Editor's note

The term “conspiracy theory” has long had a bad reputation. But yesterday’s conspiracies can become today’s incontrovertible facts, writes philosopher David Coady. Indeed he believes we should do away with the term. It is, he writes, a form of silencing that serves “to herd respectable opinion in ways that suit the interests of the powerful”.

And what happened to Shoes of Prey? The Aussie startup ought to have had the world at its feet, so to speak. A dirty secret in the fashion industry is that unsold products worth tens of millions are burned or buried each year when fashions change. But Shoes of Prey made shoes to order. It promised no waste. Marketing experts Jessica Pallant and Sean Sands say what went wrong tells us something about our attitude to choice. We like to be able to choose between options, but too many of them overpower us.

Suzy Freeman-Greene

Section Editor: Arts + Culture

Top story

Jeremy Renner as US journalist Gary Webb in the 2014 film Kill The Messenger. The film is an account of Webb’s role in uncovering CIA links to cocaine importation to the US. Sierra / Affinity,Bluegrass Films,The Combine

In defence of conspiracy theories (and why the term is a misnomer)

David Coady, University of Tasmania

Ever since the philosopher Karl Popper popularised the expression in the 1950s, conspiracy theories have had a bad reputation. But is it justified?

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  • Why driverless vehicles should not be given unchecked access to our cities

    Dominic Stead, Delft University of Technology; Anthony Kimpton, The University of Queensland; Dorina Pojani, The University of Queensland; Iderlina Mateo-Babiano, University of Melbourne; Jonathan Corcoran, The University of Queensland; Neil Sipe, The University of Queensland

    To maximise the benefits and limit the costs, the use of autonomous vehicles should be pooled and their access to the city restricted.

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