“Truth? You can't handle the truth!”

[Definitely Not Mister Pops]

Are you sure it's the real Elvis and not one of the CIA clones?

Uh-huh-huh, mmmmmmm, yeah, yeah
I'm all shook up

[JOE SOAP]

Nonsense, everyone knows Elvis died on a river-bank not far from his nursing-home.

[The Legendary Shark]

Nonsense, everyone knows Elvis died on a river-bank not far from his nursing-home.

This is an undisputed fact. There's even photographic evidence:

[Mardroid]

Indeed. The moment was even marked with strange star formations. I know. I saw 'em on a documentary.

[Eric Plumrose]

Personally if a politician told me the sky was blue i'd go look.

And that there is a BIG part of the problem. Knee-jerk cynicism is far less taxing on the old noggin than actual critical thought.

[Dandontdare]

A few fascinating examples here to quote whenever people point to coincidences as indications of conspiracy: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/04/the-history-of-coincidence?INTCMP=SRCH

[Richmond Clements]

A few fascinating examples here to quote whenever people point to coincidences as indications of conspiracy: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/04/the-history-of-coincidence?INTCMP=SRCH

Don't you think that this article being published just as were were talking about the subject to be a bit of a, well...

[The Legendary Shark]

This does not mean that all conspiracies are just coincidences any more than it means all coincidences are actually conspiracies.

Adept conspirators take full advantage of coincidences - as do adept conspiracy theorists. How much of a coincidence would it be for all coincidences to be just coincidences? The universe is, indeed, a phenominally complex engine and it's easy to hide lies inside complexities. This link, whilst reinforcing the need for care when presented with coincidence, seems to suggest that all conspiracies can be explained away as mere coincidence. Maybe the author is an MI5 agent, tasked with reinforcing the Powers That Be's preferred mantra that all conspiracy theories are just commonplace happenstance?

[Dandontdare]

True, but the fact that a terror contingency planning event was taking place in London on the same day of the bombings featuring the same tube stations does not indicate anything other than coincidence.

It bugs me when these things are put forward as some kind of proof (or even suggestion) of conspitracy. Unless there's some evidence of a direct causal link then it means nothing! The suggestion seems to be that the odds are so remote that ther MUST be something more sinsister going on, but coincidences do happen far more than people think.

[The Legendary Shark]

I disagree. The presence of coincidental events merely suggests to me that much greater care and thoroughness must be taken to ensure a comprehensive and open investigation. To say "it's all just a coincidence" is as sloppy and intellectually bankrupt as saying "it's got to be a conspiracy." Both views are simply beliefs - and if the world at the moment can teach us anything, it's that acting purely from a standpoint of belief is not the best way to go.

Question everything.

[Dandontdare]

That way madness lies! as Eric said above:

Personally if a politician told me the sky was blue i'd go look.

And that there is a BIG part of the problem. Knee-jerk cynicism is far less taxing on the old noggin than actual critical thought.

Save your energy for the real conspiracies, if you start questioning everything, you believe nothing. No proof will ever satisfy you, any 'evidence' can be fixed. What ultimately happens amongst the deluge of conflicting information and possible expalnations is that you choose to believe what fits your preconceptions, and dismiss contradictory evidence as being suspect or unreliable. (see just about evry climate change or nuclear power argument ever)

I'll accept the consensus unless there's clear evidence to the contrary.

[The Legendary Shark]

I'd broadly agree with that - except to add the rider that if you believe everything, you'll suspect nothing.

For many, many years (for example) the consensus of opinion was that the Gulf of Tonkin incident actually happened - because the US Government said it did.

And when I said "question everything," I didn't mean "disbelieve everything." (Just thought I'd make that clear. I don't believe that questioning authority is a bad thing - I believe it's our duty. Even if there was no conspiracy, it shows "them" that we're watching.)

[The Legendary Shark]

Double post - sorry.

DDD, I didn't mean to imply that you believe everything.

[Dandontdare]

Nor did I that you disbelieve everything!

A healthy scepticism is absolutely necessary unless we want to be slack-jawed cattle, but when you begin to question absolutely everything and find more and more reasons to mistrust any evidence, you're only a hop and a skip from full-blown paranoia Then you start believing that Lorraine Kelly's choice of top is a coded signal to the Al Quaida terrorists in the flat downstairs.

[The Legendary Shark]

That's cool - I never thought you did think that. Speaking of scepticism, though, what to make of this?

5:00 AM Saturday Jul 9, 2005

"A New Zealander working for Reuters in London says two colleagues witnessed the unconfirmed shooting by police of two apparent suicide bombers outside the HSBC tower at Canary Wharf in London.

"The New Zealander, who did not want to be named, said the killing of the two men wearing bombs happened at 10.30am on Thursday (London time)..."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10334992