Skeptic Project

I don't think I turned a friend into a CT, but I definitely acted as a catalyst. It's the same one who touted pineal gland - fluoride crap. He's completely wacked out now.

Sil, we both know it's hard to stop someone from falling off a cliff after having pushed them.

Actually, the analogy is probably more like a down hill that gradually gets steeper. I and my friend were rolling down the hill, but I was luckily saved by hitting a logical roadblock. My friend never hit one. And I sure aint gonna can't down the hill to get him. He's going so fast that I don't know if any roadblock can slow him down.

I think most CT'ers are pretty malleable, so if showing them CT's can get them to believe in them, then showing them debunkings of CT's might have an equal effect in the opposite direction. In both cases, I think the change would be gradual and accumulative, and I think those who are head-over-heels into them would probably never change. But, really, I think those people are so irrational that if one person hadn't introduced them to CT's, they would have found their way into them eventually, no matter what.

I think the best thing we can do to stop people from getting into CT's is to "stand at the door", so to speak. Find the places online where people are first finding out about them, and debunk them there. We probably aren't going to change the hardcore CT'ers, but we can at least lessen their influence on others. Personally, I like posting in CT forums on YouTube and arguing the points made, since I think YouTube is a common place where people first see the CT's. I like to think I've steered a few people away, though it's hard to know for sure.