EP75: Conspiracy Myths and Conspiracy Mechanics - Gracearchy with Jim Babka

This episode starts by revisiting a topic from the past – the heuristic power of "Bootleggers and Baptists." We covered this in episode 70. At the time, we promised to revisit the application of this concept to conspiracy theories. In this episode, we deliver on that promise.

Additionally, we cover Five Myths that Give Conspiracy Theorists a Bad Name. You'll get a good sense of what they are from the show notes, below, and an even better sense by listening!

There are also Myths that Allegedly Rule Out Conspiracies. Before we conclude, we get into a common canard used to dismiss real conspiracies unthinkingly, and we give byword examples to prove our point. We had to stop there, in the interests of time, so… Other anti-conspiracy theory myths will get coverage in a near-future episode.

This is the second of a series on handling conspiracy theories. The first episode, How to Handle Conspiracy Theories, can be found here: https://youtu.be/QkFY3nfLmKk

Timeline
0:00 - Theme
0:43 Let's discuss how conspiracies work
1:30 Study economics first
3:01 Bootleggers & Baptists
4:45 More Baptists than Bootleggers
7:03 Thank you for smoking
9:01 Deconstructing a conspiracy requires this
11:21 Accurate analysis requires a Disposition of Grace
13:15 Conspiracy is routine
15:30 Big claims require big evidence
17:17 Underestimating the motives or IQ of conspirators
19:37 Pretending plotters produced predictive programming
22:36 Pitfall of pattern recognition and codes
23:53 Jim's anti-Christ prediction experience
25:53 Pitfall of partisan Morality Legends
30:38 Understanding the attraction of Morality Legends
32:07 Appeal to authority - grace isn't snotty
34:48 Stoning the prophets
37:17 In praise of Amateurs

Links
* Ep70 Bootleggers & Baptists - https://youtu.be/UzU_Ue8nO00
* Thank You for Smoking, ice cream scene - https://therunningclinic.com/runners/blog/archives-anglaises/thank-you-for-smoking/
* Ep63 Where we discussed Ralph Reed - https://youtu.be/1Ui6twhsMX0
* Most recent WarTruth.org episode with Perry Willis (Ep 72) - https://youtu.be/g83hfPDvC1s

Bill Protzmann is your moderator.

ZERO AGGRESSION PROJECT - https://zeroaggressionproject.org/ - is our sponsor. The views expressed are exclusively those of the participants, and not necessarily those of the board, staff, or supporters of the Zero Aggression Project.

Thank you to Randy Garbin for our amazing thumbnails: http://randygarbin.com/

We are grateful to Sergio at https://www.youtube.com/@KeysofMoonMusic for our intro theme.
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you can purchase his music on BandCamp:
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► If you have any questions please feel free to write to Sergio at: serjo.de.lua.music@gmail.com

Be grace-full to each other.