Vainamoinen: International, large scale, independent investigation into e.g. fluoride have happened. They all yield the same basic results, that's why we started to give our children fluoride in the first place. If you wish to ignore those studies just because Dr. Chekov is your go-to guy <snip>

Emob78: For one moment pretend that I don't know anything about chemistry, metallurgy, or physics, and just tell me what the hell is going on here.

rtcvb32: One of the things brought up in the tape was fluoride, and the confusion of how a salt or substance with a similar name which was good for making teeth stronger and healthier, and the similarity of the name was used to instead push it into our water systems.

Vainamoinen: You know, it's not as if I didn't understand the conspiracy theorists. They live in a much more interesting world, one in which large scale conspiracies are feasible, in which governments by dozens of angles try to euthanize their citizens (and make their teeth explode) and in which Hillary Clinton evidently is a robot remote controlled and/or sedated by the afro-american population.

On the other hand, when Donald Trump bribes an attorney general to keep the IRS' nose out of his university, and he's basically being "Yeah I did that, so what?" about it, that's not in any way a fantastic conspiracy theory, that's just sincerely uninteresting blatantly obvious stuff, so that story stays under the nutter radar.

I've been reading Thomas Grüter's book on the subject quite some years ago when those conspiracies and the people who believe in them still intrigued me. At the core of most theories lies the conspiracy faith, which is inalterable. It's usually a certain group or people that are supposedly up to no good. The fantastic "why" or "how" rest is thrown at this basis completely regardless of actual credibility. If one of those angles gets debunked, you try another, while the underlying, yes, quasi-religious faith remains the same.

This has zero to do with the scientific process, which works precisely the other way round!

The few dozen theories brought up in that conspiracy nutter thread haven't just been "debunked", they've been nuked to smithereens. And still the core of it, the faith that those Democrats are plotting the downfall of the US, stays intact 100%.

Breja: In my experience the "logic" these people follow comes down to "the abscence of proof proves that proof was destroyed by the conspirators, so the lack of proof proves that the conspiracy exists!"

darthspudius: The Black Knight always triumphs!

whytestallion: The best way to deal with them is ask for evidence then point out the flaws. Usually they'll shift goal posts (well the fluoride may not be causing damage but the government lied!)

rampancy: Or Flat Earthers who think that the real edge of the world exists in Antarctica, but is actually patrolled by NASA Black Ops special forces

Nirth: Whaat? That's hilarious. Does he still believe in that? Weird connection with meditation and secret Atlantis powers though.

catpower1980: Actually, this just reminded me of some 50-something guy who lives in my area and works in Brussels. So during his daily commuting (in bus and train) he usually read books about galaxies and such and when he spots a "victim", he starts talking to them about UFO and alien entities who in fact rule our lives and the universe.

rampancy: Despite pretty clear evidence as to the Black Knight's actual origins, the resiliency of the mythos surrounding it certainly lives up to its Monty Python namesake.

eksasol: My conspiracy theory is that cats are pure evil and are using people for their benefits. I trust a dog much more.