If schools were better at teaching analytical thinking, that might reduce the appeal of conspiracy theories. So-called Flat-Earthers truly believe our planet is a flat. But for a small segment of the population, this scientific fact is debatable. Some conspiracy theories are irrefutable-the American government cannot prove, for example, that it is not storing dead aliens in a secret underground laboratory. The Earth is a sphere, a fact that dates to ancient Greece. (If “they” are so keen to deny it, it must be true!) Absence of evidence is taken as evidence of a fiendishly effective cover-up. Simply rebutting conspiracy theories may make adherents even more entrenched in their views. The idea of a flat Earth is a good place to start with this, given that the evidence for its spherical nature goes back to long before the existence of science as an organized activity. They are extremely common in dictatorships, where people assume, often correctly, that the authorities are lying. They tend to be most popular among less-educated people who do not trust public institutions. One in ten say humans play no role in it.Ĭonspiracy theories are appealing because they offer simple explanations for complex phenomena, or because they let people believe they are in possession of secret knowledge that the powerful wish to suppress. A recent survey found that a third of American science teachers tell their students that climate change is driven in part by natural causes. Skepticism about climate change has infiltrated schools.
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