Sharingwisdom, while I'm substantially in agreement with your post, I do want to point out one thing--
Conclusions (i.e. beliefs), such as, for instance, "This conspiracy is [or isn't] real", are NEVER given directly by our experience. They are always based on some interpretation of our experience, which itself is based on at least one assumption ("This conclusion is implied by that experience"). Since our interpretations are sometimes right and sometimes wrong, open-mindedness about alternative explanations of our experience is always in order.