Month: March 2018

Unicorns Are Real

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by Lauren Bumbaca

The belief that unicorns are real and still roam the earth today is something that many modern, civilized people believe in. The definition of a unicorn an animal that dates all the way back to the dinosaur era whom closely resembles a horse and has a single straight horn projecting from its forehead. There are many people that currently believe that unicorns do exist today or have existed in the past. There are many informational websites and journals that explore the possibility of unicorns existing. Some websites that support the unicorn phenomena are www.unicornsrule.com that explain how it is possible for unicorns to still exist today; and www.sciencealert.com/fossilised-skull-reveals-when-the-last-siberian-unicorn-lived which describes and discusses how unicorns, though may be extinct today, were alive and went extinct only about 29,000 years ago. The unicorn belief has always been popular in the sense that it has been a staple in many fairytale/literature and has been classified as a mythical creature many of times in children books and movies. However, the belief that unicorns are a real living species has also been around for as long as we can remember and is still a prominent belief in people today. For example, unicorns have been acknowledged by great early civilizations such as Mesopotamia and Greece who stated that they occupied and cohabitated the same space as other non-mythical creatures.

This is very important because there have been certain bones and skeletons found that do support the fact that a certain species such as the Elasmotherium sibricum. However, the common unicorn that the common people seem to believe in are known to have “magical powers” and have the ability to become invisible, along with being white with a rainbow horn. According to the Unicorns Rule article there are many characteristics such as “unicorns have the faculty to render themselves, and other forest creatures, invisible to human eyes in the forest they protect.” There are many characteristics in this statement that make unicorns an extraordinary belief. First that statement makes unicorns being unfalsifiable, because if they cannot be seen then they could always be there but not being able to see them makes it unfalsifiable. This statement also “Retreats to the supernatural” because you just “have to believe” that the unicorns have “magical powers” and do to protection they are able to render themselves invisible.

As the before states there are many things about unicorns (described in a more literature sense) that classifies them as an extraordinary belief and deemed to just be another mythical creature. However, in the article by Science Today there are fossil discoveries that support the life of a prehistoric creature name the “Siberian Unicorn” or Elasmotherium sibricum. The article states that the Siberian Unicorn is a long extinct species that resembles more a rhino rather than a horse. Throughout the article they describe through their fossil records that the Siberian Unicorn was 6.6 feet tall and 14.7 feet long, weighing in at approximately 4 tons. The article also goes into discussing the new skull discovered in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan dated around 29,00 years ago. This insinuates that the Siberian Unicorn was indeed alive while humans walked the earth, unfortunately they contrast extremely in physical appearance compared to how they are popularly described today.

Some of the cognitive contributions that contribute to this belief is the fight between faith and fact. When discussing the chronological order of the Unicorn it is easy to interpret that there could have been sightings or known information that there were “Siberian Unicorns” roaming the earth 29,000 years ago. However, through time and literature along with cultural differences many people have misinterpreted the Unicorn changing the modern definition to a white, horse-like being with a rainbow horn that can perform magic. This puts the unicorn in two different categories. The species Elasmotherium sibricum could very well be a real species and is supported by scientific findings. However, somewhere between approximately 29,000 years ago to today “word of mouth” and literature continued to distort the image of a unicorn and made it into a mythical creature. However, the modern depiction of unicorn poses the fact that unicorn believers are a product of choosing faith over fact. This is the entity that if a person has faith in something then no matter how many facts that Unicorns are an extraordinary belief and that they do not exist, the person will still have faith and believe that Unicorns are real. Therefore, misinterpretation of language, literature, and cultural differences leads to faith in something where no true facts are able to support it.

There are many social and contextual contributions to the Unicorn belief system. The contextual context would fall under all the literature that unicorns are mentioned in. For example, in the Harry Potter series unicorns play a role in the fact that they are the purest forms of creature and if you drink their blood you hold magical powers as well. They are also shown through many religious literature and described as having certain “powers” as well. Literature works such as Harry Potter along with eyewitness, personal reports are the types of social influences that fuels the believers into thinking they are correct to think that unicorns exist. The social context works in tandem with the community that the believers come from, usually the believers come from those who read the literature that unicorns play a role in. Most of the time it is those who are science fiction readers or read older pieces of literature. The social context is that all the believers usually come together and follow and have faith in the set rules that unicorns are real, hold special powers, and have the ability to render themselves invisible; according to the “Unicorns Rule” website.

Overall it is important to note that Unicorns as shown through the modern, social context today are an extraordinary belief mainly in the sense that they’re realness is based on retreating to the supernatural along with being unfalsifiable. However, it is also imperative to see that at some point there were “unicorns” or a species that the tale of unicorns may have derived from that did walk the earth many years ago, according to very real fossil records. Therefore, when talking about unicorns you must be very explicit on which type of unicorn you are referring to. Also, know that if you come across a modern unicorn believer, who believes in the white unicorn with the rainbow horn, their faith will most likely never dwindle no matter how many facts you provide them with to convince unicorns are in fact not real, making them and extraordinary belief.

 

WORK CITED

www.sciencealert.com/fossilised-skull-reveals-when-the-last-siberian-unicorn-lived

www.unicornsrule.com

9/11 was an Inside Job

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by Dahria Beaver

9/11 conspiracy theories are the belief that 9/11 was an inside job by government officials as an agenda to have an excuse to attack Afghanistan and Iraq. The conspiracy theory consists of mainly two theories, but there are a lot of motives that many 9/11 theorists believe in. The main two are the belief that government officials had prior knowledge of the attacks and did not act and the towers collapsing were a result of a controlled demolition to simulate intense plane crashes. It is also theorized that a missile hit the pentagon but with more evidence theorists are beginning to blame the pentagon and claiming the tower collapsing was a result of detonations. Theorists claim the pentagon attacked itself and had control.

Several polls have been done and most recently a poll done by Live Science found 53% of Americans believe 9/11 was faked because many believe information is being concealed by the government. The growing number of believers may be contributed to how much information there is on 9/11 conspiracy theories and vocal theorists. Many family members of people who have passed away continue to do interviews believing their loved one died all for an elaborate government scheme. Matt Campbell’s brother was killed on 9/11 and after Geoff’s remains were found Matt began to question and vocally doubts that the events of 9/11 are the true story. (Reid, Daily Mail) 9/11 conspiracy theories are and remain an extraordinary belief because if the evidence to support the conspiracies is true it can shift how we know the world works. Mainly because then it would be proven an American tragedy was just a tool to invade the Middle East.

There are many places to find information all over the internet of eye witness accounts and from people believing their family member was killed. Many documentaries also were made on the topic. Most notable is the documentary Loose Change and the books written by David Ray Griffen. Loose Change is a documentary investigating how 9/11 was faked and that the American people are being lied to, “We must understand that what we were told about that day is a lie and those lies drastically changed the course of peace to a course of perpetual war.” (loosechange911.com) David Ray Griffen is a retired theology professor who has written many books about how 9/11 was an inside job. In a debate he stated “In my later writings, I emphasized this point — that I am not attempting to provide a complete theory, partly because to do so would require groundless speculation, partly because there is no need. I did, however, state what I found the evidence to show on various matters, such as the fact that the World Trade Center buildings could have come down only through the use of explosives. I also clearly stated, after the first book, that I believed that 9/11 was an inside job, that the Air Force had been ordered to stand down, and that Dick Cheney was at the center of this operation. But this is very different from trying to offer a complete theory.” (Griffin, Ultimate Truth Showdown).

The first notable claim is the tower attacks were the result of a controlled detonation and bombs went off before the planes even hit the towers. In the videos theorists believe there is an explosion before the planes hit and lobbies were visibly damaged. The National Institute of Standards and Technology investigated the incident and decided that once the planes had hit the towers the plane debris “sliced through the utility shafts at the North Tower’s core creating a conduit of burning jet fuel.” (popular mechanics) Explaining the collapse and the lobbies because the heat from the jet fuel explosion was concentrated and went off destroying anything in its path. From this theory comes another, and this theory claims that jet fuel could not have caused the structure to fail and collapse because jet fuel fires would never be hot enough to melt the steel supports. Jet fuel can burn anywhere between 800 degrees and 1500 degrees Farenheit, which is not hot enough to burn steel. Fortunately steel frames do not have to melt to collapse, they simply need to be weakened and the weight of the building and gravity will do the rest. (popular mechanics) However theorists have combated this with saying if it was just weakened the floors would have sagged or tilted.

Going along with the theory of controlled demolition detonation, claims have surfaced because visible clouds of dust come out the sides of the buildings that are interpreted as looking similar to implosions. The way the dust clouds appear and how the go in succession led to theorists claiming there had to be explosives within the towers. This is debunked with the engineering term of ‘pancaking’. As each floor collapsed above the floor below would not be able to absorb the blow, thus transmitting the force onto an level below. While the floors were collapsing air would be released and the debris would fly out along with it.Most importantly,’pancaking’ does not need an explosion to initiate. (popular mechanics)

Lastly, the belief that the World Trade Center was a controlled demolition. Theorists believe the World Trade Center came down in a controlled demolition after Larry Silverstein decided the best thing to do would be to detonate seven hours after the towers were hit. Theorists believe a plane never hit mainly because debris was never recovered and the where the plane would supposedly hit would be too small to fit a Boeing 757. Going against this claim NIST investigators found damage on the building and believe intense fire along with this damage caused the eventual collapse. “WTC 7 might have withstood the physical damage it received, or the fire that burned for hours, but those combined factors—along with the building’s unusual construction—were enough to set off the chain-reaction collapse.” (popular mechanics)

The main community of believers are The Scholars for 9/11 Truth started by James Fetzer. Simply put they are “Scholars for 9/11 Truth (S9/11T) is a non-partisan association of faculty, students, and scholars, in fields as diverse as history, science, military affairs, psychology, and philosophy, dedicated to exposing falsehoods and to revealing truths behind 9/11. Scholars for 9/11 Truth members are convinced their research proves the current administration has been dishonest about what happened in New York and Washington, D.C.” (twilightpines-scholars for 9/11 truth) Their continual belief may be primarily a result from the founder claiming that he strives to apply principles of scientific reasoning to evidence and let the truth speak for itself. Many communities such as this one seem to be able to acquire evidence that is pseudoscientific, creating a narrative that seems legitimate. On the scholars of 9/11 truth “Why Doubt 9/11” many of the claims have fact that could align with reality and operates on skepticism. For example they give a lot of information on melting points and the temperature jet fuel burns at to continually support their theory of the planes not being able to produce all of the damage alone.

9/11 as an inside job is a theory that takes on many beliefs and personifies and justifies them through using the footage and accounts available. They appear believable and many believers display a belief bias, only accepting facts that fit into their personal beliefs of what truly happened. One could never truly convince a 9/11 theorist they are wrong because as evidence unsupportive of their ideas surface the more the theories shift towards disproving that evidence and rooting the theory even more into a scenario of an elaborate government coverup.

Sources
Ghose, Tia. “A Shocking Number Of Americans Are 9/11 Truthers.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 27 Dec. 2016, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/half-of-americans- believe-911-conspiracy-theories_us_5804ec04e4b0e8c198a92df3.

Taibbi, Matt, and David Ray Griffin. “The Ultimate 9/11 ‘Truth’ Showdown: David Ray Griffin vs. Matt Taibbi.” Alternet, www.alternet.org/story/100688/ the_ultimate_9_11_%27truth%27_showdown%3A_david_ray_griffin_vs._matt_taibbi.

Sue Reid for the Daily Mail. “The Conspiracies That Won’t Go Away: Brother of 9/11 Victim Claim the US Orchestrated the Atrocity as New Study Shows It Was Impossible That the Third Tower Collapsed from Fire.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 9 Sept. 2017, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4867124/9-11-conspiracy-theories-persist-16-years- atrocity.html.

Ghose , Tia. “Half of Americans Believe in 9/11 Conspiracy Theories .” Livescience.com, www.livescience.com/56479-americans-believe-conspiracy-theories.html.

“9/11 Conspiracy Theories.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Jan. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/9/11_conspiracy_theories.

https://www.loosechange911.com

Jan Frel / AlterNet. “David Ray Griffin: How a Retired Theologian Became a High Priest of the 9/11 Truth Movement.” Alternet, www.alternet.org/story/156351/ david_ray_griffin%3A_how_a_retired_theologian_became_a_high_priest_of_the_9_11_truth_m ovement.

“9/11 Conspiracy Theories: How They’ve Evolved.” BBC News, BBC, 29 Aug. 2011, www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14665953.

Person. “Debunking the 9/11 Myths: Special Report – The World Trade Center.” Popular Mechanics, Popular Mechanics, 15 Feb. 2018, www.popularmechanics.com/military/a6384/ debunking-911-myths-world-trade-center/.

Fetzer, Jim. “Why Doubt 9/11?” Scholars for 9/11 Truth – Home, twilightpines.com//index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=17&Itemid=46.

The Illuminati Conspiracy Theory

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By Marsha Akoto

This extraordinary belief is the Illuminati Conspiracy Theory- also known as the New Order World Theory. The Illuminati conspiracy theory is a belief that there is an elitist group of people (around the world) controlling media, industrial, political, religious and economic control. This group contains supposed real and fictitious people. This theory was extremely popular in the 18th century but is still popular to this day as it is believed that many famous celebrities [were] are part of this group- Beyonce, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson. There are people who believe they themselves are also apart of the illuminati and are helping contribute to the New Order World. People who belong to this elitist group believe they are given special enlightenment and powers. This conspiracy theory is important and extraordinary because it not only deals with economic gain but it involves supposed demonic and satanic rituals. There are two sides to the theory that are extraordinary- the people who truly in their hearts feel they are controlling the world by being part of this cult, and people who believe their lives are being controlled by this cult. Many people have stopped listening to music by various artists, ceased watching movies that suggest “illuminati practices” stopped shopping at “illuminati owned businesses” and much more. This belief is also extraordinary because of the wayward thinking that a group of people are capable of controlling the entire world and by simply joining a group they are suddenly given all the secrets to the world. A lot of people believe in the Illuminati conspiracy theory some are common people, and some devote their entire time to studying and reading about the illuminati. Information for members of a sect of the illuminati can be found at https://www.illuminatiofficial.org/

 

People who believe in the illuminati and believe it is controlling the world think a large Jewish banking family is behind various revolutions that deal with politics with a goal of creating a satanic new order world. People with this belief also think that the illuminati has made its way into all political systems and government officials are all part of the illuminati- George Bush, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton. People who believe in the illuminati do not necessarily have any evidence to back up their beliefs “ the fact that absolutely no evidence of their existence can be found only serves to make them stronger and more frightening” –New England Skeptical Society. Likewise there really isn’t any evidence to prove that the illuminati does not exist. If it is a secret society, any one can technically be part of it therefore, proving that it does not exist is harder than proving it does exists. As we learned in class you cant prove a negative- not being able to prove existence of something does not mean there is an absence of it.

 

Confirmation bias- a lot of people who believe the illuminati exists and is controlling the world accept the Christian Bible as God’s plan/will to man (Skeptic Dictionary). There are a lot of things that are revealed in the Christian bible that Illuminati theorists believe to be hints at the New Order World. For example, in the bible it talks about the end times, a world wide cashless monetary system, implementation of one world governmental system and many other predictions. (Skeptic Dictionary) Because illuminati conspiracy theorists may see or feel these things to be going on, they are confirming their beliefs that there is truly a secret society that is in control of the world. I think people who believe in it can definitely be misinformed because there are a lot of unknown things about the illuminati aside from its existence. Assuming that the illuminati does exist, there is still always going to be unknown and hidden aspects of it since it is a secret society. Therefore, no one can ever truly know what goes on inside the illuminati unless they are in the society themselves. Due to that, there is a lot of area of misinformation and misleading. If someone states “Whitney Houston was in the illuminati and sacrificed her daughter” there is no way to prove she did not. Illuminati theorists will use the fact that Whitney Houston was one of the most powerful and wealthy people of all time and the fact that she and her daughter died mysteriously as a means to confirm their belief. I think anyone can make themselves believe in anything even if it is not from outsiders.

Documentaries– There are so many documentaries that talk about the illuminati. A lot of people spend hours upon hours watching these documentaries. These documentaries can be easily accessible through YouTube.

Websites– there are many websites that confirm illuminati theorist’s beliefs.

Groups of people– if one person has a belief and shares it with another and another and before you know it an ideal is polarized and large numbers of people start to believe it. People confirm others beliefs by sharing their experiences and their opinions and it ultimately keeps the belief going.

Books– there are books about the illuminati that make people think that it is real and confirms their beliefs.

Christian bible– a lot of people who believe in the illuminati reference the Christian bible because the things that are happening in today’s world are predicted in both the old and new testament, therefore people believe the illuminati and new order world was predicted by God and revealed to us in God’s writing.

Psychologically speaking, as human beings naturally we like to find the answers to life and we like to understand why things are happening the way they are. It is comforting to us to make sense of the world and to know why good things happen and why bad things happen. People with this belief that a group of elitists are controlling the world and that anything bad that is happening in the world is due to members of the illuminati can find some comfort in this belief. It takes away the blame of human beings, themselves, and just an outright crappy world full of crappy people. It is a type of defense mechanism that we use to protect ourselves from the hard truth. Ultimately it is easier for illuminati theorists to believe a group of people control inflation, the job market, via satanic rituals than to believe the economic system as a whole is just poor.