Advanced Topics Conspiracy Theories

(There will be no quiz for this reading.)

A "conspiracy theory" is, broadly, any theory that some important event in human history was faked, stage managed or otherwise arranged by people behind the scenes. A conspiracy theory can be seen as an attempt to persuade us that some major event is in fact a hoax. Some conspiracy theories turn out to be true, and some famous events do indeed turn out to be hoaxes (see wikipedia on conspiracies and hoaxes for examples, but most of them are complete and utter rubbish. To begin the process of figuring out how to tell a correct conspiracy theory from a rubbish one, we will examine (or I will potificate about) five conspiracy theories based on four readings. The theories are:

That 9/11 was orchestrated by some organization other than Al Queda. (Read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_conspiracy_theories)

That the Holocaust did not involve the several millions of victims that history records that it does. (Read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust_denial)

That the scientific case for Anthopogenic Global Warming is largely fabricated by a cabal of corrupt scientists. (Read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climategate)

That the Russian apartment bombings were a "false-flag" operation carried out the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to protect Boris Yeltsin, justify the Second Chechin War and bring Vladimir Putin to power. (Read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_apartment_bombings)

And, if time, my personal theory that the theory that the case that Anthopogenic Global Warming is unscientific is itself a conspiracy funded by ExxonMobil.

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