The Case Against Conspiracy Theories

When asked about the existence of UFOs, Fox Mulder once said, "I Want To Believe". And when it comes to conspiracy theories, many people feel the same way. Conspiracy theories have been around forever. Some of the most common ones of the modern age include aliens from outer space - that they exist and control the planet, the assassination of JFK by some secret cabal of evil, and, more recently, that COVID is not real.

"Constantly Wrong: The Case Against Conspiracy Theories" is a humorous yet insightful film that takes a very deep dive into the realm of conspiracy theories and why people believe them, despite how outlandish and fantastic they are, when they are not the truth - but only far fetched theories, unrealistic, and should not be believed.

Many people confuse the definitions of "conspiracy" and "conspiracy theory" - they are commonly interchanged online, though they have very different meanings. A "conspiracy" is a crime or criminal plot enacted by a group of people. On the other hand, a "conspiracy theory" claims that hidden groups are committing secret crimes or schemes, and this claim is made by amateurs who are not part of that said group. The fun begins when conspiracy theorists explain their claims.

The "secret crimes" that they claim to be real are often fantastical and epic in scope, making reality seem more exciting than it is. When asked to explain their theories, they use abstract or blanket statements without details. In other words, it's fiction.

One example was the assassination of American president John F. Kennedy in 1963. Many believe a shadow organization set up a convoluted and labyrinthine plot in motion, plotting his death for nefarious reasons. In reality, however, there is so much evidence, including 3D modeling and reconstruction of the trajectory of the bullet, that points to Lee Harvey Oswald being the actual so-called lone gunman.

Believers don't realize that not one person or group can account for all the possible scenarios and outcomes when planning a conspiracy of epic proportions. Too many things can happen and go wrong when setting up a supposed evil plan, and it would be akin to setting up the next 50 billion chess moves in your head.

An infinite number of variables would make a grand master plan behind whatever conspiracy theory statistically impossible to happen. And we are not even talking about the plans they needed to lay out to ensure that there will be someone keeping the secret going in 20-30-40-50 years and so on.

People will continue to be susceptible to conspiracy theories because they need to feel safe and secure about their beliefs - including those they know are wrong. They seek clarity and certainty about events they can't control and will hold on to false beliefs, strengthened by living in an echo chamber, despite the facts, science, and a little thing called reality.