien worlds in the universe that are living in utopia. Someday though, his heart will break and the harsh realities of our world will be at the forefront of his beliefs
 
The world would be a better place if children ran it. They don't see color or care about wealth. They don't discriminate and feel everyone deserves the same thing. My son used to talk about utopia all the time and asked why we couldn't live in a world where everyone was equal and had the same house or drove the same car. He likes to believe there are alien worlds in the universe that are living in utopia. Someday though, his heart will break and the harsh realities of our world will be at the forefront of his beliefs

Have you not seen Lord of the Flies? Or do you remember school at all? Kids can be utter feckers, forming cliques, picking on anyone different. When I was growing up there was fierce bullying. Sometimes it was one of the poorer kids whose clothes weren't quite right, other times it was the fat kid. I was fortunately exempt, but I saw it all the time. Even today, cyber bullying among pre-teens has led to some suicides. I think it starts at around 5, prior to that everything you said seems true.
 
Where does this stem from, and I don't mean that in a negative way, its just that half a century ago salesman knocking at the door was pretty much routine. It's how people got their milk, newspaper, vacuums, carpets, shoes, plastic containers, make up, clothing, and so much more. Back then salesman were invited in and offered iced tea or coffee. So what's happened in the last 50rs or so.

ETA: Sorry if we've veered this interesting topic TV started off its course.
(edited down because it was more of a rant than an answer there)
In the 90's Michigan had some fun legal loopholes that allowed salesmen like this to charge and collect for unwanted goods and services as long as they offered them in person. And even with the law changed that kind of verbal contract shenanigans are still really hard to fight.

Solicitors get a lot of hate for this stuff in mid-Michigan. It was bad enough around the time I bought the place that when Michigan was trying to pass its Stand Your Ground law, mailers in some districts sold it as a (wildly irresponsible) solution to door-to-door fraud, not crime or home defense.
 
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Have you not seen Lord of the Flies?

Or, read the book?

We "humans" (small characters) have a LOT to learn....only been around for about 3 MILLION years....takes some time to evolve.....
 
Have you not seen Lord of the Flies? Or do you remember school at all? Kids can be utter feckers, forming cliques, picking on anyone different. When I was growing up there was fierce bullying. Sometimes it was one of the poorer kids whose clothes weren't quite right, other times it was the fat kid. I was fortunately exempt, but I saw it all the time. Even today, cyber bullying among pre-teens has led to some suicides. I think it starts at around 5, prior to that everything you said seems true.
I probably should've stressed kids under 10 yrs of age. But you're right and those issues you speak of are learned from their parents. Parents that are racist or push too hard. Parents that think they are better than everyone else and their shit don't stink. But if we were to take children out if those influences out world would be much better.
 
I probably should've stressed kids under 10 yrs of age. But you're right and those issues you speak of are learned from their parents. Parents that are racist or push too hard. Parents that think they are better than everyone else and their shit don't stink. But if we were to take children out if those influences out world would be much better.
actually the kind stuff is all taught too. Sharing and taking turns takes more time then most people remember to teach. The reason they change as they age is because eventually they realize all adults are hypocrits.
 
actually the kind stuff is all taught too. Sharing and taking turns takes more time then most people remember to teach. The reason they change as they age is because eventually they realize all adults are hypocrits.
Well said Dee and so true. It's hard to tell your kids not to smoke or not to drink or what have you if your doing it. It's hard to tell our kids not to lie when they hear us lying to the bill collector or in out conversations. It's amazing how early on kids learn to lie. As parents we're often amazed but we have ourselves to blame.
 
It's hard to tell our kids not to lie when they hear us lying
OT but lying is actually an important skill. What you want to focus on is teaching them when it's very important not to lie vs. little white lies that don't really hurt anyone. That's where parents run into trouble, with blanket statements like "don't lie" <not saying you do this, just pointing it out.
 
Lying is probably one of those evolutionary social skillsets hard-wired into us, as well as gossip, doing favours, ostracising, forming cliques and hierarchies.
We're all politicians.
 
OT but lying is actually an important skill. What you want to focus on is teaching them when it's very important not to lie vs. little white lies that don't really hurt anyone. That's where parents run into trouble, with blanket statements like "don't lie" <not saying you do this, just pointing it out.
OT: you're right it is hard to teach when one should lie and when one shouldn't. It's hard explaining to your kids why you told someone they look really great when they don't. You call it a white lie but they have a hard time understanding the difference.
 
Lying is probably one of those evolutionary social skillsets hard-wired into us, as well as gossip, doing favours, ostracising, forming cliques and hierarchies.
We're all politicians.
Not to keep veering off topic but humans aren't the only species that lie. You're right in that it's an evolutionary trait and usually a sign of intelligence. I found an interesting article that talks about why and how animals lie. http://www.healthdiaries.com/animals-lie.htm
Do Animals Lie?

Is lying just a human trait or do animals lie, too? Many people believe animals don't lie, that they're immune to such human failings. However, many studies show that animals do indeed lie. In fact, lying appears to be a sign of intelligence. Therefore, the more intelligent the animal, the more likely it is to lie.

Take for example Koko the Gorilla. When her handlers confronted her after she tore a steel sink out of its mooring, she signed "cat did it" and pointed at her innocent pet kitten.

Perhaps the Koko example lends credence to the idea that lying comes with language. The more elaborate the language, the more elaborate the lying. Koko has learned to sign over 1000 words. The more words she knows, the easier it is for her to lie. Perhaps all animals have within them the tendency to deceive, but only with language is that tendency able to fully blossom.

Still, it doesn't mean that animals without complex language abilities don't bluff or lie. In a 1995 issue of the Journal of Theoretical Biology, a University of Rochester biologist Eldridge Adams published the results of research that show that animals of the same species bluff to get what they want. Specifically, he showed that a species of crustacean called Gonodactylus bredini have the ability to bluff stronger opponents into giving up a fight.

Many animals and insects have an inborn ability to camouflage themselves in order to hide from prey. Camouflage is a form of deception. It isn't in an animal's best interest to draw attention to itself. The more it blends, the longer it lives.

Is it possible that deception is not only a natural instinct of all living creatures, but that it is absolutely essential to survival? After all, those who lie (whether they be human or otherwise), often do so for their own gain - to avoid punishment, embarrassment, or harm.

The better a creature is at lying, bluffing, and deceiving, the more likely it is to survive in this world. Lying is all about deceiving predators and surviving - whether it is an insect changing its colors or a human lying to a boss who might fire him and take away his income and means of survival.

Could one reason that humans have evolved as much as we have be precisely this - that we are the world's best tricksters and liars? Does mastering the art of deceit mean mastering the world?
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Take for example Koko the Gorilla. When her handlers confronted her after she tore a steel sink out of its mooring, she signed "cat did it" and pointed at her innocent pet kitten.
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Well that's adorable.
 
Take for example Koko the Gorilla. When her handlers confronted her after she tore a steel sink out of its mooring, she signed "cat did it" and pointed at her innocent pet kitten.
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Well that's adorable.

LOL!! Pete. So well 'understated'.

I cannot help it, but the movie "Planet of the Apes" springs to mind.

Here, the really BAD versions....taken apart (as they should be...eviscerated):


AND:
 

You're a lunatic. This is exactly what the term conspiracy theory connotes or, more precisely, is designed to connote. It's intended to refer to the paranoid and delusional, the pathologically frightened and unrealistically suspect, the psychologically disenfranchised. The loon, the nut, the emotional outlier. It ends conversation in mid thought. It derails discussion and reserves for the trash heap of critical thinking subjects and issues that are vital for understanding and review.

What's fascinating is that our history and the history of the world are replete with conspire cay facts not theories. Actual cabals and confederations designed to bring about an evil end. Doubt me? Try Johnson and the Gulf of Tonkin on for size. Oh, and there's that JFK assassination moment. Oh, but sorry, I forgot. Lee Harvey acted alone. On three everybody: Right.

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