Originally Posted By: Astro14
The only denial here is the inability to think critically and apply a true scientific understanding
to reject unsupportable, untestable, crackpot theories.
ah, the perfect scientific approach, without preconditioned bias.
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
The biggest single problem with these discussions is that they tend to be all about teams -- who's with me and how can I defend them, who's against me and how can I destroy them, etc. As soon as someone decides you fit some kind of label in their mind (conspiracy theorist/debunker/shill/sheeple/whatever), they process everything you say through that lens, and it becomes all but impossible to do anything but make things worse. The object is no longer to find truth; it's to find people who agree with you and defeat those who don't.
This is just how people act when they feel threatened. It takes a TREMENDOUS amount of willpower and maturity to act differently. Completely understandable if you know anything about human social psychology.
That's why I've largely hung back here, except to point out why I think the discussion isn't going to be fruitful. Once people get defensive, it's over -- unless all sides have the wherewithal to calm down. Again, that's understandably difficult when your threat sense has been activated.
I really think the best thing that could happen for this thread is for all of us to leave it be.
I absolutely agree about the us vs them mentality, and the effort it takes to overcome it.