Recipe for Conspiracy Theories
Ingredients:
Cherry-picked facts, figures, and anecdotes
OK if they’re outdated and taken out of context
Motivated reasoning
Look for clues
Look for simple answers
Look for the answer
You want to believe
Pick an easy enemy
Make it their fault
The high of
Problem solving
Puzzle solving
Fitting the pieces together
Drawing conclusions
The feeling that one was right all along
The feeling of imperviousness
Toughness
Denial of one's own
Blindspots
Gullibility
Naivete
Vulnerability
Preparation:
Cover up the gaps in one's knowledge
Like filling potholes with asphalt
Paving them over with the force of sheer will
But they will need to be covered up over and over again
When confronted with counterexamples, disputed facts:
Deny
Evade
Accuse
Freely use logical fallacies such as:
Ad Hominem
Straw Man
Bandwagon
Red Herring
Appeal to Authority
Post Hoc
Tu Quoque
Or whatever is handy, whatever comes to mind
Anything to get the job done, anything to deny
One might be mistaken, imperfect, wrong
Presentation:
Serve your masterpiece
Your creation
Your success story
Up to your guests
Your captive listeners
Captive audience
Admirers
Friends and relatives
Employees
Members of the board
Those needing your financial contributions
And goodwill
Watch them eat it up like cake
Artificially sweetened icing passing itself off as truth
They will praise it
As the icing smears their mouths
They'll ask for the recipe
But they'll have no problem
Replicating it without
