People like to avoid the answers that are given, which
refute wacky theories, but then again every now and
then
some obscure facts turn out to be true, especially in
highly
controversial issues.
So, in this series of board games each game (with
sequels
and updates) is about a certain
"controversy". The
easiest
example: 9/11.
You choose a "narrative" for the issue under discussion.
The narrative includes several steps and "sides" of the
"controversy" - stages in time, points of view, expertise.
You must also choose roles - "construction expert",
"chemist", "historian", family to deceased, emergency
forces worker, New-Yorker, Muslim, Jewish etc.
As you advance across the board you are assisted or
contested by the other players according to their views.
All
participants are allowed to draw facts and claims
according to their narrative and according to the roles
they
have taken. There are numbers attached to each claim
and
fact which are added or subtracted according to the role
you hold. So if you are not an expert on a subject, you
must draw the "Explanation for layman" to your claim or
fact, and when contested against the expert it gives you
less points if you win.
Basically, its meant to educate people with the actual
facts
which, once seen in their entirety, usually convince
people
that the majority of the freak claims are wrong, and that
the rest are either deliberate misinformation by
extremists, or actual interesting facts leading to the
next
conspiracy but closing this one up.
For instance in the free fall claim, the facts will be first
"partial" facts showing the original "truther" claims, but
since this fact can be contested it is RED and with a low
value. In order to validate your narrative you need
someone to contest your fact, with a contradicting one.
If
you can refute the contradicting claim, you get to keep
your claim. Otherwise you must revise your narrative. In
this case you'll be shown the objects along the walls and
free from them falling faster, and you'll be shown the
section of the steel frame held up for several more
seconds before collapsing with the rest.
So in the 9/11 example, under the "Simply wrong"
category
we can put the Thermate/Thermite, Free fall, building 7
not in report, call for "pull", list of terrorist names,
Airplanes not actually crashing into building, explosion
sound on lower floors not from fuel through elevator
shaft,
the orthodox Jews saved by late Selichot prayers that
morning etc, the pentagon wall hole and security camera
images, the sawed off foundations at ground zero, the
death of the passengers and downing of the plane, The
Al
Quaeda organisation itself, Selefist Islam and terrorist
ideology which all can be verified as existing facts.
In the "follow up to other conspiracies" we would have:
The
six Israelis spying on Arabs that day (so how much DID
the
US and Israel know in advance), the Bush admin's ties
with
Al Quaeda, the Obama/Clinton admin's ties with Al
Qaeda
(and Libyan oil in particular), Silverstein's profit etc.
So you can still believe that there was a lot not apparent
to
the eye, but at least get most of the garbage, some of it
real filthy, out of the way.
The same would work for bad science hoaxes and scams,
and for alternative medicine.
It would be fun to play, and a computer game and movie
would follow.