Korean Job Discussion Forums

[igotthisguitar]

Justin Trudeau & Sophie Gregoire Have Son
Born Same Day As Pierre Trudeau
Thu Oct 18, 4:29 PM

By The Canadian Press

MONTREAL - Justin Trudeau and Sophie Gregoire celebrated the birth of their first child Thursday, on what would also have been former prime minister Pierre Trudeau's 88th birthday.

Xavier James Trudeau bounced into the world shortly after midnight weighing nine pounds, two ounces.

Pierre Trudeau was born Oct. 18, 1919. He died in 2000

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/justin_trudeau_dad

[igotthisguitar]

A composite image shows, at right a bonfire which locals believe resembles the silhouette of late Pope John Paul II making a blessing, in a picture taken by amateur photographer Grzegorz Lukasik, atop Matyska mountain in southern Poland, on April 2, 2007, during a vigil marking the second anniversary of the Polish pope's death. Data on Lukasik's digital camera says the picture was taken at 21.37:30, exactly the hour when the pope died.

Picture at left shows Pope John Paul II waving to faithfuls as he leaves the Vatican, in this Aug. 8, 2001 file photo

[Manner of Speaking]

Coincidences, but where are the coincidence "theories"?

Picture 1:

Big deal. My dad died on the same date as my paternal grandmother. Chances of this happening: 1/365.

Picture 2:

Where is the coincidence. Presumably, John Paul II was not standing and waving at the moment of his death. And, in the film roll from which the fire picture was taken, there are probably at least 24 to 36 other pictures of the fire, where the fire doesn't look like a person waving.

[Manner of Speaking]

Picture of Heinrich Himmler, 1938.



Picture of Bashar Assad, 2006.



Coincidence?

Um, yes.

Significance: none.

[cbclark4]

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1846

James Monroe died on July 4, 1831.

[cbclark4]

Kennedy and Lincoln

http://www.coverups.com/jfk/lincoln.htm

[Manner of Speaking]

Conspiracy theories are often not taken seriously, because so many conspiracy theories - almost by definition - lack readily verifiable evidence. This raises the question of what mechanisms might exist in popular culture that lead to the invention and subsequent dissemination of unsubstantiated theories. In pursuit of answers to that question, conspiracy theory has become a topic of interest for sociologists, psychologists and experts in folklore since at least the 1960s, when the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy eventually provoked an unprecedented public response directed against the official version of the case as expounded in the Report of the Warren Commission.

According to Mintz, conspiracism denotes: "belief in the primacy of conspiracies in the unfolding of history":

"Conspiracism serves the needs of diverse political and social groups in America and elsewhere. It identifies elites, blames them for economic and social catastrophes, and assumes that things will be better once popular action can remove them from positions of power. As such, conspiracy theories do not typify a particular epoch or ideology".

Throughout human history, political and economic leaders genuinely have been the cause of enormous amounts of death and misery, and they sometimes have engaged in conspiracies while at the same time promoting conspiracy theories about their targets. Hitler and Stalin would be merely the most prominent examples; there have been numerous others. The idea that history itself is controlled by large long-standing conspiracies is rejected by historian Bruce Cumings:

"But if conspiracies exist, they rarely move history; they make a difference at the margins from time to time, but with the unforeseen consequences of a logic outside the control of their authors: and this is what is wrong with 'conspiracy theory.' History is moved by the broad forces and large structures of human collectivities."

The term conspiracism is used in the work of Michael Kelly, Chip Berlet, and Matthew N. Lyons. According to Berlet and Lyons, "Conspiracism is a particular narrative form of scapegoating that frames demonized enemies as part of a vast insidious plot against the common good, while it valorizes the scapegoater as a hero for sounding the alarm".

Many people tend to respond to events or situations which have had an emotional impact upon them by trying to make sense of those events, typically in spiritual, moral, political, or scientific terms.

Events which seem to resist such interpretation—for example, because they are, in fact, unexplainable—may provoke the inquirer to look harder for a meaning, until one is reached that is capable of offering the inquirer the required emotional satisfaction.

At other times, the unfolding of complex sequences of events such as political phenomena are explainable, but not in simple terms. Conspiracy theories are often preferred by individuals as a way to understand what is happening around them without having to grasp the complexities of history and political interaction.

As sociological historian Holger Herwig found in studying German explanations for the origins of World War I:
Those events that are most important are hardest to understand, because they attract the greatest attention from myth makers and charlatans.

This normal process could be diverted by a number of influences. At the level of the individual, pressing psychological needs may influence the process, and certain of our universal mental tools may impose epistemic 'blind spots'. At the group or sociological level, historic factors may make the process of assigning satisfactory meanings more or less problematic.

According to some psychologists, a person who believes in one conspiracy theory tends to believe in others; a person who does not believe in one conspiracy theory tends not to believe another. This may be caused by differences in the information upon which parties rely in formulating their conclusions. A person who believes in a conspiracy theory may do so because of awareness of information, such as that a certain political leader was a member of an enigmatic secret society, of which some who disbelieve the conspiracy theory may not be aware. Awareness of such information may be correlated with awareness of other information which increases the likelihood that one will believe in other conspiracy theories. The lack of awareness of such information may be correlated with the lack of awareness of other information which decreases the likelihood that one will believe in other conspiracy theories.

Psychologists believe that the search for meaningfulness is common in conspiracism and the development of conspiracy theories, and may be powerful enough alone to lead to the first formulating of the idea. Once cognized, confirmation bias and avoidance of cognitive dissonance may reinforce the belief. In a context where a conspiracy theory has become popular within a social group, communal reinforcement may equally play a part.

Some research carried out at the University of Kent, UK suggests people may be influenced by conspiracy theories without being aware that their attitudes have changed. After reading popular conspiracy theories about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, participants in this study correctly estimated how much their peers' attitudes had changed, but significantly underestimated how much their own attitudes had changed to become more in favour of the conspiracy theories. The authors conclude that conspiracy theories may therefore have a 'hidden power' to influence people's beliefs.

[deadman]

Hmmm. Something's not quite right with the OP.

I suspect the meaning of the post is something other than the literal one.

Let's see - "Coincidence theories"...

Making a distinction between actual coincidences and conspiracies that debunkers claim are just coincidences?

Pointing out that some people (the minority of conspiracy skeptics IMO) treat "conspiracy theories" in the same way they treat the plainly inconsequential "theories" such as these, regardless of alternative arguments?

Help me out IGTG. The point is... ?

[igotthisguitar]

[deadman]

Interesting article. I'm not familiar with the authors, but I'll address what you have posted here.

[blaseblasphemener]

Lincoln and Darwin were both born on Feb.12, 1812.

Mario Lemieux and Ray Borque were born on the same day, in the same hospital in Montreal.

[tomato]

When I was in the third grade, my family moved from Nashville, Tennessee to Anderson, Indiana.
In each city, we were friends with a family with three boys, named John, Jay, and David.
Isn't that truly amazing?

[igotthisguitar]

[Manner of Speaking]

Whatever. I just copied and pasted from Wikipedia.

[igotthisguitar]

Beckett's ex-girlfriend sings national anthem
By Associated Press
October 18, 2007

CLEVELAND � This was a pinch-hitter Josh Beckett probably didn't expect to see.

Country singer Danielle Peck, an Ohio native who used to date the Boston Red Sox ace, sang the national anthem and "God Bless America" on Thursday night for Game 5 of the AL championship series.



Beckett pitched Thursday as his team faced elimination. Boston trailed the Cleveland Indians 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Peck was a substitute for Taylor Swift, another country star, who was slated to handle the singing duties.

"(Peck's) record company called and said she's got Ohio ties and we said, 'Perfect,"' Indians vice president Bob DiBiasio said.

Peck's manager, Bob Burwell, initially issued a no comment to media inquiries about the singer's relationship with Beckett through the Indians and said all interviews "will abruptly end" if their wishes aren't honored.

Later, all interview requests were politely declined.

DiBiasio said the Indians were unaware of the history between Beckett and Peck.

"An incredible coincidence," he said. "... honestly."