We need to add a Critical Thinking class to the US education system. The class would focus on using the scientific method to test and validate information and evidence.
They use to have that class in one of my local colleges. That was 35+ years ago. I don’t know if any still do. It should be a class in junior high and on that, civics classes should be brought back too. IMO
Man, you SAID it !! For Real !!!! Would that have helped my step-son with his parroting of all the crazy stuff out there? He believes the Clintons killed Jeffrey Epstein and the covid vaccine causes football injuries. I guess some people are beyond help. Sorry to say that but........
But! But! They've "done their research"! We should be grateful to them for digging through the copious amounts of information (that agrees with their confirmation bias) and enlightening us. They are the critical thinkers! (according to them).
Which would mark *the end of career* for, well, pretty much *YOUR ENTIRE ELITE* (tycoons, politicians and what-not), who depend _solely_ upon the public *immense* stupidity for their livelihood, so forget it: it shall NEVER happen under the current socio-eco-political system.
Man, I really enjoyed this episode, I’m glad we’re getting more of these sit down casual style of talks nowadays, makes it much easier and more enjoyable to learn new things.
So true idk what it is but all throughout school with the exception of one teacher, and I'm meaning of the core 4 subjects, if im orated at then I tend not to learn but Neil and Chuck just sitting down and just talking and joking about these big brain concepts has taught me so much more about astrophysics, the world and the universe than 18/19 years in school did.
It's so much more approachable this way, rather than the usual - "Look at how smart I am and how much I know. Listen to my esoteric words to prove it. I hope your little plebeian brain can keep up" - type of educational video.
Don't expect perceived wise men to know everything about everything. Only talking about the ridiculous theories and not about the more substantial because it isn't on brand of their fame and should be taken no more seriously than comedic value.
to be fair, people DO sometimes conspire. however its important to have a solid logical and evidentiary framework on which you test your hypotheses and base your conclusions
Your comment seems a hair irrelevant. They didn’t say that there is no such thing as a real conspiracy, or that people don’t conspire. They simply brought up and explained long form the last part of your comment. That you need substantial evidence to prove substantial claims.
I am pretty sure that Chuck will never reach to this comment but I need to say after a few years following ST, that this guy is way smarter than he looks! love his humor and how he articulate questions while bringing up facts.
@@ma1ex It's not what he looks like, but his demeanor. People are perceived to be more intellectual if they're calm, and speak in measured tones. Chuck is more hyperactive and makes a lot of jokes. Of course, that has nothing to do with his intelligence, but it does affect perception.
When you I first started watching Startalk, I wondered why Neil would choose a comedian for his co-host, rather than a fellow scientist, given the context of the show. However, I must say that Chuck has repeatedly surprised and impressed me with his intellect, as demonstrated by some of his comments, which are often quite deep and truly profound! Of course, it doesn't hurt that he is routinely hilarious, as well! Thank you, gentlemen, for producing a podcast that is as entertaining as it is though-provoking; a balance which I'm sure cannot be easy to maintain!
Yeah, great comedic and profound responses.... like calling those who might be labeled conspiracy theorists, "idiots". It's funny how what some people are so impressed by, others are completely repulsed by. To each, his or her own, I suppose.
It all starts getting ridiculous once chuck says... [spoiler for Chucks joke below] . . . . . . . "Once you go black, you get killed by the royal family!"
Do you all think real professors from a real USA university are conspiracy theorists? The TV won't tell you about this, but I don't know why? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LJPuWy9utss.html
Chuck is such a great little addition to these conversations. He really does explain things well. He has some great points and questions. What an amazing school science teacher he would be
This is the type of Host I want in a show. Knowing your Guest and their works first before starting discussing things. Neil Degrasse opened my mind about many possibilities.
Careful there, you sound like one of those anti-theists, who claim that their gnostic form of atheism is 'rational'. You fail to realize that you have the same problem as your Christian foes, perhaps displaying inconvenient similarities.
I wish all of our current media talked like Chuck! I am also fascinated by human biases? One more thing programmers have to learn to think through them. Great episode. Getting your book tomorrow.
👽👽👽Yeah I do UFO and alien research and I often use NASA, ESA photos so they cannot be debunked. I found alien artifacts like buildings, bases, 10km ships, statues and so much more. Is it real? Yeah, but will nasa ever admit it no. But I am world famous just search my name. 👽👽👽
@@wolfiemuse Back in the early 80s I spent several days being tested/assessed to see if I had the right kind of logical brain required to be a programmer. Spent the next 20 years programming and in my experience nearly all of the most competent programmers were not neuro typical. I'd go so far as to say that most of them were quite obviously on the autistic spectrum. The industry changed and most "programmers" these days are combining the programming role with what used to be called Systems Analysis. Systems work requires a greater understanding of "people" and so the programmer who lived and breathed the machine was pushed into a smaller and smaller niche. Today's programmers rarely have to code the machine, they get to pick frameworks and select APIs. The really hard stuff has already been coded, by "real" programmers.
I understand what they are talking about .... BUT .... Its exceedingly hard to dismiss certain "conspiracies". Some I would just consider to be alternative hypothesis. And if sufficient information is given to support, then they are equally likely to be true. Otherwise we would easily believe all propaganda, all official government narratives, and all historical rewrites, et c.
This is an amazing episode! Thank you so much for all your insights! This should be required viewing! We desperately need more people to think rationally in this extremely irrational society we live in right now.
Thanks, Doc... Your conversations are informative, based in common sense and pov's logically argued and light-hearted intellect which makes your show so much fun. Thank you! Nice to see Chuck back, too!
Can't be out of time! Great show I wish it could go on for another hour, already followed Michael on Twitter and excited for the next episode that comes across my feed ✌️🕊️🙌
Yes. I love your explanations and insights of why people believe in conspiracy theories. Well done. I've always said that those who believe in conspiracy theories don't think critically and aren't showing the intelligence I'm sure they have. I left politics a long time ago because everwhere you look, there is some kind of ridiculous conspiracy theory. If you're going to be in politics or be a politician, you can at least think rationally and objectively about things instead of through the lens of biases, religion, and feelings. Those only cause problems as we have seen. It's human nature to want to find someone or something to blame for problems but it doesn't make it logical.
One of the best episodes, Chuck is solid a gold statue that sprouted wings and soared above us all like a eagle, whole thing knowledgeable and got a greatly needed laugh 💯🍻✌️
I watched Citizen Kane a year before the 2020 election. The prescience of Orson Welles is utterly alien. 80 years ahead of his time, EASILY. Man was 25 when he made Citizen Kane
Kane was just a great story for the very reason that it was about a reoccurring human problem. That seems ahead of its time when the problem comes back around, as it will, but is actually just acknowledging the very old and tiresome aspects of society. I do note that Hearst's Castle continues to rake in some cash from tourists who come away impressed with him. So it goes.
Intriguing, I always knew there was more to life and i have also been looking for a way to find not only protection but a way to be influential to the human society, wish to do more and give more than i am doing now, always feel like i was born for something greater. .
oh well you can achieve that by being a part of the illuminatus brotherhood, i know it sounds like a mystery but there are ways you can actually get in contact with them
@@haynesatteh4463 Well it is not and you can't actually expect it to be open to everyone, but if you want to know more you can look up ANTHONY MARK SZYMON online you will find something interesting.
Hi Gentlemen. I do enjoy listening to to your facts and show. I do wish your guest would look into a case of a lady that worked at Tennessee driver license office in Memphis. That had issued drivers license to some of the 911 hijacker’s. She was arrested after the month of 911. Sorry I don’t have dates. It’s been awhile since. But anyway my only concern is I am a Truck driver of many years and I was on my way back to Memphis on Hwy 78 20 miles from Memphis Tn. At around 1 am at the time it was only a two lane road so all traffic was stopped. Well I found that the lady that was arrested was released from Jail at midnight was the lady in a car that had just burned up on a car. Someone wanted her dead for some reason. But anyway thanks for listening this really did happen. Love the show👍
Yeah, the correct way to discover the rule at 33:31 is to also go into descending numbers. 9, 8, 7. I actually saw the Veratasity channel do a video on this, and one guy out of maybe half a dozen actually figured it out.
I think people love conspiracies because they are usually more interesting than the real explanation, add on top that it might side with their perspective or views of the world.
And when you counter their argument you need to be really delicately careful and not step on eggshells? This sounds like more snowflake sensitivity than I thought.
You can add to that people needs to be special, to see and understand people that the "sheep" won't, be smarter than anyone else, not all people have that need, but some those
But in many cases it is not more interesting. Like how is aliens magically building the pyramids more interesting than ancient humans building them with primitive tools? It is just a fantasy, nobody knows which aliens; how they did it, why they did it. But with humans you can find all kinds of information, like their tools, their society, the religion, etc. any why will lead you down a lifetime of information. With conspiracies every why leads to “well why not?” and that is the end of it.
The Jesus vs. Darwin debate seems to me a very U.S. one. My father is a devout christian, but he would never claim Charles Darwin was nonsense. In fact, he is very much into phylogenesis, and when I was young, he was often explaining to me which birds are more closely related to each other than to other birds, or that the rock hyrax belongs into the same group as the elephants, and not to the hares.
The last question was by far the most important one. A longer discussion on that topic would be nice to hear. I do believe that the range between (believing in science and institutions) and nihilism is a bit broader than shermer seems to think. But what do i know? I am probably in the lower scale of the bottom 50% and concidered by many (probably even less intelligent) as a conspiracy theorist.
Get hard, cold, scientific based facts about the topic your concerned with. Get them yourself from highly respected sources. Do this, and your tendency for conspiracies will start to go away
This is part of the conspiracy to make conspiracy theories appear to all be crazy to provide cover for real conspiracies. (LOL) On the serious side, not all conspiracy theories are totally off base. People do conspire and those that do often say "Do not question us." When there is evidence of people being forced to not speak out or "canceled" for speaking out instead of evidence being offered to the contrary then that is where distrust grows. In other words, some behavior promotes distrust even if there isn't a conspiracy. On the other side of the coin, some people like to feel they know something others don't. It makes them feel powerful in an overwhelming world.
Initially, I saw the phrase “conspiracy theories” in the title and was disappointed. The vast majority of the crazy beliefs and fabrications of the conspiracy mongers do not qualify as a “theory”. Further discussion of what constitutes a valid theory would have been helpful, as the issue was not confronted directly.
Thank you so much for this excellent discussion. I, along with so many others are thankful for such intelligent thinking. I will share this with as many as possible.
20 years ago I saw a little girl around 12 years old moving something with her mind on an episode of Ancient Aliens when I went to Hulu years later the episode was still there about the gifted kids that were studied by the Chinese in the late '80s , over 300 of them. but the piece of footage was of course gone from the episode. so when it comes to proving you're not crazy you better tape it the first time it airs " so to speak"
I think the confusion between correlation and causation also has a lot to do with it. For example, the people who think 5G towers cause covid will point to maps showing that the earliest covid outbreaks were in areas with the greatest number of 5G towers, which is true. But the 5G didn't cause the outbreak. Instead, it was because those are also the areas with the highest population density; therefore it is natural that the towers would be built there in greater numbers, and also that disease spreads faster there. John Oliver did a great video a while back where he pointed out that there's also a correlation between covid outbreaks and number of Domino's Pizza locations-- because there are also more pizza restaurants where there are more people.
Heh. I had an emergency appendectomy after eating Domino's once. For a long time I believed that their pizza caused it. Stopped believing due to insufficient evidence. How hard is that for some folk to do,unless it's part of their identity and lifestyle?
The NIH published a study that confirmed that 5G microwave radiation disrupts the negative charge that naturally occurs between red blood cells to prevent them from clotting unnecessarily .
Belief in conspiracy theories often stems from psychological needs for control, certainty, and coherence in a complex world. These theories can provide simple explanations for complex events and satisfy a desire for insider knowledge. When it comes to aliens and extraterrestrial beings, such beliefs can be fueled by curiosity about the unknown, fears of a hidden agenda, or the allure of secret knowledge. How might these factors influence our understanding of the universe and our place within it if new evidence about extraterrestrial life were to emerge?
The problem is that people DO NOT see the patterns and the symbols and the connections. Most people are oblivious to it all and just go to work , have kids, and pay, pay , pay til they’re sick and dead. Then they have to pay to be buried into the ground!!
The dismissive way Neil deGrasse Tyson has acted towards both recent revelations regarding unidentified (cross-domain) anomalous phenomena and recent advances in artificial intelligence and his speaking on both issues with both ignorance and unearned authority have diminished my respect for him, even though I still think he is among the best science communicators we have today. I just wish he would educate himself better on these topics and approach them with more humility.
Tyson's one-time (or current) employer, National Geographic Partners, recently released a series about unidentified anomalous phenomena that is as compelling as the related article from "The New York Times," the "60 Minutes" story, and the other inquiries into this topic that many prestigious institutions are now providing and that the U.S. Congress has been pursuing, as of late. Tyson, meanwhile, has gone out of his way to appear on several programs and, in so doing, to seemingly try to perpetuate the stigma around this issue that prevents more data from being collected. Thankfully, researchers at Harvard University and Stanford University, among others, are now treating these questions with the seriousness they deserve.
25:00 He says this as if Trump was a Republican, rather than independent until forced to pick a party in order to receive campaign funds. Maybe look into it. The Republicans as a group tried to bar Trump from entry.
the only thing more dangerous than believing all conspiracy theories, are believing theyre all false. neil, you are so smart in your field but as a scientist surely you should have the attitude of doing research on a subject before speaking on it! something you clearly have not done here!
There's a marked difference between conspiracy theory and conspiracy. We used to accept conspiracy theory for what it was, a hypothetical possibility. Now it is immediately embraced as fact by people armed with social media and a paranoid suspicion of all things "establishment". The Sandy Hook massacre was not fake just because some people don't like the government.
@@moggpiano8043 thats because the ""establishment" has misused the term and put all conspiracies under the conspiracy theory tag in order to discredit the actual credible ones. this video proves that. they have placed all these things under the conspiracy theory tag when there are legitimate reasons for people questioning the official stories of these things, IE the third building that collapsed miraculously on 9/11, the magic bullet regards to jfk and being british the princess Dianna one, which if you look into the inquest into her death opposed to what the media put out as the cause are totally different. if theyre going to have a discusion about these things they cant just pick and choose what to mention that suits and ignore the main reasons people disbelieve
Unfortunately the people who need to listen to this will be the people who try and avoid this type of video like their conspiracy filled life depended on it...
@@dissidentexpression8692 Conspiracies are just not revealed by internet sleuths arriving at preconceived conclusions. Revelation always comes from within..... Declassified documents, whistle blowers, accident or carelessness, or breakdown between the conspirators.
I surmise the gene that Dr. Kaku mentions is the metaphorical part of us that experiences fear. As mentioned, we find comfort in explaining things that frighten us. There is a type of person who does experience fear more acutely. Perhaps it is physiological as in having an enlarged amygdala, or maybe it is environmental as in upbringing or tribal associations, but for whatever underlying reason and to varying degrees, there are people who are governed by their fears. Such a person will more readily accept falsehoods in order to seek comfort. Confirmation bias sets in and said person will then fortify their position, perhaps by claiming they have an open mind. Then along comes a spider, a personality who preys upon those fears, confirming and magnifying fears while profiting. Our society is full of these types.
I still remember reading online a "weather control machine" conspiracy theorist asking why tornadoes seem to be more common and more powerful in the "red states" of the central plains. So I replied that it was because that's where the cold, dry air coming over the Rocky Mountains runs into the warm, moist air coming off the Gulf of Mexico. I don't know why I was taken aback by the follow-up question of why that was. All I had to that was "geology and meteorology."
"They" always refers to persons unknown. If they were known we would have grounds for investigation and the finding of evidence. Every inquiry begins with a "they" or "it" of sorts until a search for evidence begins.
It happens. Bias can form on people who decide all conspiracy theories are false, they won’t look into information because they assume it’s false just because the last conspiracy was false.
What if you’re a promoter of a conspiracy that you falsely think is based on a fact and are here to increase doubt to the opposition? What ifs can get you to a lot of conclusions, but that doesn’t mean it’s correct.
Chuck hit the nail on the head. Sometimes if you hear these conspiracies and try to forget some of the facts you already know. The conspiracies make sense. But then you realize you know the facts and realize how some people could indeed fall for some of these conspiracies
Yes, like the FBI pushing a Russia collusion hoax for 2 years, or interfering in elections via Twitter and censorship, or calling Hunter's laptop Russian b.s. The way DemonRATs dismiss proven facts is 🤣😂😆😂😆
"Rosebud." Reply if you know why I placed this "quote" on here. Another great episode guys!!! I love to back and forth of Neil and Chuck! Great chemistry and Neil makes it easy to understand even the hardest of questions or topics!
Hilarious how they start with "half are below..." basically joking 50% of the human population is dumb and I bet everyone watching this is laughing and saying haha yeah I'm part of the "other" 50% not considering they are, in fact, one of the dumb ones 🤣🤣 loved this vod, super entertaining and interesting
A recent mind blower for me is that intelligence in the human race is not an even bell curve, It is a RIGHT WEIGHTED bell curve, meaning most humans are in fact, dumb. So if this were a lottery, you'd win money betting that you (we) were the dumb one.
53:10 Henri Poincaré once wrote (in: Science and Hypothesis 1905): To doubt everything or to believe everything are two equally convenient solutions; both dispense with the necessity of reflection.
generally 'skeptics' are just annoying it seems lately, i grew up thinking i was a skeptic, but they seem to prefer their doubt bias over just learning new information. where as i just never assume anything as fact, and am always curious about new information
The problem with the old dudes view is the majority of "conspiracy" theories become fact 6 months later..... this guy has a CIA handler 🤣 conspiracy theory 🤣🤣
For my Psych project (physics major, but everyone has to take social sciences), I tested the correlation between education level and belief in conspiracy theories, the supernatural, and so on. The subjects ranged from students to faculty, all of whom filled out a questionnaire about their education and yes or no on various beliefs. Would you believe it if I told you that education level had a strong inverse correlation with belief in conspiracy theories etc? (for the dumb, that means the lower the education level the more likely the person is to believe in conspiracy theories). Color me shocked/sarcasm.
I wouldn't have really thought an actual "Inverse" - To me, I could see undergrad and grad having less of a belief in conspiracy theories because they were actively at the...I'll say "Learning to Learn" stage, of education - whereas lower educated (especially without a High School diploma) might simply not have the education, or even intelligence, to really think the concepts through, and Highly-Educated Docs and Post-Docs, might get into a certain "I know what I'm talking about" mindset.
@@eliteteamkiller319 Primary education is about accepting input without question. Those who question input don't do well in our route learning system. Thinking is not conducive to education in our system.
My first time watching this show. It was the longest 56 minutes of my life. Nothing worse than grown men giggling for a whole hour while trying to sound serious.
This would be a lot more enjoyable if they’d actually let their guests finish their thoughts and answering questions, instead of constantly interrupting them.
Isn't it weird that we've come to accept governments lying and hiding things from the public? - Think about it. Who is the government and what is their function? The government is us and their function is sustain and improve different aspects of our day-to-day life.
In terms of the Kennedy assasination, I will always believe that Oswald didn't act alone. On the other hand, it would have seemed that someone would have made a death bed confession or something. Then back to the conspiracy theory that Oswald didn't act alone, why is the government holding back secret documents about that day in Dallas? That just propels the theory that there's more to that day in Dallas.
Like we're going to remember what we're taught 20 years ago, in 2nd or 3rd grade.. Why we have seasons.. We aren't taught how to survive, the only thing that matters; and that's even if you got a Ph. D.. And the more we loose, the more secure the rich and powerful are at the top..
They're too playful in this but I don't mind the brief "intermissions" because sometimes these small interactions sets it apart from those boring political discussions.
I’m a little worried at everyone’s ease at joking about the “others” who are conspiracy obsessed. Everyone here believes something that is completely false/conspiratorial, but because of your own biases you will argue that what you believe is truth.
I just love your videos. They're extremely entertaining. You know, I'm the kind of guy who had numerous UFO encounters, always with witnesses, but I never began to try to understand something no-one knows. I just let it be, like all the other things humanity can't explain.
Confirmation bias, personal incredulity and other human traits are a constant threat to science and rational thinking and I find that the majority of those that have those traits and allows those traits to overwhelm their rationality have a lower standard of education.
