Positions

This position catalogues the false claim that Covid-19 can be cured by taking various substances. It documents debunked rumours — that alcohol, cocaine or even hand dryers can kill or cure the virus. The encyclopedia records these as misinformation; none has any basis in science.

This entry documents the baseless conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was invented to extend state power. Adherents have also linked the virus to 5G networks—a claim debunked by scientists, as no evidence connects 5G technology to the spread of any disease.

This position catalogues the conspiracy theory that Covid-19 is a man-made biological weapon. It gathers rival claims blaming the UK, the US and Israel, or China for engineering the virus to attack rivals. Unsupported by evidence, it is documented here as believers tell it.

This entry documents the baseless conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was economically motivated. Variants claim Bill Gates planned the pandemic, that pharmaceutical firms created the virus for profit, or that China engineered it to cut pension costs—all rejected by experts as unfounded.

This entry documents the baseless claim that COVID-19 is linked to alcohol, confusing the coronavirus with Corona beer because they share a name. There is no connection whatsoever—'corona' simply refers to the crown-like spikes on the virus, and the beer played no role at all.

This entry documents the baseless claim that COVID-19 fulfils an age-old prophecy. Adherents cite a Dean Koontz novel, Nostradamus's 'Great Plague,' and the mystic Baba Vanga—coincidental readings with no predictive power, rejected by scholars and scientists.

This position holds that Covid-19 is the worst pandemic in history. It argues that no previous outbreak has had so devastating a global effect, in part because modern globalisation and travel spread the disease around the world faster and more widely than ever before.

This position holds that schools should teach both creationism and evolution side by side. It argues that there is little harm in letting the two coexist in the classroom, and that — at the very least — private and faith schools should be free to teach creationism alongside evolution.

This position holds that crime is caused chiefly by society rather than the individual. It argues that societal attitudes, class differences and social pressure produce and define crime — drawing on the strain, labelling and conflict theories of deviance.

This position holds that crime is caused chiefly by the individual rather than society. While allowing that social conditions play a part, it locates the true cause in a person's own experiences and biology — drawing on psychodynamic, behavioural and biological theories of crime.

This position holds that CRISPR genome editing is ethical only under certain conditions. Its arguments propose limiting it to somatic (non-inheritable) cells, excluding edits to embryos that cannot consent, and confining its use to treating genuine diseases rather than enhancement.

This position holds that CRISPR human genome editing is ethical under all conditions, with no limits warranted. It is the most permissive stance in the debate — that the technology's use should not be ethically restricted at all — and the least argued of the three positions here.

This position presents critical realism as a leading research philosophy in academia. It argues that reality runs far deeper than the senses reveal, so researchers should focus on underlying structures and the bigger picture—advancing historical knowledge while striving for objectivity.

This position examines Fidel Castro's role in the Cuban Revolution through the economy. It asks how far he transformed Cuba's one-crop system, arguing he inherited a weak economy, made the best of it, and shifted the country toward broader, more stable living conditions.

This position examines Fidel Castro's role in the Cuban Revolution through the lens of national independence. It argues that a central part of his project was securing Cuba's sovereignty from the United States — directly challenging American neo-colonial influence over the island.

This position holds that 'cultural appropriation' is at best an imprecise term and at worst meaningless. It argues that the concept ignores class, that 'cultural colonisation' would be more accurate, and that what matters is not the act of borrowing itself but how it is done.

A change in fundamental in values may have destroyed the Roman Empire. It has been argued both that Rome was too decadent and immoral, and too pious and Christian by different thinkers. Both groups attribute Rome’s fall to a decline in Roman virtues during the Imperial period.

This position defines cultural appropriation as a form of theft: the taking or exploitation of elements of a culture one does not belong to, often for personal gain. It frames the act as the unjust extraction of another group's cultural property rather than respectful exchange.

This position recommends reading current-events and political books while self-isolating. It suggests works engaging with the political climate of the moment — such as Dave Eggers's satire The Captain and the Glory — that offer comic relief and perspective during a time of crisis.

This position holds that DACA — the programme protecting undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children — should be eliminated. It argues that DACA harms the US economy, was created without proper legal authority, and could reshape the political landscape in ways its critics oppose.

This position holds that DACA should remain in place and expand. It argues the programme benefits both young immigrants—the 'Dreamers'—and the United States, increasing diversity and boosting the economy, and contends that eliminating it would be morally wrong.

This position holds that the coronavirus pandemic has revealed its damaging effect on mental health. It argues that pervasive uncertainty worsens existing conditions, fuelling an age of heightened anxiety and leaving many with sleepless, restless nights.

This position names Daniel Craig as the best James Bond. It argues that he resurrected and reinvented the character for a modern audience, starred in the most commercially successful Bond film, and faced some of the franchise's strongest villains — a key measure of a great 007.

Scientists make a lot of assumptions when trying to explain the universe through missing matter. Scientists should explain the universe by modifying the theory of gravity. Others say the behavior of the universe should be explained by a godly power instead of the existence of dark matter.

Dark matter is made of a combination of Barynoic material which is normal matter and non-Baryonic matter which is the non-traditional matter that is not made of atoms with protons, neutrons, and electrons.

This position holds that dark matter is made of ordinary baryonic matter — the same protons, neutrons and electrons that make up familiar matter on Earth. It points to candidates such as vast numbers of tiny black holes as the form this hidden ordinary mass might take.

This position holds that dark matter is made of non-baryonic matter — not ordinary atoms but more exotic particles. It points to leading candidates such as axions and Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) as what the universe's unseen mass is likely composed of.

This position holds that DC is better than Marvel. It argues that DC's heroes are godlike in the scope of their powers — Superman, Wonder Woman and the like — and that its stories venture into darker, more philosophically challenging territory than its rival's.

The government should use fiscal policy to achieve full employment, creating new money to fund government purchase. Deficits are not a problem, only inflation is. If inflation becomes a problem, the government can raise taxes and issue bonds to withdraw cash from the economy.

This position holds that democracy is the best system of government. It argues that democracies are distinguished by personal freedom and the protection of human rights, and that citizen participation — above all the right to vote — is what gives the system its legitimacy and strength.

This position attributes Labour's 2019 defeat to demographics. It points to the age, class and regional divides that favoured the Conservatives — Labour's loss of its working-class northern heartlands, and the collapse of its Scottish base to the SNP.

This position holds that whether colleges should reopen in person for autumn 2020 depends on outside data. It argues the answer turns on factors like local testing capacity, community transmission rates, student and staff health concerns, and where students are travelling from.

This position explains how depressant drugs affect the brain by slowing the nervous system. It argues depressants inhibit neural signals and reduce brain activity—covering substances such as alcohol, opioid painkillers, and sedative-hypnotics that relieve anxiety and promote sleep.

Recent developments, including the sequencing of the human genome and the advancement of brain imaging technologies, allowed psychologists to explain depression from a biological perspective. This school of thought argues that biological factors such as genetics and hormone/neurotransmitter levels cause depression.

Cognitive models of depression began emerging in the 1950s with the work of Beck. Cognitive etiologies focus on cognitive factors (thoughts and beliefs) in explaining depression. Empirical studies have shown that people with depression have negative thoughts and display learned helplessness/hopelessness.