quote:
Originally posted by absorbation
Do you believe in them, or feel some parts of history are just not right? Do you think all conspiracy theorist are just talking out their arse, like me? What is a conspiracy?
"Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear."
A decent definition of what a "Conspiracy" (or more narrowly, "conspiracy theory") is can be found
here.
Part of the reason conpiracy theories are widespread is the human tendency to interpret facts to support what they want to believe (or have been told), rather than examine the facts without prejudice, to see what the conclusions should be. For another example of this mode of thought, consider the popularity of various religious beliefs.
There certainly have been times when governments (or limited groups within) have intentionally witheld or distorted information about their motives or certain events. The truth eventually comes out and usually is a lot less exciting than any of the major conspiracy theories, though.
Obviously, the history curriculum taught as part of secondary education is selected and presented in a manner that favors the present government. Once again though, this sort of historical editing doesn't cover up anything of the magnitude of most conspiracy theories -- it is more about leaving certain things out and the choices of words used to refer to different actors.
