Ask HN: Term for unspoken/implicit/implied/subconscious conspiracy?
1 comments
> Something is either 'generally known' or subconsciously believed, such that people's actions will be a certain way.
Some people call it "common sense" =)
In a serious sense though, I think you're describing a lot of social phenomenons. There's generally peer pressure on individuals to conform with their surroundings, and a lot of different social and legal systems to reprimand them. They're not all perfect, but generally the egregious behavior (think overt racism or homophobia) is phased out by a more conscious society.
> And feel that when people think of 'conspiracies', they mistakenly visualize it as mostly 'discussions in back rooms'.
The etymology of the word "conspire" means '[with] breath', which sorta implies a hushed discussion. If you're describing something that is implicit or unspoken, it's probably not a conspiracy. Maybe a modus operandi if you want to make it sound really scary.
Some people call it "common sense" =)
In a serious sense though, I think you're describing a lot of social phenomenons. There's generally peer pressure on individuals to conform with their surroundings, and a lot of different social and legal systems to reprimand them. They're not all perfect, but generally the egregious behavior (think overt racism or homophobia) is phased out by a more conscious society.
> And feel that when people think of 'conspiracies', they mistakenly visualize it as mostly 'discussions in back rooms'.
The etymology of the word "conspire" means '[with] breath', which sorta implies a hushed discussion. If you're describing something that is implicit or unspoken, it's probably not a conspiracy. Maybe a modus operandi if you want to make it sound really scary.
Sure, hence explicitly mentioning oxymoron, social dynamics and all the other caveats. I'm on the same page.
My thought is that despite this, there is value in investigating it from my devil's advocate angle that I posted.
My thought is that despite this, there is value in investigating it from my devil's advocate angle that I posted.
(Explicit) Conspiracy: An explicit agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act.
Implicit/subconscious Conspiracy (Appreciate that this can be considered an oxymoron): A group acts in a certain way, or does not act in other ways, that are conspiring tacitly - Something is either 'generally known' or subconsciously believed, such that people's actions will be a certain way.
I think that it's valuable to define this (rather than writing it off and saying "you're just describing standard social dynamics"), in part because:
- There is a conspiratorial element to 'deciding (not) to do something en masse' i.e. not acting completely independently, but not needing explicit discussion
- And feel that there is an insidious long-tail in 'conspiracies' that doesn't get talked about enough.
- And feel that when people think of 'conspiracies', they mistakenly visualize it as mostly 'discussions in back rooms'.
'Conspiracy of silence' belongs to this set, but is not the set itself.