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Lloyd Miller's avatar

As David Rockefeller opined when head of the Club of Rome for a time. . . something like "the substitute for war as the organizing principle of society will be a war against humanity in the name of the environment and saving the planet."

The Underdog's avatar

Some tips on convincement of others from an old hand.

Don't start defensive:

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. This is ‘conspiracy theory’.

Tell you what - I’ll double down on not only this not being ‘conspiracy theory’, but in fact another ‘established hoax’ being legit as well."

Never debase your own theory. Never berate, harangue, or undermine your own position, as if you show doubt in your position, others will. Even if that is insincere, sarcastic doubt, it still psychologically introduces the seeds of doubt. Don't do it. Don't stoop to calling yourself or your theories that (or 'self-indentifying with the outgroup').

You don't have a "conspiracy theory", you have a hypothesis. A hypothesis can either have evidence, or be speculative.

If you must make reference, say *others* might call it that. But never call it that yourself.

It's very easy to prove how ineffective the approach of self-debasement or even sarcastic denial is. Have you ever heard a person say:

"I am NOT a pedophile" - and then you immediately started to suspect they were, in-fact, a pedophile?

What if they phrased it sarcastically and said:

"So what if I might be a pedophile?" - would that invite trust?

Or even went for the giant clanger and said:

"Lets assume for a moment I am a pedophile"

Never do this. Don't work from the negative assumption trying to fight forwards. Always work from the positive assumption and reach backwards. So instead of:

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. This is ‘conspiracy theory’.

Tell you what - I’ll double down on not only this not being ‘conspiracy theory’, but in fact another ‘established hoax’ being legit as well."

Put:

"Some people may classify this as a conspiracy theory. Some may even call it an established hoax. But what if there's evidence to show even part of it is true?"

Always aim the doubt cannon at the opposite side. If you work from the position people won't believe you, you'll write and act like it and it will give off subconscious cues to people to not believe you.

Like trying to leave a shopping store in a roundabout way (that ends up looking suspicious) after not purchasing anything in order to not make yourself look like a shoplifter.

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