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Steak-umm

11 Sep, 10 tweets, 4 min read

conspiracy theories are baked into human nature, they don’t only affect the fringes. all people naturally seek patterns to make sense of the world’s randomness and develop in-group, out-group prejudices that make them vulnerable to all kinds of propaganda, paranoia, and extremism

people are often led by intuitions and overestimate their ability to understand complex subjects. that, coupled with the natural tendencies to seek truth, meaning, and belonging, can make even the most well-intentioned and intelligent people vulnerable to conspiracy theories

research shows that social conditions and personal traits can make someone more vulnerable to conspiratorial thinking, such as lower analytical thinking, lower education, schizotypy, being distrustful, narcissistic, powerless, alienated, anxious, or prone to projection

it’s important to understand the potential factors that make people extra vulnerable to conspiracy theories, but just as important to recognize that everyone is vulnerable to some degree. studies and polls repeatedly show millions of people believe in them in some form or another

there’s a difference between “conspiracies” which are covert plots that can be uncovered through reasoning and evidence, versus “conspiracy theories” which are metaphysical narratives based on prejudices, sensationalism, and flawed assumptions made outside material reality

there’s no universal way to bring people back from conspiracy theories. some take months, some take years, others stay gone. some need relationships, some need isolation, and some need an “aha” moment. some prefer debate, some conversation, and others need to find their own way

be kind and stay skeptical, but don’t get lost down the endless brain-breaking rabbit holes that separate people from reality. the world is crazy and has enough problems in its observable form. and remember these tweets are propaganda so you buy our products lol

steak-umm bless

some people are asking for sources to these claims about the psychology of conspiracy theories so boom:

journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.117…

sites.psu.edu/aspsy/2014/04/…

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.111…

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108…

oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/mobile/view/10…

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

here are more sources on the psychology of conspiracy theories for anyone interested

journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.117…

link.springer.com/article/10.100…

sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/…

westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/download/6e770…

frontiersin.org/articles/10.33…

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.111…

many variables need to be controlled for in studying conspiracy theories/theorists, such as singular events vs. ideologies and social conditions vs. personality, so direct causal claims are rare, but there are enough correlating factors to establish credible intersecting patterns

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Steak-umm

@steak_umm

4 Aug

here are some beef tips to publicly engage with the growing number of ideological conspiracy theorists and their content online. these are based on the assumptions that you have good intentions, understand the relationship, and use tact in conversations

ask conspiracy theorists one question at a time to keep them on track to reveal what they believe and why they believe it. this takes minimal effort and can lead to better understanding, openness to change, or them unraveling the irrationality of their beliefs on their own accord

only engage in conversations that remain primarily based in material reality. when unfounded theories are introduced, demand evidence. not everything can be quantified in a given time, but if there’s no good inductive reasoning, state that this is merely speculation and disengage

Read 7 tweets

Steak-umm

@steak_umm

9 Jul

we’ve paused all our marketing the past couple months because it's been a difficult period for both our workers and business due to coronavirus, and we’re really sorry for going silent. here’s what’s been going on behind the beef (THREAD)

steak-umm has luckily remained in demand (thanks everybody) despite national supply side meat production lowering in recent months, but our costs have risen and operations have been unpredictable due to internal and economic complications from the virus

the meat industry experienced a number of facility shutdowns early in the pandemic, which had a downstream supply effect on us. currently, that supply side has readjusted to meet new consumer demands, so our work routine is getting back to normal

Read 7 tweets

Steak-umm

@steak_umm

24 Apr

critical thinking beef tips, A THREAD

critical thinking is not a singular skill. it’s a constant state of metacognition, measuring evidence, and recognizing when to defer to experts. it's analyzing this tweet's substance, motivations, credibility, and source, not just reading it

critical thinking isn’t what to think, it’s how to think. you may critically think about this tweet, but lower those defenses for the next one. most people's natural state is to seek or settle for whatever confirms their preexisting beliefs (duh). life's more comfortable that way

there are endless proposed critical thinking strategies and endless ways to integrate them, but they're all incredibly challenging to teach because thinking about thinking has to be developed over time, constantly refined, scrutinized, and customized per an individual's context

Read 10 tweets

Steak-umm

@steak_umm

17 Apr

in science there are “rules” and “exceptions.” rules provide consensus and patterns, while exceptions provide outliers that challenge (prove) the rules. in hard sciences like physics, a virtual 100% consensus is possible, but in soft sciences like economics, it's never that clean

because all people are cursed with motivated reasoning, if the scientific rule of a subject challenges their beliefs or desires, they actively seek exceptions to reaffirm them. exceptions can sometimes be proven useful, or even correct, but this bias muddies the search for truth

in our recent statements on following consensus and data, not anecdotes and conspiracies, critics added that exceptions do exist. *sometimes* conspiracies or fringe experts are proven true. apologies for lacking more caveats in our message to reestablish trust in expert consensus

Read 11 tweets

Steak-umm

@steak_umm

13 Apr

during this pandemic it’s vital to stay wary of charlatans peddling “miracle cures” that are “all natural,” such as colloidal silver or herbal remedies. many people are afraid and extra susceptible to scams. please counter falsities if you see them with both data and compassion

the "naturalistic fallacy" is when someone equates what is "natural" with what is "good." unfortunately, people do this all the time with medicine, food, and other material trends. please remember that nature on its own can range from healthy to poison, and compassion to murder

many material benefits can be found in nature, some of which may alleviate stress during these chaotic times. that said, we must reestablish trust in our medical experts who are currently testing treatments around the clock to ensure clinically sound safety and efficacy

Read 7 tweets

Steak-umm

@steak_umm

10 Apr

just gonna come out and say it: vulnerable people are always the most susceptible to propaganda, misinformation, and conspiracy, especially in times of cultural anxiety, and if there is a way to help them out of these traps, targeted self-righteous vilification isn’t it

why do people believe in conspiracies? why do they follow cult personalities or seek contrarian opinions? because they’re vulnerable. they feel bullied or left behind or isolated or exploited or abused or inadequate and they're looking answers, community, security, and identity

when you hold a fringe belief or become part of a tightly-knit outcast group, you feel like you have some secret, valuable information that the world needs. you feel important for knowing it. and anyone on the outside becomes a vague, intangible enemy, often referred to as “they”

Read 6 tweets

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