I Get Emails: 4 Reasons Why Conspiracy Theories Don’t Pan Out

October 9, 2009 / 5:27 am • By John Hawkins

While I was at the Defending the American Dream Summit, I received the following email that yes, you’re reading it right, is making serious reference to alien reptiles running the planet:

Subject: David Icke

Alright mate

My names Andy. Dont get me wrong i have nothing against you and your entitled to your opinion but have you really put in the hours checking out the conspiracy and Ickes views on it? I know you’ve done some research because you pulled out those extracts from various books, but if you take the time to check out the whole thing, it actually makes a lot of sense.

I know the reptilians sounds a bit far out, but thats not the place to start looking into this whole thing, you really need to start now, in the modern world, in order to look at the history, i know that sounds a bit mad.

Im not expecting you to listen to me because your views are clear reading your article, and im not trying to start an argument or anything im just interested in why you have such negative views on this. Dont start with the reptilians, start with the new world order, our governments f*cking us over, 9/11, the illuminati, and so on. You would be very surprised.

Anyway thanks a lot, take it easy.

Andy

Let me answer this seriously — well, as seriously as I can in an email mentioning a potpourri of wacky conspiracy theories.

First off, I tend to be extremely skeptical of conspiracy theories simply because, objectively, almost none of them ever pan out. Setting that aside, there are certain things I’ve learned about people in my life that make these conspiracy theories unlikely:

* I literally talk and chat with people who have genius level IQs on a daily basis and you know what? They’re very smart, but they’re not as smart as some people might think they are. There are no “Batman super villain” type geniuses out there who can think 5 steps ahead of everyone else. It just doesn’t work like that.

* Do you seriously believe that the same guys who can’t even run Cash-for-Clunkers can turn right around and execute a brilliant conspiracy theory? Government is just too slow, stupid, and incompetent to genuinely pull off a major conspiracy.

* Having talked to a number of members of Congress, both on and off the record, I can tell you that these guys tend to have huge egos. They’re not letting the Illumimati, the ZOG, the New World Order or any other outside group order them around.

* Keeping secrets is extraordinarily difficult. Look at all the information that leaked out during the Bush years. Moreover, think back to Abu Ghraib where the soldiers involved were so dumb that they took pictures of themselves breaking the law and then let those pics slip out.

Put it all together and it’s nearly impossible for a conspiracy theory to pan out.

Posted in Entertain Me

  • mj

    So then, you deny any personal involvement with space reptiles?

  • http://takethatradio.com Mike Williams

    What stokes the conspiracy flames are movies like The Bourne Identity and Untraceable which lead us to believe that the government is more capable than it really is.

    When I was in high school I owned a Commodore 64 and used it to write my english papers. I was 16.

    By the time I left the United States Navy (in my early 20s) they STILL didn’t have nor were using computers on board their ships. The government has always been a “Johnny come lately” when it comes to computer technology and this fact alone should shed some light on whether or not the government is capable of executing an intricate web of deception.

    How are you going to keep those involved from talking?

    The sad thing is how many folks believe this stuff. Movies like the ones mentioned above facilitate and perpetuate these stories.

  • Bob H.

    Mike, your experience echoes mine. I went to work at NASA in the late ’80s after graduating from college. Every student did all their work on computers; Macs or PC’s. The Macs produced better looking reports at the time, the PCs did good computational work. Everyone had access to them in a lab. Some of us had home computers. There was no shortage of them for us.

    When I went to work, I was astounded that NASA, supposedly a leading-edge technological organization, had only one PC for every five people (with no useful software). Reports and presentations were to be hand written and given to secretaries, and there was only one Mac machine for over 60 people.

    A supervisor thought they were “toys”. The machines that supported space flight were even worse. They did the job, but there was so much better technology out there by that time. I knew another supervisor who thought the black and white TV monitors in the control rooms screens were still “State-of-the-art”. I was shocked.

    Government operations are generally so bureaucratic that there’s no way they could pull off some of these screwy things that are purported.