What is the similarities between conspiracy theories and reading?

Question

This was a question that was put to us in my English lit course the Lecturer told us that we'll get the answer next week.what do you think is the answer

Answer 1

conspiracy theories come about from lack of information or more importantly the source of information, we live in a country (USA) where less than 10% of people read books but 85% plus watch tv. People who belive or continue conspiracy theories take the effort to read or reseach ideas or a conspiracy theory, most people that pass off the idea of a/any conspiracy get thier source of information from televesion.  People who are more educated via schooling or independent studies (books) are more apt to question the system or government or ideas that most the populus agrees with.  Knowledge truely is power, and while ignorance is bliss ignorance is still ignorance.  You yourself and others responding to this post should seek knowledge on many ideas, and if you take the time to research a "conspiracy" whether you agree with it or not, at least you took the effort and time to look into it instead of passing judgement on a whim.

some good ones to look up that are in video form are

"loose change 2nd edition final cut"

"zietgeist"

The freedom that all people share is the ability to think independently and objectively  if eveyone in the world would, please for the love of humanity, take the time to put research into thier thinking, we would all be better off

Answer 2

It could have something to do with Reagan's would-be assassin, John Hinckley, Jr. and him having Catcher in the Rye with him all the time. That was alluded to in the movie "Conspiracy Therory." The idea is that most assassins are Manchurian Candidates who are hypnotised into committing the crime and are programmed to react to certain objects, like Hinckley's book, that gives them a signal. Perhaps they get a call that says to read a certain page in a certain book, and then a set of words on the page makes them do something or think something.

This is just a guess.

Answer 3

Receiving information.

Answer 4

...conspiracy theories don't need to be transferred through text. The only way you can "read" is through the physical letter translated into a sound, whereas a conspiracy theory can be written, spoken, or emulated into gestures. Conspiracy deals with something between two people that ought be conspired or secret. They are based on what the writer genuinely feels is a fact, and wishes to transfer that information onto another party by his choice of communication.

The similarities are that you can read a conspiracy theory, and put a reading into the form of a conspiracy theory. Each time you are taking in information and there is some sort of information transferrence at some level or another.

Reading is kind of like a read-only file, whereas a conspiracy theory can be a read-write situation.