[PLUG-TALK] Birds Aren't Real!

[Paul Heinlein]

On Thu, 9 Dec 2021, Keith Lofstrom wrote:

> Parody anti-conspiracy movement "Birds Aren't Real":
>
> https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/technology/birds-arent-real-gen-z-misinformation.html
>
> Bring your friends to the next wingnut conspiracy rally,
> and start chanting "Birds Aren't Real".

I formerly thought that people prone to conspiracy theories were more 
or less like people I've encountered my whole life (myself included) 
who stubbornly resist evidence counter to their opinions because they 
don't like losing arguments.

I finally got it through my head that conspiracy theorists are 
interested far more in issues of identity and control than in what I'd 
more narrowly define as normal ego issues. Evidence counter to their 
opinions does not merely deflate their egos; it undermines their 
identities and levers of control (real or only perceived, it doesn't 
matter). Hence it undermines their futures.

I don't know what the answer is, but my current opinion is that 
vulnerability surface (to borrow a phrase) is much larger than facts 
and clear logic.

-- 
Paul Heinlein
heinlein at madboa.com
45.38° N, 122.59° W