II don’t know if I should be telling you this, but most conspiracy theories are bunk.
The key word in the above sentence is not bunk but most. If you wish to believe that 9/11 was carried out by the US government or that there is a group of billionaires that meet secretly to discuss the New World Order, fine, but count me out.
In philosophical terms, Occam’s razor is a pretty good test to see if a theory holds water…Occam’s Razor, or the law of parsimony, is the problem-solving principle that “entities should not be multiplied without necessity”. In other words, if there is a simpler and more logical explanation, do not go inventing other stuff that muddies the pond.
Vaccination is prone to conspiracy theories. MMR vaccination suffered when false research claimed extreme ill effects as a result of being vaccinated. Covid19 is having similar difficulties. There are people who are convinced that this is all some plot to deny us our freedom and monitor our movements.
If those theories were true, we should all worry. But the more likely answer is that monitoring our movements is just part of track and trace to determine how the virus spreads. Freedoms have to be sacrificed in emergency situations. Being free not to take shelter during a bombing raid is questionable freedom.
The risk to society of plausible conspiracy theories is that people will not get vaccinated (or take shelter in a Blitz) and that lives will be lost
odespinner 