Frankly, I am tired of being told of two hour videos that are convincing, with no detail, no explanation of why they are convincing. I would rather be able to view data that can be collapsed, abstracted, detailed and parsed. Those videos may have value, but they should be indexed and annotated, especially since some are loaded with advertisements.
Finally, I am not under the illusion that taking the approach I am describing will prove any particular theory. But we humans have a history of developing science and inquiry. We've made progress on applying new tools to better explain and assess claims and theories. Applying these tools and methodologies may shed more light on and smarten the conversation. It's worth considering. My hope is that any such efforts will be designed so that non-professionals will be able to participate in adding to the light that is cast.
If a science, as I've described can develop, then it is even possible that universities may begin to offer courses and, eventually, concentrations, degrees, or departments that focus on the science of the study of explanation of events. This might emerge from history departments, but maybe not.
I did a search at flickr.com for images tagged with "conspiracy theory" seeking one to illustrate this article.
I found the one below that suggests an interesting way to look at a range of theories. I don't in any way endorse the image, but it does show a way that diverse ideas can be looked at.
the image from flickr is By Vince_Lamb but appears to be attributed to Public Eye. I was unable to find the image there, but it appears that Public Eye may indeed be one of a number of sources that offer data that can be useful, for at least some perspectives. Public Eye comes from a progressive perspective. That would be a consideration in pulling together all the elements. I'm sure there are conservative sites that do similar work.
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