Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

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jackspratt
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Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by jackspratt » July 26, 2021, 12:28 pm

This probably comes as no surprise to those with critical thinking skills.
The more people believe in conspiracy theories, the worse they perform on critical thinking tests, a new study has confirmed.

This doesn’t mean that conspiracy theorists are necessarily lacking intelligence, but rather that they lack the skills to objectively analyse and evaluate a situation.....

..... Critical thinking is the objective analysis and evaluation of a situation – and requires a number of cognitive skills.

These include the ability to think systematically, see other perspectives, change your mind when new evidence arises, identify relevant versus irrelevant information, identify and discard logical fallacies, be aware of biases and avoid them, and look beyond the obvious.......

....What the researchers found was a strong association between lower critical thinking skills and an increased tendency toward believing conspiracy theories......
https://thenewdaily.com.au/life/science ... 2020210726
No doubt this post would have been appropriate to one of the current American Politics threads, but I thought it better to open a thread of its own.



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Shado
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Re: Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by Shado » July 26, 2021, 12:48 pm

A check list for those who actually have an interest in critical thinking.

Image

Pro V1
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Re: Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by Pro V1 » July 26, 2021, 1:24 pm

I know a guy who is an avid conspiracy theorist. Flat Earth, David Ike’s lizard people, 9/11 hoax, Moon Landing faked by Stanley Kubrick, global ‘reset’ by the Illuminati...the full set of conspiracy stuff...none of this, I should add, do I personally buy into. That said, the dude is far from an idiot, indeed he is placed in the top 2% of Mensa (UK). In this instance no correlation between stupidity and conspiracy.

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Re: Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by DuiDui49 » July 26, 2021, 5:45 pm

Shado wrote:
July 26, 2021, 12:48 pm
A check list for those who actually have an interest in critical thinking.

Image
Thanks for that post shado.If you and i would implement this with an real effort..not only you and me ,but the whole world would be a nicer and more happy to live in,don't you think.

I copy and pasted this,later i will try to make like a remind-me-poster to hang up in my office room.Live and learn/change to the better is my motto ;-)

Have a nice day shado..//Alfie..:-)

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Laan Yaa Mo
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Re: Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by Laan Yaa Mo » July 26, 2021, 9:16 pm

Shado wrote:
July 26, 2021, 12:48 pm
A check list for those who actually have an interest in critical thinking.

Image
Did you study philosophy in high school or college?
You only pass through this life once, you don't come back for an encore.

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Shado
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Re: Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by Shado » July 27, 2021, 7:56 am

I recall taking a philosophy course but I don't remember any salient points. That was a long time ago.

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jackspratt
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Re: Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by jackspratt » July 30, 2021, 8:22 am

This new study will come as no surprise to readers of the Map Forum.
What drives belief in conspiracy theories, a lack of religion or too much?

White evangelicals are more likely to follow debunked claims

....... White evangelicals, the most religiously devout group among those surveyed by YouGov, are particularly susceptible to supporting QAnon and believing other conspiracy theories.....

..... Belief in these theories is also linked to a person’s political views. White evangelicals are 34 percentage points more likely than other Americans to believe that “millions of illegal votes” were cast in the 2020 election.......

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detai ... l_weekly_8

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Re: Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by leterry60614 » July 30, 2021, 10:27 am

Don’t hit too hard on white evangelicals, their road to …. is paved with good intentions. 

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Re: Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by Doodoo » July 30, 2021, 1:43 pm

Religion is the most dangerous of all conspiracy theorists groups
Each one want the other one to convert and if they dont then they want to defeat them bringing them into submission or death
This has been going on for centuries

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Re: Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by stattointhailand » July 30, 2021, 3:51 pm

Life must have been so much easier when you had a choice of thousands of gods to thank for a good harvest or a good sh*t

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Re: Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by Doodoo » July 30, 2021, 3:56 pm

Words from a true believer
As it is said "Thank goodness for free speech, it soon shows us who the idiots are "

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Re: Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by stattointhailand » July 30, 2021, 6:02 pm

Its amazing how fake news can be over 2000 years old, and we still get people prepared to believe it :roll:

yet poor old Declan posts his fake news and everyone manages to disprove it in 10 mins :confused:

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Re: Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by AlexO » July 30, 2021, 7:11 pm

Doodoo wrote:
July 30, 2021, 1:43 pm
Religion is the most dangerous of all conspiracy theorists groups
Each one want the other one to convert and if they dont then they want to defeat them bringing them into submission or death
This has been going on for centuries
Never a truer word spoken. Which one of the 3 main middle eastern born religions actually practice this newly discovered Critical Thinking philosophy.

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Re: Conspiracy theorists lack critical thinking skills: New study

Post by jackspratt » July 31, 2021, 9:02 pm

AlexO wrote:
July 30, 2021, 7:11 pm
Never a truer word spoken. Which one of the 3 main middle eastern born religions actually practice this newly discovered Critical Thinking philosophy.
I think it is well established that critical thinking is not widespread amongst the masses - hence the rise of the 3 religions you refer to.

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