Thursday, Nov 27, 2008
Interesting theory on why some people believe in so many conspiracies…
Scientific American: Patternicity: Finding Meaningful Patterns in Meaningless Noise
I argue that our brains are belief engines: evolved pattern-recognition machines that connect the dots and create meaning out of the patterns that we think we see in nature. Sometimes A really is connected to B; sometimes it is not. When it is, we have learned something valuable about the environment from which we can make predictions that aid in survival and reproduction. We are the ancestors of those most successful at finding patterns. This process is called association learning, and it is fundamental to all animal behavior, from the humble worm C. elegans to H. sapiens.
Unfortunately, we did not evolve a Baloney Detection Network in the brain to distinguish between true and false patterns. But such erroneous cognition is not likely to remove us from the gene pool....
45 Comments
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1. rumble said...
"that aid in survival and reproduction."
Unfortunately, survival of the fittest does not apply in first world countries, where it seems the government is hell bent on ensuring that the most incompetent are most likely to survive.
2. mark wadsworth said...
This pattern seeking theory can be used to explain why so many people are religious - if the small things make sense and/or follow patterns, why shouldn't there be a bigger meaning and order to everything? The same goes for conspiracy theorists, I suppose.
I personally thoroughly enjoy a good conspiracy theory, but only for a giggle.
3. malct said...
when they create the debt based money supply out of thin air, they do not create the interest.
no theory involved, just plain simple unavoidable FACT
Oh sorry nopennoho, you were talking about conspiracies again, silly me, it was the theory thing that confused me.
pattern matching is an interesting human trait from a psychological point of view
we all do it, all the time, and it's a pain in the bum. Ask lp.
anyone wanting to know more should google Human Givens Foundation or Institute
4. malct said...
"I personally thoroughly enjoy a good conspiracy theory, but only for a giggle."
mark W really! try conspiracy FACTS then you can have a full blown laugh.
Why don't we have LVT? sorry 'Land Value Tax'?
I may have got the title wrong, I'm here on a very short leash.
but you know what I mean
thursday night is meetup night
5. nickolarge said...
When you consider how little is required for something to qualify as a conspiracy, I have to wonder why so many folk are so keen to dismiss any theories that arise.
I wouldn't mind if they took the time to sort the wheat from the chaff but they don't. It's instant dismissal, usually with a dig at tin foil hatters thrown in for good measure.
6. plato said...
'Unfortunately, we did not evolve a Baloney Detection Network in the brain to distinguish between true and false patterns. We have no error-detection governor to modulate the pattern-recognition engine.'
Oh yes we do and most emphatically so. Unless that is; we have not passed the mental maturity level of a child. Which can easily be maintained by the removal of questioning.
I refuse to use the C word with theory as this IMO has a political connotation. 'Theory' is quite sufficient and does not need to be labled.
Theory is used to investigate or answer an open question or reason for a happening. It is the basis of discovery and truth and thereby the route to progression.
To deny theory would result in extinction of the human being.
7. last_days_of_disco said...
Social Darwinism is just around the corner when you start talking about evolution and the brain. Skull measuring will start soon or some such other equivalent. The forgotten history of the run up to the second world war and how social Darwinism fed the supremacist beliefs that resulted in the holocaust (both Fascism and Communism had similar eugenics arguments). This is one of the key reasons why I have become disillusioned with what passes for "Science". Global warming, yada yada, whatever.
8. nopensionnohouse said...
Nickolarge “When you consider how little is required for something to qualify as a conspiracy, I have to wonder why so many folk are so keen to dismiss any theories that arise.
I wouldn't mind if they took the time to sort the wheat from the chaff but they don't. It's instant dismissal, usually with a dig at tin foil hatters thrown in for good measure.”
Yeah, I totally agree. Some of these theories have been around for years. Not sure how long you have been lurking here but I have plenty of time to make up my mind on some of the theories presented here. Most of them are repeated every couple of weeks if you missed one.
OK then. Let’s take one wild theory.
Free energy.
For a couple of weeks now I have been asking p4ac to show me ONE, just ONE viable free energy machine and I would go and check it out where ever it is in the world and report back here… but he never answers.
So perhaps you could help me sort some wheat from chaff and suggest a technology for me to physically go research and see for my own eyes.
9. digdug said...
Conspiracy Theorists, sorry.. "Truth Seekers" LOL... never seem to ever get anything wrong.. They just take up a position and argue it (badly) LOL
Bless them..
10. malct said...
plato - I am greatly humbled by your submission
I of course meant no offence to those of greater understanding of . . .
. . . whatever the rest of them don't understand.
towit I have gone - like a butterfly in the night
11. malct said...
oh no I haven't
dig dug - find a pin - stick it in somewhere and see if you are still alive
12. rumble said...
Plato, I think your point is valid when the term is interpreted literally, but it's usually used figuratively, to describe theories based on a depth of knowledge so superficial that the selection of connected details is bordering on random. I think the term "conspiracy theory" gets elevated to "theory" when it involves someone who has at least some depth of knowledge in the field, rather than someone who's been flipping through Scientific American.
13. sold 2 rent 1 said...
nopensionnohouse,
http://www.free-energy.ws/
Look out for big developments in our understanding in dark energy/dark matter in March-April 2009.
By 2011 dark-energy/free energy systems will be the norm
14. digdug said...
Malct, time to wake up! It'll happen soon dont worry.. the clouds will clear.. you'll see the truth you seek sooner or later..
15. digdug said...
Sold2rent, as these "predictions" turn out incorrect will you go mental or go on some sort of rampage killing people? If so, what county are you in (so as I can make sure im not there) Thanks in advance. Ps Your time to TRUELY awaken is coming soon...
16. gardeniadotnet said...
15. digdug said.. Your time to TRUELY (sic) awaken is coming soon...
If you've got something to say, say it.
17. planning4acrash said...
Government and the media lied about house prices going up. That, my dear, is a conspiracy or stupidity. A debunk of the cognition of recognizing conspiracies does not stop them from occuring. Because people always want a buck for nothing.
18. nopensionnohouse said...
s2r1 said "http://www.free-energy.ws/"
Thanks for the reply.
No, I didn't mean give me a link to a web site where I can buy DVD's and books or write a sentence about looking out for the potential dark energy stuff you keep talking about.
I mean "show me a free energy machine that works today and I'll physically go and see it".
rumble said... "I think the term "conspiracy theory" gets elevated to "theory" when it involves someone who has at least some depth of knowledge in the field, rather than someone who's been flipping through Scientific American"
You mean just like when someone flips through the pages of prison planet or who listens to the Alex Jones show or looks at videos on youtube?
19. Nopensionnohouse said...
P4AC
“Government and the media lied about house prices going up” is greed and stupidity.
“Because people always want a buck for nothing” is greed and stupidity.
Nothing more!
20. nopensionnohouse said...
P4AC
“Government and the media lied about house prices going up” is greed and stupidity.
“Because people always want a buck for nothing” is greed and stupidity.
Nothing more!
21. gardeniadotnet said...
@ no pension, no house,
A poor article, but I did subsequently find a useful piece on procrastination.
Thanks.
22. nopensionnohouse said...
gardeniadotnet I used to be indecisive but I'm not so sure now.
23. rumble said...
nopension,
"You mean just like when someone flips through the pages of prison planet or who listens to the Alex Jones show or looks at videos on youtube?"
Pretty much. It's the same as all the muppets preaching that house prices only ever go up... 'cos they saw it on Location, Location, Location.
They've fallen for the media, just presented by a different bunch. Got to get behind the media, get to the data.
24. sold 2 rent 1 said...
nopensionnohouse,
The truth can only be revealed at a certain rate.
That is the mathematics of the universe.
If you are struggling to find the truth then there are clearly more people more determined than yourself to discover it.
You have to fight for the truth, it cannot be handed on a plate as you would like.
Buy the books, buy the DVDs, make the phone calls, get the addresses, book the plane tickets and hire the cars.
No pain no gain.
25. rumble said...
S2R1,
This Truth of which you speak, is much like the God spoken about by religious nutters - mysterious, indefinable and unquestionable - the perfect answer to everything.
26. digdug said...
gardeniadotnet your time to awaken is upon you.. WAKE UP or be silent!
27. plato said...
rumble..........@20:42
I have no disagreement with your comment.your point is very valid.
My point is : Which theory do you suppress before no questions can be asked? We have to take the rough with the smooth as in there somewhere lie the answers we seek. By labeling something,we create a preconceived attitude that can degrade an actual fact.
Such expression may supply an accidental discovery or an alternative way of looking at something. Therefore I cannot object as others do. That to me is wrong and I am compelled to at least listen. There is a much greater importance here than my personal objections.
28. gardeniadotnet said...
Kaffee: I want the truth!
Jessep: You can't handle the truth!
29. titaniccaptain said...
All this is down to perspective and the life experience that we have which draws us to the conclusions which we reach on life........one thing to note is because certain types reach certain conclusions i.e. conspiricy conclusions that does not mean that the conspiricy is not true........just something to think on
30. phdinbubbles said...
"show me a free energy machine that works today and I'll physically go and see it".
Look up at the sky and you will see the Sun. I suppose it depends on what you mean by free?
If you're a sophisticated investor you could try this place I found courtesy of Google
31. bellwether said...
I guess in this kind of enviroment we give everyone a greater level of credence than in real interaction where we could probably see the difficulties and problems the person faces that perhaps forces them to take refuge in fantasies about the world.
32. sold 2 rent 1 said...
There are four gigantic forces that have worked together to create the suppression of free energy
Read to find out
http://www.free-energy.ws/lindemann-1.html
33. last_days_of_disco said...
All free energy, and I mean sensible things like sailing, etc, have limitations which make them less attractive than burning coal, oil, etc. It doesn't help being moral about it because you have to live in a world where others will do it if you don't. The tragedy of the commons. There really is nothing we can do about this. The best thing to do is to try and appeal to people's better nature. The problem is that different groups of people disagree about what is really important and hence we have the clash of civilizations. I can't see any way around this.
34. rumble said...
Plato, I like that point. But why should a theory which has not one verifiable fact be persistently preached? If you have not one verifiable fact, put the theory out there so that anyone interested can investigate, but to push it without substance, without any evidence of progress on the theory, is just making a lot of noise. Especially boring when the person preaching the theories has no significant knowledge of the subject - S2, sorry mate, It's here that I pick on your dark matter theories and lack of physics knowledge (though I suspect you're desensitised by now!). The Mayan predictions are vague to the point of being useless, constantly wrong, and in such cases the subject of the prediction substituted after the event with something more fitting, lizard people with no fossils, gold coming from the ninth dimension is somehow not noticed by physicists who dedicate their lives to related matters but is a fact known to some lay person who's physics education is limited to playing with a laser pointer while giving a talk on some culture that devised a prophetic calendar extending centuries ahead, yet somehow couldn't foresee their own imminent demise, or even manage their natural resources (theory arguable) . Survival of the fittest - produce the goods, the hard evidence, or step aside until you do.
35. sold 2 rent 1 said...
You see, really, all Four Forces are just different aspects of the same process, operating at different levels in the society. There is really only ONE FORCE preventing the public availability of free energy technology, and that is the unspiritually motivated behavior of the human animals. In the last analysis, free energy technology is an outward manifestation of Divine Abundance. It is the engine of the economy of an enlightened society, where people voluntarily behave in a respectful and civil manner toward each other. Where each member of the society has everything they need, and do not covet what their neighbor has. Where war and physical violence has become socially unacceptable behavior and people's differences are at least tolerated, if not enjoyed.
The appearance of free energy technology in the public domain is the dawning of a truly civilized age. It is an epochal event in human history. Nobody can "take credit" for it. Nobody can "get rich" on it. Nobody can "rule the world" with it. It is simply, a Gift from God. It forces us all to take responsibility for our own actions and for our own self-disciplined self-restraint when needed. The world as it is currently ordered, cannot have free energy technology without being totally transformed by it into something else. This "civilization" has reached the pinnacle of its development, because it has birthed the seeds of its own transformation. The unspiritualized human animals cannot be trusted with free energy. They will only do what they have always done, which is take merciless advantage of each other, or kill each other and themselves in the process.
36. plato said...
rumble........
Very quickly,as I'm 2 hours ahead here and bed time beckons......... Your objection is to shallow repetetiveness and no doubt the placement of such expression. Understandable, however these contributors are certainly well read people,with in my view honorable intentions.and with some very interesting ideas. Opened my mind a lot and created much constructive debate.
Actually giving people like you the opportunity to inform people like me. We all specialise in different ways,so we learn or teach eachother.
Emotions can get a bit high but it's all good debate and the fittest will survive in any case in the long run. In the meantime this is all part of the process, so thanks for everyones' hard work.
37. sold 2 rent 1 said...
Patents: (most can be viewed at www.delphion.com/ ) This list is nothing more than a sample of inventions that produce free energy.
Tesla USP #685,957
Freedman USP #2,796,345
Richardson USP #4,077,001
Frenette USP #4,143,639
Perkins USP #4,424,797
Gray USP #4,595,975
Meyer USP #4,936,961
Chambers USP #6,126,794
38. sold 2 rent 1 said...
Books:
Living Energies by Callum Coats
The Free Energy Secrets of Cold Electricity by Peter Lindemann, D.Sc.
Applied Modern 20th Century Aether Science by Dr. Robert Adams
Physics Without Einstein by Dr. Harold Aspden
Secrets of Cold War Technology by Gerry Vassilatos
The Coming Energy Revolution by Jeane Manning
Websites:
http://www.fortunecity.com/greenfield/bp/16/content1.htm excellent free-energy site run by Geoff Egel based in Australia
http://www.free-energy.cc/ developed by Clear Tech, Inc. and Dr. Peter Lindemann
http://jnaudin.free.fr/ developed by JLN Labs in France
http://www.1dove.com/fe/index.html Jim's Free Energy Page in the USA
http://www.keelynet.com/ developed by Jerry Decker in the USA
http://www.xogen.com site for super electrolysis technology
http://www.rumormillnews.com excellent site for all kinds of alternative news, with many links
39. sold 2 rent 1 said...
rumble,
Only you can decide when and where you discover the truth.
I cannot tell you the truth - only you can discover it.
That is the way consciousness works.
40. mountain goat said...
Going to add my 2p to the few comments above on religion. IMO religion is not based on belief or faith but direct experience, as such it is not really something that can be proved true or false because it is unique to each individual.
41. rumble said...
S2, the patents... A patent does not mean feasibility.
@38, I have discovered the truth and am trying to guide you in the direction of enlightenment. Tell me that ain't so.
Plato, 35...
"these contributors are certainly well read people" Quantity or quality? [Within context of current thread only]
"honorable intentions" ... (even if the theories are regurgitated mishmash of feebly connected ideas with no supportting evidence)
"some very interesting ideas" ... lizard people?
"it's all good debate " - it is... mostly.
"thanks for everyones' hard work" couldn't agree more. Love this site and everyone on it. But that doesn't mean I'm going to go soft on the lizard people.
MG.. religion... can't possibly get into that now... my sisters are very religious; one has a pastor for a father in law... crikey.
42. nopensionnohouse said...
S2R1 “no pain no gain”.
Thanks for the useful advice!
Thanks also for spending 2 minutes on Google for me. I couldn't have found that stuff without you.
Just because there is a patent or a web site on something doesn't mean it is real! This is what I have been telling P4AC (without success). You have to differentiate between fact, fiction and fiction with a bit of fact thrown in to make it sound feasible.
I could point you to loads of websites, books and DVD’s that all say fairies live at the bottom of your garden. This doesn’t make it so!
Regarding enlightenment: I’m doing OK thanks. I think it was Sri Bhagavan that said:
“There is no more miserable an existence than to try to live like an enlightened person, when one is not enlightened”
You could do worse than dwell on that one for a while.
43. phdinbubbles said...
This is what happens when you entertain theorists (in this case, Dr Andrew Quack MBBS) as having as much validity in debate as rational people who base their judgement on evidence. It also proves that there are people out there who exploit having lots of letters after their name to try and bring credibility to their self-serving fantasies. Giving equal time in debate to someone with an unsubstantiated opinion does not create enlightenment. (I'm not having a go at anyone on here by saying this - just pointing out reality).
44. phdinbubbles said...
"The decade of relatively low vaccination coverage was triggered by now-debunked research claims "
I made a complaint to the BBC about a story a few weeks ago where they described a link being established between MMR and autism and they changed their page - and they've clearly taken that into consideration in writing this story. It is actually possible to bang it into their heads.
45. phdinbubbles said...
Actually no brownie points for the BBC there. "now-debunked research claims" The claims never had any validity - the BBC are still trying to wriggle out of their irresponsible reporting of the scare. Another letter then - I'm turning into Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells. Although obviously I don't live in Tunbrudge Wells - I would need NR to give me a x20 salary 125% mortgage..... If the government gets it way with returning lending to "normal" then.....