A sceptics conference is taking place in London aimed at providing support for those refuting conspiracy theories.
Conspiracy theories predate the internet but the web has provided a fast, accessible platform for groups to unite, gather research and disseminate information without even meeting or leaving their houses.
While many people find them harmless fun, others believe there is a darker truth – that conspiracy theories are rewriting history, warping the present and altering the future. Enough is enough they say – it’s time to fight back.
Hmmm… I have noticed myself that trying to reason with the unreasonable is a somewhat fruitless pastime. It is about as effective – and as much fun – as systematically beating oneself over the head with a baseball bat.
Enter the sceptics with the gathering of The Amazing Meeting (TAM) in London, the first of the conferences outside the US. A fundraising offshoot of the non-profit James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), TAM London saw scientists, writers and comedians target conspiracy theories – and their close cousins pseudoscience and medical quackery – in front of an audience loosely allied by their desire for more rational, critical thinking.
As I say, jolly good luck to them, they will need it. I have had dealings here with some of the nuttier types who are convinced that the Tube attacks in London were all staged, and they cannot be reasoned with and they do not accept that isolated inconsistencies in the wake of a catastrophic event do not mean some sort of shadowy cover up and that the explanation is likely to be perfectly banal. But, then, those of us who have had to manage incidents realise that the chaos of the moment will, indeed, cause “lost minutes” and inconsistencies as we are too busy trying to do it all to resolve the immediate situation. Never mind that I have occupational experience – their wacky theories are correct and they will plague you with them until you want to scratch your own eyeballs out just to get some release from the torture.
The internet era has changed everything. The web-only film Loose Change, which questions the findings of the 9/11 commission, had already been viewed 10 million times by May 2006. It has had a massive impact. But the sceptics are also using the internet to organise loose networks of informal meetings.
Loose Change having been thoroughly debunked as a pile of poo is still touted by these folk.
However, using the same medium to fight back is not easy, as British investigative journalist Jon Ronson found when he posted on the British 9/11 Truth Campaign website. Abused and ridiculed, his integrity was questioned because he is Jewish. “When I found myself being attacked by 9/11 conspiracy theorists I found the sceptical community very supportive,” says Ronson. “When believers turn on you it is horrible. I’ve stopped engaging with them because it’s like prodding a snake.”
Yup, prodding a snake is exactly what it is like. A very stupid shake that just won’t take “shut the fuck up” for an answer. A very stupid snake that keeps on and on and on with its ridiculous theories.
So, while I wish these sceptics well, I think I’ll give it a miss, if that’s all okay.
I’ve been a fan of James Randi even before he made mincemeat of “psychic” Uri Geller on the Johnny Carson Show.
From the link you provide, I did like this:
Hilarious.