“Do Your Own Research” - Some Thoughts on Conspiracism and Democracy

There are two esoteric expressions you are almost certain to encounter after spending any length of time in conspiracist cyberspace. One is "wake up!" and the other is "do your own research". The former is more rhetorical tool than actual practicable advice, meaning essentially "please agree with me for no reason", but the latter is indicative of an entire framework of sloppy thinking, a key to the mystery of the conspiracist mind as a whole, worth examining through to its logical (and epistemological) conclusion.