The only conclusion I can come to is that there's no point in trying to rationally understand conspirational thinking - it's an entirely different way of thinking about the world, and one that isn't bound by logic or rationality.
Most people think rationally - ie they look at the evidence in front of their eyes and they come to conclusions based on that.
People prone to conspiracy theories think the other way around - they make their conclusions first (generally based on emotion or irrational prejudices/fear) and then bend their perception of reality to fit.
This is why arguing with conspiracy theorists is a frustrating and largely pointless exercise - they have already made their mind up, and if challenged will just move the goalposts of the argument. The virus is fake. Or it's real but the severity of it is overblown. Or it's real but wearing a mask or taking a vaccine will actually make you more ill.
It's been very sad to see many friends and acquaintances go down the Covid conspiracy rabbit hole. The fact that the motive behind governments enforcing social distancing and mask wearing and willingly trashing the economies of their own countries in the process is at best completely inscrutable (usually something vague about how they're 'trying to control us') is immaterial.
A few of these people are genuinely desperate - so I have a lot more sympathy for them, but for others it has revealed that deep down they are ultimately very selfish, self-centered people. By all means quarantine the vulnerable and elderly, but it shouldn't directly affect their life or make them have to make any actual sacrifices. Everyone else can take the vaccine, but I'm not going to. So they indulge in conspirational fantasies to justify their selfish behaviour. And this is what is generally meant by 'doing your own research' - it basically just means scouring the shadier parts of the internet for any shred of spurious 'evidence' you can use to justify your prejudices. It's very sad.
And I understand why people don't trust the 'mainstream media'. I don't think anyone intelligent does. BUT there's a pointed difference between having a healthy skepticism and understanding that any news source will have an inherent bias and agenda, and just rejecting the entire thing and listening to some nutter on the internet instead.
Most people think rationally - ie they look at the evidence in front of their eyes and they come to conclusions based on that.
People prone to conspiracy theories think the other way around - they make their conclusions first (generally based on emotion or irrational prejudices/fear) and then bend their perception of reality to fit.
This is why arguing with conspiracy theorists is a frustrating and largely pointless exercise - they have already made their mind up, and if challenged will just move the goalposts of the argument. The virus is fake. Or it's real but the severity of it is overblown. Or it's real but wearing a mask or taking a vaccine will actually make you more ill.
It's been very sad to see many friends and acquaintances go down the Covid conspiracy rabbit hole. The fact that the motive behind governments enforcing social distancing and mask wearing and willingly trashing the economies of their own countries in the process is at best completely inscrutable (usually something vague about how they're 'trying to control us') is immaterial.
A few of these people are genuinely desperate - so I have a lot more sympathy for them, but for others it has revealed that deep down they are ultimately very selfish, self-centered people. By all means quarantine the vulnerable and elderly, but it shouldn't directly affect their life or make them have to make any actual sacrifices. Everyone else can take the vaccine, but I'm not going to. So they indulge in conspirational fantasies to justify their selfish behaviour. And this is what is generally meant by 'doing your own research' - it basically just means scouring the shadier parts of the internet for any shred of spurious 'evidence' you can use to justify your prejudices. It's very sad.
And I understand why people don't trust the 'mainstream media'. I don't think anyone intelligent does. BUT there's a pointed difference between having a healthy skepticism and understanding that any news source will have an inherent bias and agenda, and just rejecting the entire thing and listening to some nutter on the internet instead.