The Umbrella Man

Here’s a great video explaining the example I mentioned in lecture on Tuesday.



My point was that humans appear to be theorizing machines - we make theories even when we don’t think we are. (Keep in mind that only some of these get the legitimacy designated by the social label “theory.”) For the first half of the video I, at least, was completely convinced that the Umbrella Man had to be the real assassin.

The comments on the YouTube page -- wonky spelling aside -- offer us even more food for thought about what counts as an idea, a theory, or a conspiracy theory.