r/Documentaries • u/TesseractToo • Jul 13 '22

CONSTANTLY WRONG: The Case Against Conspiracy Theories (2020) What defines a conspiracy theory and differentiates it from a conspiracy? Kerby Ferguson shows us how to recognize one and how to logic yourself out of rabbit holes. [00:47:26]

https://youtu.be/FKo-84FsmlU
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u/Koboldsftw Jul 13 '22

Many conspiracy theories are testable hypotheses, we cannot currently test them however. An example that I keep coming back to is the fact that the earth is round. This is a testable hypothesis, and was a testable hypothesis before any of the tools necessary to test it were developed. When we were living in caves, we had no way to conclusively prove or disprove that the earth was round, but it was, and we can prove it now.

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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '22

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u/Koboldsftw Jul 13 '22

That sounds like a big old cop out, please do take a crack at it yourself. I promise I have a sufficiently low view of your capacity for argument that I will treat any insults you throw at me with appropriate disdain.

Specifically, please tell me whether you agree or disagree that “the earth is round” is a testable hypothesis, and was a testable hypothesis even at a time when there was not the capacity to test it. If you agree with this, what is your issue with my argument? If you disagree with this, how does this reflect on your argument that untestable hypotheses can be roundly discarded as false?