Conspiracy Theories

What is with conspiracy theories?  Why do many people have such strong beliefs in ideas that are so continuously and irrefutably disproved?  The list goes on and on… JFK, the moon landing, UFOs, Roswell, 9/11—in every case, there are large numbers of people around the country and around the world that believe that the generally accepted version of events, the one that is supported by the official facts and the clearly observable evidence, is completely false and that the “establishment” is attempting to hide the truth from people to serve their devious ends. 

This is not to say that I don’t believe in skepticism.  Of course one should be careful in what one believes, and to take a hard look at facts before agreeing with an official story.  However, in conspiracy theories, facts take a back seat to the theory.  In asserting that the accepted story of events is false, the theorists all but ignore fact in their attempt to refute it. 

It’s an effect called “confirmation bias,” which is the tendency of people to favor and believe things more readily and with more gusto when they support previously held beliefs.  People want themselves to be right, so they subconsciously see information that supports their beliefs as correct and persuasive, and information that refutes their beliefs as flawed or untrue.  This is why two very intelligent people can have two contradictory beliefs, and defend these beliefs with extreme venom; each person sees new information that supports their previously-held belief while ignoring opposing information.  Each debater can’t tell why the other is so blind to the obvious facts, when they themselves are just as blind.

I think we all need to keep Occam’s razor in the forefront of their brain: all things being equal, the simplest explanation is likely to be the correct one.