Why are we all so dumb

[ilogikal1]

For some, a bigger concern is that a so-called expert has said that you shouldn’t be out washing your car(s)...

[ilogikal1]

I mean, priorities and all that! 

[Ponsonby]

5 minutes ago, ilogikal1 said:

For some, a bigger concern is that a so-called expert has said that you shouldn’t be out washing your car(s)...

You can wash it within an hour, is better exercise than a walk, and less likely to come into contact with anyone else.

I suppose that if the police have a word with you then you can just claim to be 'decontaminating' it and show them your bottle of revolt (other manufacturers products are available).

[ilogikal1]

If it's on your driveway then it's no different to mowing to lawn and I doubt PC Plod would be interested... but one "expert" says it's non-essential and therefore not allowed at all, aparently.

[davey_83]

The supposed dangers surrounding 5G have been about for years. If the amateur videos going around with hand held radiation detectors are real, it's worrying what they show.

[StevoD]

2 minutes ago, davey_83 said:

The supposed dangers surrounding 5G have been about for years. If the amateur videos going around with hand held radiation detectors are real, it's worrying what they show.

The only videos i have seen is people walking around with meters beeping like mad because the battery is almost flat trying to pass it as a radiation reading.

[coldel]

5G operates in radio waves within very normal parameters, they do of course give off radiation, like any wave, but its so tiny, what those conspiracy videos don't tell you is that for instance TV remotes give off more deadly radiation that is of a higher frequency than 5G - yet we aren't all running around burning Samsung and LG remotes in a panic. As usual, internet myth drives panic behaviour from otherwise normally rational people 

[davey_83]

As an onlooker, concern I will always have is considering the views and opinions of those that have no first hand experience towards a matter, compared to those that have. 

[coldel]

But those that have first hand experience but no actual understanding of how stuff works is even worse.

 

Basically 90% of all hysteria around conspiracies are caused by the home page on You Tube. It shows you your normal stuff i.e. cars or whatever people are into etc but then shows the occasional borderline stuff to see if you are tempted. So 5G video will appear, if you click it and watch it through you tube will shows you more and it perpetuates itself making the viewer think it’s actually a thing. 
 

How many of those producing videos saying 5G causes biological viruses are scientists vs how many are conspiracy you tubers with no scientific qualifications whatsoever...

Edited April 16, 2020 by coldel

[Stutopia]

There's always two groups of people at work in the modern conspiracy machine. Those who can make packet out of dreaming up the latest one, flogging tee shirts, bumper stickers, YouTube videos and generally being the "leader". Then there's those that just want to be part of something, ANYTHING, to have a social group to feel belonging with and are happy to pay to do so. Flat earth was a big cash cow for some, this one might go that way.

 

A quick google of "conspiracy theories which came true" reveals a multitude of clickbait, aggregating sites and if you do find some meaningful content its always part of some obscure theory you'd never heard of that some obscure part of the obscure theory turned out to be true. I could literally dream up a new one each day, and it some future point look back and, with a dash of confirmation bias, make something fit.

 

There's nothing WRONG with people wanting to belong to something and someone creating that something, hell, we like to belong to a car club, which is itself and fairly strange concept - but seemingly much less so, because the thing is a physical thing. Where it goes wrong is when the followers get milked for cash and/or exposed to dangerous falsehoods that threaten them or others.

 

We've already seen phone masts, serving hospitals getting set on fire. We've seen people who believe eating vegetables cures cancer die for that belief, worse still people have died following their 'guidance'. There are literally dozens of "Churches" across the US (and beyond) that exploit this model to draw millions of dollars from people who just want to be part of something. Corona virus proaction oil is a homegrown recent effort. Big Don himself plugs a malaria drug which is yet to be proven to do anything, maybe it will, but before that happens an old man is already dead and his wife became ill because of these lies.

[coldel]

I agree, there are the two groups but I would define them somewhat differently. Firstly as you say you have the profiteering who are doing something they already have a strong belief in and the internet is an enabler for them to drive revenue and garner an echo chamber for them to get their feel good factor. The second group is all of us. I think we all have false beliefs to some degree, I mean there are some people that think throttle controllers do something their foot cannot for instance  but this isn't a bad thing, in fact I think its healthy we are trying to develop our own world around us safely. 

 

What I think is there is a spectrum of that second group, and as you travel along it you find those that are always looking for a greater meaning in lots of things, who need a reason for everything that happens, those are the ones that will hook onto conspiracy ideals and more often than not its more than one, its many. Its just a psychological trait of that person i.e. a need for certainty. Does their psychological makeup allow them to just accept Diana died in a tragic car accident or does it have to have a bigger meaning? This isn't a mental illness or anything drastic, its just a quirk of that type of person.

 

The 5G conspiracy is very dangerous though, you know what if people want to believe the moon landings didnt happen thats fine, its not actually endangering people but tearing down phone masts both 5G and otherwise is impacting the work of the NHS as you mentioned Stu and people are dying because there are a tiny group of people out there who are xenophobic profiteers spreading very badly executed 'tests' on you tube. Anyone sharing videos of 5G conspiracies are in fact hurting the very services they are proclaiming to go outside and clap for each week. 

Edited April 16, 2020 by coldel