Who realÂly killed John F. Kennedy? Did AmerÂiÂca realÂly land on the moon? What realÂly brought down the Twin TowÂers? Few modÂern pheÂnomÂeÂna posÂsess the sheer fasÂciÂnaÂtion quoÂtient of conÂspirÂaÂcy theÂoÂries. If you believe in them, you’ll of course dig into them obsesÂsiveÂly, and if you don’t believe in them, you sureÂly feel a great curiosÂiÂty about why othÂer peoÂple do. SciÂence writer and SkepÂtic magÂaÂzine EdiÂtor in Chief Michael SherÂmer falls, needÂless to say, into the secÂond group; so far into it that examÂinÂing conÂspirÂaÂcy theÂoÂries and those who subÂscribe to them has become one of his best-known proÂfesÂsionÂal purÂsuits since at least 1997, the year of his straightÂforÂwardÂly titled book Why PeoÂple Believe Weird Things.
On the 50th anniverÂsary of JFK’s assasÂsiÂnaÂtion, SherÂmer wrote an artiÂcle in the Los AngeÂles Times about the reaÂsons that event has drawn so many avid conÂspirÂaÂcy theÂoÂrists over the past half-decade. First: their cogÂniÂtive disÂsoÂnance resultÂing from the two seemÂingÂly incomÂpatÂiÂble ideas, that of JFK “as one of the most powÂerÂful peoÂple on Earth” and JFK “killed by Lee HarÂvey Oswald, a lone losÂer, a nobody.” SecÂond: their parÂticÂiÂpaÂtion in a monoÂlogÂiÂcal belief sysÂtem, “a uniÂtary, closed-off worldÂview in which beliefs come togethÂer in a mutuÂalÂly supÂportÂive netÂwork.” Third: their conÂfirÂmaÂtion bias, or “the tenÂdenÂcy to look for and find conÂfirmÂing eviÂdence for what you already believe” — the umbrelÂla man, the grassy knoll — “and to ignore disÂconÂfirmÂing eviÂdence.”
These facÂtors all come into play with the othÂer major AmerÂiÂcan conÂspirÂaÂcy theÂoÂries as well. In the podÂcast clip at the top of the post, you can hear physiÂcist Michio Kaku tryÂing to set straight a moon landÂing conÂspirÂaÂcy theÂoÂrist. They argue that man has nevÂer set foot on the moon, but that the govÂernÂment instead hoodÂwinked us into believÂing it with an elabÂoÂrate audioÂviÂsuÂal proÂducÂtion (directÂed, some theÂoÂrists insist, by none othÂer than StanÂley Kubrick, who supÂposÂedÂly “conÂfessed” in fake interÂview footage that recentÂly made the interÂnet rounds). Should you require furÂther arguÂment to the conÂtrary, have a look at S.G. Collins’ Moon Hoax Not just above.
No highÂer-proÂfile set of conÂspirÂaÂcy-theÂoÂry moveÂment has come out of recent hisÂtoÂry than the 9/11 Truthers, who may difÂfer on the details, but who all gathÂer under the umbrelÂla of believÂing that the events of that day hapÂpened not because of the actions of a conÂspirÂaÂcy of forÂeign terÂrorÂists, but because of a conÂspirÂaÂcy withÂin the UnitÂed States govÂernÂment itself. In the Q&A footage above (origÂiÂnalÂly uploaded, in fact, by a believÂer), one such theÂoÂrist stands up and asks linÂguist and activist Noam ChomÂsky to join in on the moveÂment, pointÂing to a covÂer-up of the manÂner in which 7 World Trade CenÂter colÂlapsed — a big “smokÂing gun” of the largÂer conÂspirÂaÂcy, in their eyes.
This prompts ChomÂsky to offer an explaÂnaÂtion of how sciÂenÂtists and engiÂneers actuÂalÂly go lookÂing for the truth. Have they elimÂiÂnatÂed entireÂly their cogÂniÂtive disÂsoÂnance, monoÂlogÂiÂcal belief sysÂtems, and conÂfirÂmaÂtion biasÂes? No human could ever do that perÂfectÂly — indeed, to be human is to be subÂject to all these disÂtortÂing conÂdiÂtions and more — but the largÂer enterÂprise of sciÂence, at its best, frees us litÂtle by litÂtle from those very shackÂles. What a shame to volÂunÂtarÂiÂly clap oneÂself back into them.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
Michio Kaku Schools a Moon LandÂing-ConÂspirÂaÂcy BelievÂer on His SciÂence FanÂtasÂtic PodÂcast
StanÂley Kubrick Faked the ApolÂlo 11 Moon LandÂing in 1969, Or So the ConÂspirÂaÂcy TheÂoÂry Goes
Noam ChomÂsky Schools 9/11 Truther; Explains the SciÂence of MakÂing CredÂiÂble Claims
Based in Seoul, ColÂin MarÂshall writes and broadÂcasts on cities and culÂture. He’s at work on a book about Los AngeÂles, A Los AngeÂles Primer, the video series The City in CinÂeÂma, the crowdÂfundÂed jourÂnalÂism project Where Is the City of the Future?, and the Los AngeÂles Review of Books’ Korea Blog. FolÂlow him on TwitÂter at @colinmarshall or on FaceÂbook.
