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How do you reconcile with an intelligent family member who believes the earth is flat, we didn't go to the moon, 911 was an inside job, chemtrails, the Cabal rule the world....you got the idea?

Songmaster 3 Feb 20
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16 comments

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0

You need to show where the assimilation of their beliefs fails and why the assimilation of "reality" makes sense and works.

0

Ask them what evidence would they require to refute their point of view. Confirmation bias is real and its important that we institute ways to mitigate it in our own truth seeking. Quid est Veritas?

He claims there has never been an experiment proving the earth is round. He claims all photos taken by NASA are computer generated.

@Songmaster and what experiment would show that the Earth is round? Or turn it around - what experiment shows the Earth is flat? "ALL" photos?? That is falsifiable, he should recognize that.

3

Got this recommendation from a friend once...

If somebody starts spouting conspiracy theories, reply with something even more outlandish just to mess with them. For example:

Family member: "The moon landing wasn't real!"

Me: "Pft... you believe in the moon?"

Lol! Touche!

1

Half of that stuff is legit though.

Not so sure about that either. I know there are conspiracies and corruption in this world but Chem Trails? We didn't go to the moon? Vaccines don't work? That's a bit of a stretch.

1

Try to stick to the strongest evidence based arguments to support your position and instead of trying to attack their position (At least initially.) ask them to use the best evidence based arguments to support their beliefs. Then as gently as possible try to uses guided questions to trap them in logical fallacies of their own making. If they are truly intelligent cognitive dissonance will push them to explore more rational beliefs. If you can't outmaneuver them in this manner then look at your own beliefs to ensure they are truly valid.

0

I can't get behind the flat earth thing but I must admit, I have not completely ruled out the others. After reading The Creature From Jeckell Island, My perspective on everything changed. Since then I've watched a ton of documentaries on Gaia that have left me questioning everything. Call me crazy ?????

Crazy!! Lol skepticism is healthy ignoring facts is not. If you have no trust in the facts then your more likely to end up in a flat earth club.

4

Everyone knows 9/11 wasn't an inside job. The government outsources EVERYTHING these days...

???

1

It seems to me that the person in question has trust issues and is inclined to believe the opposite of the narrative. Being a skeptic myself I understand, I would start there by letting them know that distrust of the powers that be is healthy and a goox place to start but that facts still matter. Good luck to y'all.

3

I think you should sit down with them and really listen

Actually, I've listened and asked intelligent questions many times. When my grandkids explain jesus and the whole buybull to me I actually listen because they are cute and clever. When an intelligent man tells me evolution is bullshit, we didn't go to the moon and NASA is nothing but a sham I do listen to the explanation of it all one time then weigh in. I'm convinced he is going insane and it's self-inflicted.

2

9/11 wasnt an inside job, though the government did take advantage of it.

9/10/2001-- rumsfeld announce the DoD's loss of 3 trillion.
9/11/2001-- The only planecrash in existance to ever evaporate on contact, hit the pentagon in the exact spot of the servers for said lost 3 trillion
-- building 7 collapsed in much the same manner as a demolition. Also the site of the back up servers for the 3 trillion lost.

Terrorists must just love hiding money the DoD lost.

Well, the PNAC did indeed call for a new "Pearl Harbor" type event. It hardly stands to reason the proponents of that document who did/do indeed possess the necessary assets and connections to make one happen would just sit and wait for one to happen.

Is any of this verifiable, or is it simply made up facts?
I ask that because the logic above asks us to come to a conclusion based upon what looks like facts. But even the "$3 trillion" written is different from the narration in the video, which says "$2.3 trillion."
It's so easy to say, "It looks like a demolition project," yet that is very different from "It WAS a demolition project.
Sorry, none of the theories seem strong enough to warrant too much thought, but if true, they'd warrant a complete destruction of our govt.

2

As with any topic on which we disagree, present evidence, don’t attack, hear the other person out and perhaps nobody convinces anybody. In that case move on to topic number two.

That's always been my take and topic number 2 is always music. My bro loves his music and I know how to play that role🙂

1

You can't for the most part, best to just ignore them if possible.

5

I suggest finding common ground, subjects without serious conflict. Build some trust,
Then discuss, gently, without attempts to persuade your relative's reasons for believing as he does. Sometimes a lack of resistance allows a person to evaluate his beliefs more objectively. In any case, a friendly relationship between family members is more important than agreement.

Right! There's a WHOLE lot of stuff I and some family members disagree on. We're still family, that's more important than anything.

3

That's a tough question in this day and age. What with the ability to digitally fake almost anything. Younger folks only know things abstractly, whereas we lived through the experiences before an age of instant communication and digital manipulation. Anything's possible in their minds so their minds go to the most sinister & profound. Con artists exploit the "What if..?" factor, do a lot of double-speak, make fallacies ("The sound of an explosion in bldg 7 can only come from a purposely detonated charges that were planted by the CIA." ). Their lives are digital-dominated, so they live in an abstract, anything is possible fictional world -- devoid of real evidence or sound logic. I'm shocked at how many youngsters know very little important things yet know volumes of outrageous claims. In one of my classes, half the people didn't know how many moons the Earth had, but believed it a fact that aliens had visited the Earth. Critical thinking, logic, & a "show me the evidence" spirit has been replaced with "You can be anything you want!" "Anything is possible!" No, you cannot be anything (you cannot be a hammer). Everything is not possible (you cannot touch the Sun while standing on Earth). The best solution is to have the person watch/read rebuttals heavy on evidence (like the Popular Mechanics rebuttal to 911 conspiracy theories). Challenge them with handy links. Good luck.

4

Family member sounds awesome to me. Should get them on here.

2

He sounds like he resists the notion of authority proclaiming truth. Though true sometimes, the specific battleground of the type of person is due to an echo chamber of similar minded people. Kind of like campfire stories. I don't think the issue is the specific views, but the general idea that the originator of these ideas are not also liars, probably out to make a buck

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