The Guide to Writing a Successful Conspiracy Theory (Issue #2)
by Steven Olsen
November is National Novel Writing Month, everyone knows that. Conspiracy theorists have February though. It’s when the hordes of aspiring crackpots take part in the lesser known National Conspiracy Theory Construction Month. Many people will try to cultivate a following of delusional fans, but most will fail. Here are some tips for how to make your conspiracy the very best it can be.
Your antagonist is what will make or break your conspiracy. Evil squids might work for bringing in Lovecraftian clergy, but if you want a solid fanbase of paranoid Youtube commenters, you need to have something that hits a little closer to human. Monsters reminiscent of cephalopods, insects, and other distinctly Not Human creatures are easier for the public to dismiss as make believe...
Conspiracy Central (Issue #2)
by Michael Shermer
I was in town filming a documentary for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and our subject was conspiracy theories, so it was with some irony that we happened to be filming on December 7. There are many conspiracy theories surrounding that date, “a date which will live in infamy,” as Franklin Roosevelt so crowned that fateful day in 1941; supposedly he either helped orchestrate the attack on Pearl Harbor or else he knew about the attack and then allowed it to happen, maybe to galvanize the American public into supporting England against the Nazis and getting the United States into the war. But there is no more to this Pearl Harbor conspiracy theory than the one about President Bush helping to orchestrate 9/11, or that he knew about the pending attack and used it to unite the American public into supporting his wars in the Middle East.
there is something particularly appealing to some people when they describe “what really happened” in their alternative universe of events. You can see it in their eyes when they begin to talk about...
Some Like It Rough (Issue #2)
by Rachel Johnson
November is National Novel Writing Month, everyone knows that. Conspiracy theorists have February though. It’s when the hordes of aspiring crackpots take part in the lesser known National Conspiracy Theory Construction Month. Many people will try to cultivate a following of delusional fans, but most will fail. Here are some tips for how to make your conspiracy the very best it can be.
Your antagonist is what will make or break your conspiracy. Evil squids might work for bringing in Lovecraftian clergy, but if you want a solid fanbase of paranoid Youtube commenters, you need to have something that hits a little closer to human. Monsters reminiscent of cephalopods, insects, and other distinctly Not Human creatures are easier for the public to dismiss as make believe...
Bad Medicine (Issue #3)
by Jeff Ridout
Most of our understanding of the natural world has come from trial and error. I can imagine one of our ancestors—a Neanderthal-homo sapien hybrid named Glort---clad in animal skins and rudimentary tools, with small trinkets hanging round his neck, walking through an unknown area with his friend, we’ll call him, I dunno, Todd, searching for new hunting grounds when they come across a small clearing among fallen trees. They’ve been trying to find something edible for a couple days, so their stomachs are growling. One looks down and sees a bloom of mushrooms. What sort of thoughts are going through Glort or Todd’s mind? Should I eat that mushroom?
“Yeah, Todd, Eat it!” (Of course they spoke English 40 000 years ago).
“No way bro!”
“Wuss.”
Glort takes a handful and gulps it back. Chances are he...
