How to Get Your Friends Out of a Conspiracy Theory

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I think especially politically in the US, we look at these maps that are blue and red because that's how the state votes for president. You don't actually understand that where the votes go is not necessarily representative of 100% of the people. I've found that with people in my own life, people that wouldn't have gone to a pride parade when I was growing up, but are now there. They're focused on love and understanding. We talked about the interpretation of this ancient text more,. Just taking the time to get over the lump of your ego and your gut reaction to something that you disagree with out of not only empathy and care for that fellow person, but as a productive means

There was a time when Peter McIndoe might see you on the street and ask: have you ever seen a baby pigeon? If you said no, he’d probably grin and say, of course you haven’t, because birds are actually spy drones created by the US government – and they emerge “fully adult” from “the factory.” Peter McIndoe peddled a crazy idea – that all birds are drones created and monitored by the U.S. government. As ridiculous (and hilarious) as this sounds, Peter’s conspiracy theory that “Birds Aren’t Real” gained a huge following. In this episode, Peter discusses why he’s used the framework of a conspiracy theory to explore the "us-versus-them" mentality that is so pervasive in us humans. He also shares what he witnessed as he took his performance across the globe, and why he finds it more important than ever that we talk to each other with empathy even in the most absurd situations. For the full text transcript, visit go.ted.com/BHTranscripts