We've all heard them, those crazy people who desperately try to tie a grand, secret, all-encompassing reason in random noise. Conspiracy theorists will always come up with some ridiculous nonsense whenever anything happens, and even when nothing happens. There would be no problem if some guy wanted to sit in his basement all day long, drawing out how the Illuminati are taking over the world, and somehow, he's the only person to figure it out, but that's not all that happens. People actually believe these nutcases even in the face of massive amounts of evidence that points otherwise.
A polling organization in North Carolina recently did a poll on conspiracy theory beliefs in the US. The results are embarrassing, especially since the poll focuses on people who are voters.
37% believe global warming is a hoax.
28% believe that there is a secret power elite that is making a New World Order with one, authoritarian government.
28% believe Saddam Hussein had to do with the 9/11 attacks.
20% believe there is a link between vaccines and autism.
7% believe humans have never been to the moon.
13%, including 1 in 5 republicans, believe Barack Obama is the Biblical anti-Christ.
14% believe in Bigfoot.
An astounding 4% believe that there exist lizard-people who are gaining control of America by being elected to public office. 1 in 25 people believe this!
Find the full poll results here.
I am writing this post today to show how ludicrous these beliefs are.
Global Warming
As we can see using this chart from the Stanford University Solar Center, especially since the 1970's, there has been a significant rise in average global temperature, and at the same time, there has been a significant spike in CO2 emissions. This gas has a greenhouse effect on our environment, causing our climate to rise in temperature. Stanford University also said:
"Global Warming -- a gradual increase in planet-wide temperatures -- is now well documented and accepted by scientists as fact. A panel convened by the U.S National Research Council, the nation's premier science policy body, in June 2006 voiced a "high level of confidence" that Earth is the hottest it has been in at least 400 years, and possibly even the last 2,000 years. Studies indicate that the average global surface temperature has increased by approximately 0.5-1.0°F (0.3-0.6°C) over the last century. This is the largest increase in surface temperature in the last 1,000 years and scientists are predicting an even greater increase over this century. This warming is largely attributed to the increase of greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide and methane) in the Earth's upper atmosphere caused by human burning of fossil fuels, industrial, farming, and deforestation activities.
Average global temperatures may increase by 1.4-5.8ºC (that's 2.5 - 10.4º F) by the end of the 21st century. Although the numbers sound small, they can trigger significant changes in climate. (The difference between global temperatures during an Ice Age and an ice-free period is only about 5ºC.) Besides resulting in more hot days, many scientists believe an increase in temperatures may lead to changes in precipitation and weather patterns. Warmer ocean water may result in more intense and frequent tropical storms and hurricanes. Sea levels are also expected to increase by 0.09 - 0.88 m. in the next century, mainly from melting glaciers and expanding seawater . Global Warming may also affect wildlife and species that cannot survive in warmer environments may become extinct. Finally, human health is also at stake, as global Climate Change may result in the spreading of certain diseases such as malaria, the flooding of major cities, a greater risk of heat stroke for individuals, and poor air quality."
The New World Order
This is one of the more mysterious conspiracies out there. It is the idea that some secret organization, most commonly the Illuminati, is conspiring to take over the world, and that they are doing it as we speak by influencing and gaining control of powerful families, religious institutions, and governments. Another version of this same conspiracy is that the Free Mason organization is gaining control of the world in the same way.
As far as the Illuminati go, the name "Illuminati" refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment -era society founded on May 1, 1776 to oppose superstition, prejudice, religious influence over public life, abuses of state power, and to support women's education and gender equality. The Illuminati were outlawed along with other secret societies by the Bavarian Government with the encouragement of the Catholic Church, and permanently disbanded in 1785.[1] In the several years following, the group was vilified by conservative and religious critics who claimed they had regrouped and were responsible for the French Revolution.
The real Illuminati were formed to fight state power, not increase it; and to fight religious influence, not to influence it themselves.
The Free Masons only meet as a fraternity to do charitable acts, and they aren't really a "secret" society, anyway. Any person can walk up to their local Masonic lodge and check the next meeting time. Either they're not secret, or they are terrible at it.
Vaccines and Autism
This one is a more recent invention, but it has still been completely discredited. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded that even when multiple inoculations are given on the same day, children are at no higher risk of developing autism, according to the report published in the Journal of Pediatrics.
“This study looked into the concern that receiving too many vaccines at one doctor’s visit or too many vaccines during the first two years of life may be linked to the development of autism,” the report’s lead author, Dr. Frank DeStefano told NBC chief medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman in and interview. “We found they’re not related.”
“We did not find any relationship between the number of antigens and the risk of autism,” said DeStafano, Director of the Immunization Safety Office at the CDC.The CDC researchers conducted the study by reviewing the vaccination histories collected between 1994 and 1999 of 256 children with autism and 752 children who did not have the disorder. They calculated the number of antigens – the substances in a vaccine that stimulate disease-fighting antibodies – that infants are exposed to either on one doctor’s visit or overall during the first two years.
The CDC study comes amidst reports that increasing numbers of parents are delaying or skipping childhood inoculations, fearing side effects or the risk of autism and other learning disabilities.
A 2012 study, which examined medical records for 97,711 Portland, Oregon children, found an almost four-fold increase between 2006 and 2009 in the percentage of parents who delayed or skipped vaccinations, researches reported in the journal "Pediatrics". Experts say that by delaying certain vaccinations, parents may be putting their children -- and those of others -- at a far greater risk of contracting deadly diseases, such as pneumonia and whooping cough, also known as pertussis. In 2012, the US experienced the worst epidemic of whooping cough in 50 years.
The Moon Landing
The Mythbusters did a pretty good job of dealing with this.
Obama Anti-Christ
This makes absolutely no sense. I don't really know what to say about it. I mean, the devil is not a brown-skinned, anti-war socialist who gives away free healthcare, that's Jesus.
Bigfoot
The sheer elusiveness of the creature makes it illogical to believe in. With technology today scientists can take a single strand of hair and pinpoint the source of the hair using DNA analysis. Never has there been found a hair, bone, nor stool sample to prove its existence. Probably because Bigfoot hunters (and yes there really are Bigfoot hunters) are not looking for this sort of controversial evidence. They prefer to tease their retarded followers with grainy images and here-say.
Lizard People
I'm going to have to concede this one. The photographic evidence of Lizard People trying to gain powerful positions is just too good.
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