Crank magnetism
From RationalWiki
You know that saying about not being so open-minded your brain falls out? People with crank magnetism didn't pay attention to that.
Let's put it this way... take a tax protestor in the United States. There's a very good chance such a person will also be a Christian fundamentalist, a racist, a conspiracy theorist, a birther, a teabagger, a creationist...
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[edit] How?
You would think that one odd or crank belief is enough to satisfy people. Consider it a small character flaw, a homage to the irrationality of the human condition. However, people who like conspiracy theories usually like them all. Creationists are most likely to be on the right-wing and credulous while a New Ager is likely to hold beliefs from every corner of the spiritual globe. This suggests that there must be an underlying mechanism or ideal that attracts people to these ideas in general, rather than just the merit of the individual beliefs themselves. People fond of the theory of memetics would recognise this as a meme-plex - a complex array of ideas of cultural significance that work together to reinforce each other - where a central idea allows others to attach themselves very easily.
[edit] Conspiracy nuts
What does drive a conspiracy theorist to believe both the JFK assassination conspiracies, the moon landing hoax and anything claimed by the 9/11 truth movement? All conspiracies are united by one common thread; this is distrust of the "official" or "government endorsed" story. This leads us to the common idea that allows other conspiracies to attach themselves well. Someone with a distrust of the government will likely distrust any and all stories or reports directly issued by them. Thus, any conspiracy will seem more plausible to the conspiracy theorist because this is what they would prefer.
[edit] Creationism
Creationism, and activism to promote it in schools such as with strengths and weaknesses often goes hand-in-hand with right-wing ideals and global warming denial. These two positions are mostly politically motivated, and Richard Dawkins for example, would like to refer to them as "history deniers" because of their active rejection of known fact. The links between global warming denial and creationism are less obvious than with conspiracies. However, both seem to hold the view that facts are merely opinions and can be voted away. If enough people believe it, it must be true. Thus, common arguments for skepticism of global warming and evolution often revolve around "56% of Americans say so, so it must be true".
The creationism and global warming denial can also be linked with conspiracy theories by the "distrust of government" meme. As church and state are officially separated in the US, the religious right are likely to distrust the government.
[edit] See also
- Salem Hypothesis
- Mark Hoofnagle's definition at Denialism Blog
