(ambient electronic music)
- This is the famous Blue Marble photo
taken by the Apollo 17 crew in 1972.
It's the first to show
the Earth in full view.
This is a time lapse of Earth
taken by the Deep Space
Climate Observatory
during the total solar eclipse of 2016.
Stunning for sure.
But also not flat.
Which, if you happen to
believe in Flat Earth theory,
means that these photos were faked by NASA
to make it look like the
Earth is a rotating sphere
when in reality the Earth is
a flat disk surrounded by ice.
Flat Earth theory is one of
dozens of conspiracy theories
floating around out there that can range
from the highly unlikely to
the oh my god, that's crazy,
how can you possibly believe in that?
(energetic music)
Conspiracy theories are nothing new.
In the U.S.,
there's one for just about everybody.
There are the classics,
J.F.K. was assassinated
by his own government,
the moon landing was faked,
or my personal favorite,
Tupac faked his own death and
is currently living in Cuba,
where he still records albums to this day.
If those conspiracy theories
are a little too tame,
trust me, we got one for you.
Some people actually believe
that the world is run
by shape-shifting alien reptiles.
Nah, like, I'm serious.
A 2013 survey found that 4%
of registered U.S. voters
were totally fine telling pollsters
that they believe lizard
people control politics.
With the internet and
the rise of social media,
conspiracy theories are getting
in front of a lot of eyeballs.
Look at this Google Trends graph.
Searches for the term flat earth
have more than doubled
over the past two years.
But have you ever sat
down and tried to argue
with someone who believes
in a conspiracy theory?
Can you change a
conspiracy theorist's mind?
A conspiracy theory is a belief
that an organization is working in secret
to achieve some sinister goal.
I may think there is a global conspiracy
to leave me with an odd number of socks
every time I finish a load of laundry,
but that doesn't really
fit the sinister part.
Though I do have reason to suspect
that Russia is interested in
developing a secret weapon
derived from my socks.
Also, conspiracy theories
aren't by definition false.
They usually are, but they can be true.
For example, there was a conspiracy theory
claiming that the CIA performed
mind control experiments
on unsuspecting U.S. citizens
back in the 1950s and '60s.
Plot by a powerful organization?
Check.
Sinister goal?
Check.
Well, guess what?
It turned out to be true.
An investigation by
Congress in the late '70s
proved that the CIA
used drugs and hypnosis
on thousands of people in an attempt
to manipulate their thoughts and behavior.
(singing "The Twilight Zone Theme")
Now if you're thinking,
I'm not even the type of person
to believe in a conspiracy theory,
like, that's totally crazy,
well, don't be so sure.
Research shows that conspiracy theorists
can be conservative or liberal,
male or female, rich or poor,
well educated or poorly educated.
To some extent, the human brain is wired
to find conspiracy theories appealing.
We're constantly taking in
information all day long,
and our brains seek out patterns
in order to make sense of it all.
This happens pretty much automatically,
and most of the time,
this is a good thing.
Like when I'm driving and
maybe I'm a little zoned out
and not paying attention,
and then all of a sudden,
the green light ahead switches to yellow.
My brain knows red comes next,
so I get ready to stop.
Our brains are almost too
good at recognizing patterns,
and so sometimes we get what researchers
call illusory pattern perception,
which is when your brain
perceives a pattern
when one doesn't actually exist.
Like have you ever looked up at the clouds
and been like, wow,
look at that cat wearing boots.
Mm.
Well, that's illusory
pattern perception in action.
Some researchers believe that
illusory pattern perception
is a major reason why people
believe in conspiracy theories,
which are really just
big, intricate patterns
that some people think they see.
Basically, the world is
pretty random and chaotic,
and for some, conspiracy theories
can be a way to create
order and structure.
Research shows that
illusory pattern perception
is stronger in people who
feel a lack of control
or a loss of power in their lives.
We see this happen with
members of a political party
that just lost an election
or with people who
recently lost their job.
They're more likely to
believe in conspiracy theories
as a way to explain their
new negative circumstance.
So how do you begin to change
a conspiracy theorist's mind?
Well, it's not easy,
because conspiracy
theories are almost never
based on facts or evidence.
They're almost always based on belief,
and belief isn't falsifiable,
meaning it can't be proven false.
Falsifiability is the cornerstone
of any scientific theory.
Take the universally accepted cell theory,
which states that all living
organisms are made up of cells.
If at some point in the future
scientists come along and show
that life is made up of
something other than cells,
then cell theory has been proven wrong.
Theories get challenged all the time.
That's how science works.
Do you guys know what a stomach ulcer is?
They're these really painful sores
in the lining of your stomach.
Well, back in the day,
a bunch of people were getting 'em,
and the leading scientific theory
to explain why this was
happening was stress.
The more stress you have,
the greater the chance
you'll develop an ulcer.
Well, in the 1980s,
an Australian researcher discovered
that it was actually a
specific kind of bacteria
that was causing the ulcers.
The discovery won him a Nobel
Prize for medicine in 2005
and proved the stress
ulcer theory was false.
Before you get in too deep
arguing with a conspiracy theorist,
you need to find out if
the theory is falsifiable.
Let's try it out.
- Bro, the Earth is flat.
I just spent three hours on YouTube
learning all about it.
NASA's been lying to us for decades.
Wake up, man.
It's so obvious.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Let's slow down.
Flat Earth?
What are you even talking about?
- Bro, the Earth is flat.
NASA's just a scam faking space travel
to further America's
militaristic dominance of space.
- So wait, hold on.
So if I showed you, say,
interviews of astronauts
who've been to space,
videos of Earth taken by satellites,
none of that would convince
you that the Earth isn't flat?
- No, it just further
proves the conspiracy.
- Okay, but can you provide
me with any evidence
to support what you're saying?
- That's not my job.
It's your job to prove me wrong.
- And there you have it, folks.
Any attempt to disprove
the conspiracy theory
is further evidence of the conspiracy.
What that means is the
theory is not falsifiable,
and many times,
conspiracy theorists won't
offer any evidence of their own.
Instead, they put it
on you to disprove it.
That's literally the opposite
of how science works.
So to recap,
the next time you're talking with someone
who believes in a conspiracy theory,
first figure out if their
theory is falsifiable.
If it's not,
you're dealing with a theory
that's based on belief.
If you still want to
have that conversation,
check out our episode on confirmation bias
that we did a while back.
It gives you some tips on
how to deal with the fact
that our brains seek out information
that confirms what we already believe.
Very relevant when talking
about conspiracy theories.
Okay, guys.
Tell us your favorite conspiracy theory
or the craziest one you've ever heard.
Is that theory falsifiable?
Let us know in the comments below.
Yeah, this one, this one should be fun.
I can already tell.
- Okay, conspiracy theories are lazy.
When you meet somebody with
an extraordinary worldview
like astrology, a haunted house,
there's a deep state of, you know,
60 people running things,
it takes them about two years,
chem trails, it takes them about two years
of being exposed to the evidence
before they come around.
- And that is conspiracy
theories with Bill Nye,
yes, the Bill Nye the Science Guy.
- So remember guys,
subscribe to our YouTube channel,
watch our show every other Wednesday,
and remember, cut through the hype.
- And we'll take you Above the Noise.
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