Chemtrail conspiracy!

[Locke]

A while back I was exposed to the existence of the Chemtrail conspiracy, which is comprised of the belief that the government is putting chemicals in jet fuel so as to dull intelligence or control the minds of the population, as the jet fuel trails left behind by planes will eventually drift to Earth.
The "arguments" stated are that they are sometimes criss-crossed in distinct patterns.
I thought this utterly ridiculous.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemtrail_theory

[Mitch]

Yes, I agree with these people, those trails are dulling the intelligence of people by making them come up with ridiculous conspiracy ideas! This is worse than the Titanic conspiracy theory that a comedian came up with :p http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saHs6J0OXVI

[Locke]

Yes, I appreciated that greatly when it first appeared.
I think all people should be judged on how they react to hoaxes.

[Horus]

I always thought that the Titanic was sunk by Rosie O'Donnell bathing on a lilo in the middle of the sea; I guess I'm completely wrong. :(

But more seriously, I've heard of this, and it seems a cover-up to me. Firstly, someone has noticed a lack of intelligence in recent times (we're a nation of buzz-words and short attention spans; where are our modern-day philosophers?) and someone has had to justify it. The answer is not in stupid conspiracies like someone dropping chemicals on us, but in our upbringing. We're just not as intelligent as our forefathers, because we didn't allow them to raise us like their parents raised them. It's simple; no need for conspiracy, this is the truth.

[Ed Jones]

where are our modern-day philosophers?
They're here :D

We're just not as intelligent as our forefathers, because we didn't allow them to raise us like their parents raised them. It's simple; no need for conspiracy, this is the truth.
I don't think it's an issue of being more or less intelligent than our forefathers, more than we live in a far more complex time. Drugs, explosives, globalisation and global warming are issues that our forefathers didn't have to deal with.

Prime example, 100 years ago, could we send a spaceship to Saturn or Jupiter?

[Horus]

I don't think it's an issue of being more or less intelligent than our forefathers, more than we live in a far more complex time. Drugs, explosives, globalisation and global warming are issues that our forefathers didn't have to deal with.

Prime example, 100 years ago, could we send a spaceship to Saturn or Jupiter?
Well, fair enough; I guess what I'm trying to mean is the general public. I know we've made huge technological advancements (there are bombs somewhere out there that can blow the planet to shards) but I mean a lack of discipline and general intelligence in the public.

I think I do, at least...

[Ed Jones]

Well perhaps you have a point.

The average IQ in the UK is around 80-ish, i believe.

[Locke]

Yeah, there is definitely a deficit in the education system.

[Cattraknoff]

I always thought that the Titanic was sunk by Rosie O'Donnell bathing on a lilo in the middle of the sea; I guess I'm completely wrong. :(

But more seriously, I've heard of this, and it seems a cover-up to me. Firstly, someone has noticed a lack of intelligence in recent times (we're a nation of buzz-words and short attention spans; where are our modern-day philosophers?) and someone has had to justify it. The answer is not in stupid conspiracies like someone dropping chemicals on us, but in our upbringing. We're just not as intelligent as our forefathers, because we didn't allow them to raise us like their parents raised them. It's simple; no need for conspiracy, this is the truth.

Were our forefathers overly intelligent? Most people have not had the time to think about things. While before we had to be distracted by thoughtless work, with the decrease in time spent working, the powers that be have had to come up with new distractions. Most prominent among these are religion (although this was used during ancient times, its modern use is declining), mass media, and drugs. We're discouraged from questioning things by making it seem better (More "fun", do this or go to hell, etc.) not to.

[Locke]

Were our forefathers overly intelligent? Most people have not had the time to think about things. While before we had to be distracted by thoughtless work, with the decrease in time spent working, the powers that be have had to come up with new distractions. Most prominent among these are religion (although this was used during ancient times, its modern use is declining), mass media, and drugs. We're discouraged from questioning things by making it seem better (More "fun", do this or go to hell, etc.) not to.


We're on very thin ice to speculate on this matter, but I agree that mass culture has limited our imagination and somewhat reduced our critical analysis abilities (or rather our will to analyse critically)..
It could be argued that we are suffering from generational relativity; perhaps this much villified upbringing has painted our minds with nostalgic illusions of the past. There is no evidence to suggest that our culture is necessarily decaying quicker that before; or that leaders (spiritual and political) are any more corrupt. In fact, rising IQ scores in industrialised countries over the past century (a result of education) put into evidence the opposite. It is simply the human condition, that people have never thought, and will most likely never begin to think before it is too late. And yes, our current situation has had a hand in this, but facts have led me to believe that our intelligence is not in decay, and rather that a situational shift has occured.

[Cattraknoff]

We're on very thin ice to speculate on this matter, but I agree that mass culture has limited our imagination and somewhat reduced our critical analysis abilities (or rather our will to analyse critically)..
It could be argued that we are suffering from generational relativity; perhaps this much villified upbringing has painted our minds with nostalgic illusions of the past. There is no evidence to suggest that our culture is necessarily decaying quicker that before; or that leaders (spiritual and political) are any more corrupt. In fact, rising IQ scores in industrialised countries over the past century (a result of education) put into evidence the opposite. It is simply the human condition, that people have never thought, and will most likely never begin to think before it is too late. And yes, our current situation has had a hand in this, but facts have led me to believe that our intelligence is not in decay, and rather that a situational shift has occured.

Not being in decay does not mean that it is not also being limited a great deal. We're seemingly satisfied with scraps, as it were.

[Locke]

Not being in decay does not mean that it is not also being limited a great deal. We're seemingly satisfied with scraps, as it were.
I mentioned the fact that we were being limited; but to have been limited at this point, relative to the past, then there must have been a decay of some sort.
The current point this discussion revolves around is sorta useless.