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Conspiracy Theories in History

Conspiracy Theories in History. Why most conspiracies are questionable : All conspiracy theories are dependent on four extraordinary claims: All evidence that would support the conspiracy theory was destroyed / successfully hidden.

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Conspiracy Theories in History

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  1. Conspiracy Theories in History • Why most conspiracies are questionable: • All conspiracy theories are dependent on four extraordinary claims: • All evidence that would support the conspiracy theory was destroyed / successfully hidden. • All evidence that disproves the conspiracy theory has been fabricated. • Any witnesses have remained silent / been silenced. • Academic experts who do not support the conspiracy theory or have officially denied it are part of the conspiracy and are lying. • Examples of conspiracy theories • We never landed on the moon. The whole thing was filmed on a Hollywood set. • The Holocaust was entirely fabricated by Jews in order to gain sympathy from the world. • JFK’s assassination was a plot orchestrated by the mob and/or Vice President Johnson.

  2. Conspiracy Theories in History • When big events happen in history, we seek equally big explanations. • JFK Assassination conspiracy: A single gunmen could not have assassinated the President of the United States! • Pearl Harbor conspiracy: The US could not have been caught by a surprise attack from a newly industrialized island nation! • But the truth of history demonstrates that sometimes big historical events have small beginnings.

  3. WWII Big Picture Questions • What circumstances create dictators? How do countries and their citizens fall victim to dictators? • When is war justified? • How can learning about war teach us about peace? • What circumstances drive people to kill and/or destroy? Commit genocide? • How can we define a “crime” in the context of war? • Do apathy and inaction make one as guilty as the perpetrators of war crimes? • How does war bring out the best and worst in humanity? • What is the relationship between war and technology? • What drives history: individuals and their choices, broad social trends, or seemingly insignificant random occurrences (strokes of good/bad luck)?

  4. Conspiracy Theories in History • When big events happen in history, we seek equally big explanations. • JFK Assassination conspiracy: A single gunmen could not have assassinated the President of the United States! • Pearl Harbor: The US could not have been caught by a surprise attack from a newly industrialized island nation! • But the truth of history demonstrates that sometimes big historical events have small beginnings. • The outcast 17th son of a Saudi billionaire collected a ragtag group of fanatics in the mountains of a forgotten country and trained 19 of them to launch one of the largest single attacks on the most powerful nation in the world.

  5. Conspiracy Theories in History • When big events happen in history, we seek equally big explanations. • But the truth of history demonstrates that sometimes big historical events have small beginnings. • It is the duty of historians to seek the truth, even when the conspiracy tells a better, more satisfying story.

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