Coming out of the closet

[putnam6]

 
Eventually, it comes down to practical utility. So what about any wild conspiracy theories: how do they affect "real life"? How are they useful? What do they show us, and are they persistently worthwhile? And those are "open-ended" questions.

This is why I feel it is better to "entertain" beliefs and conspiratorial models, rather than "holding" them.

While it is better for the masses to just "entertain" beliefs and conspiratorial models, rather than holding them most times we move our enlightenment forward based on the actions of those who do hold specific beliefs and conspiratorial models.

Galileo wasn't jailed because he entertained the thought that the sun was the center of our solar system, he was jailed because he held to his assertion that the sun, not the Earth was the center of our solar system.

After all 200,000 years ago some monkeys held the belief they didn't have to just live eat and sleep in trees and forests he held the belief he was tired of pissing off a tree branch and living off leaves and seeds and nuts. 

So they climbed down from the trees, and it didn't matter that a few hours later they all had been killed by larger predatory animals. That action set in motion where eventually 500 years later another group of monkeys decided to screw this get out of these trees let's walk around on the plains where again they were promptly devoured. This process likely continued for 10,000 years till one monkey or a small group of monkeys escaped being killed and lived long enough to walk upright eat a more diverse and nutrient diet, to eventually use tools. Soon they became more experienced and instead of just adapting they became predatory and killed or absorbed other monkey groups. 

We haven't evolved we just took those basic premises and upscaled them, today's rockets, missiles and artillery were our monkey ancestors' rocks and clubs

At some point, a monkey has to step out and hold a belief, fight for a belief, and perhaps die for a belief, or we would still be monkeys scratching our asses sitting in the trees