This is a great article on wisdom regarding conspiracy theories. He promotes (and I agree with him) that conspiracy theories should be looked at based on probabilities, rather than dogmatically supported since there is rarely enough information to prove 100%. We also need to be careful to not fall into the trap of hanging on to a theory because we feel smarter or superior due to our "special knowledge". There are also cases where pushing a theory can harm the cause even if the theory is true, so care needs to be taken.
"What Can Graphene Oxide Teach Us About Facts and Fictions?
Tips for navigating uncertainty in a world filled with lies
A MIDWESTERN DOCTOR
MAY 6, 2023
Since I was young, I’ve craved information, and looking down every avenue for it soon brought me into the world of conspiracy theories and alternative sciences. From that world, I assembled a relatively wide lattice of beliefs and relative probabilities I attached to each (e.g., I think there is a 20% chance one conspiracy theory is true, whereas I believe there is a 90% another one is true). Then, as I came across more information, I gradually revised and updated those probabilities.
Since I spent a lot of time in this conspiracy realm, I feel I should share that one of the biggest things I took from exploring it was how often a corporation would commit a crime against the American people to keep a profitable product on the market. Then once people tried to expose the crime, the corporation would put out fake science and biased news coverage claiming the idea the crime was happening was a conspiracy, resulting in the conspiracy realm being the only place you could learn about the crime. It really bothered me how often I saw this happen.
Eventually, I drifted away from that field because I hit the point where most of it was repetitive, it didn’t seem like an efficient way for me to gain more knowledge and I started looking in other areas instead. As time went on, I realized that my experience with the conspiracy literature significantly differed from almost everyone else I talked to for two key reasons:
•I was at peace with holding contradictory beliefs or theories in mind. I never viewed any of them as a tangible reality and instead saw each as a relative probability that composed part of a larger probability field. I, in turn, assumed I would eventually gain insights into how to address these contradictions, and their contradictory existence didn’t bother me since none of them existed as solid entities my mind had latched onto.
•My foremost desire was to learn as much as possible, so I was not particularly attached to any specific idea or concept I came across. I was specifically drawn to the joy of realizing I had uncovered a deeper truth and the expansion I experienced in my mind when my reality was broadened rather than the specific idea that made this experience happen.
Don’t Covet Rare Objects
My time on Substack often makes me think of a verse from one of the Chinese spiritual classics:
Do not glorify the talented
So people will not become contentious
Do not covet rare objects
So that people will not become thieves
Do not flaunt what is desirable
So that people’s hearts will not be amiss
Per my understanding, the essential meaning of this passage is that "people" also refers to the individual who does the glorifying, treasuring (coveting), or flaunting. This passage is thus meant to teach what one does to themselves by engaging in this behavior by illustrating how it mirrors what one can see it does to others.
I've specifically thought about this passage because I've realized the rare objects many covet and treasure are simply pieces of information or ideas. Put differently, the underlying motivation I see in many is not a desire to understand the world we live in but rather the desire to know a truth no one else knows and to hoard it in the same manner someone else would hoard a physical treasure or a collection of rare objects they had assembled (which I likewise believe is never in the soul's best interest).
In the conspiracy field, this tendency to covet rare objects shows itself by people latching onto a specific conspiracy that allows them to feel superior for possessing what no one else knows. This behavior becomes a problem because once they covet the idea, they will both try to push it onto others (so they can affirm the value of their idea) and lash out at anyone who challenges the value of the idea they covet.
To some extent, I believe this is a reflection of our society's historically unique decision to glorify intellectual intelligence (which I must emphasize is only one type of intelligence, and that I regularly see "smart" individuals suffer and lead miserable lives because they are deficient in the other critical forms of intelligence our society seldom emphasizes). Because of this emphasis, one of the most common ways I see people being manipulated by society is by it telling them to be "smart," they need to do something like parrot the ideas of "smart" experts (this sadly describes much of the current left). I mention this because it continually astounds me how effective this form of manipulation is.
In the previous article, I discussed "empowering vs. disempowering belief systems." I did this because people's subconscious choices to adopt disempowering belief systems (many of which are fed to them by the media) are one of the most common causes of the wide range of issues (e.g., unhappiness or lack of success in life) they experience throughout their lives.
The great challenge I've found more and more as I ponder the essence of being a conspiracy theorist is that, even though I greatly value seeking out the truth, many of the belief systems being a conspiracy theorist requires you to hold are fundamentally disempowering. For example, it does not empower you to be black-pilled about how bad everything is, even if doing so makes you feel superior over the fact everyone besides you does not realize just how bad things are."
You can read the rest of the article at the link below. I highly recommend.
#grownostr #conspiracy #conspiracytheory
https://amidwesterndoctor.substack.com/p/what-can-graphene-oxide-teach-us?publication_id=748806&post_id=119388072&isFreemail=true
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