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What is "Crackpot"


No Song so Sweet

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Pretty straightforward question.


I don't know who came up with the word and how it came about (I would also like to know those things) but from my understanding, it means a theory that is kind of crazy but not able to be disproven, like with a lot of speculation and really thin, stretched out connections between "clues"?


Is it a theory that there is no way its true, like Mance is Rhaegar for example, when we know for a fact that Rhaegar is dead?


Is it a theory with no evidence that just takes a lot of clues and takes them a lot further than what we actually have but it may well be true, like for example Giants = Green Seers?


How do you understand the term?


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It's basically theory without textual proof... But not with contriving text proofs, like Mance=Rhaegar, which is not even a crackpot, but an invention of some fans. Basically, crackpot works as "outside the box idea" that has nothing against it. Simply, it is guessing game without actual proof, but also without things to contrive it.


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It's a theory that you know has "cracks" in it, as Kevvy said, but you believe/want to believe it anyway. Some crackpots are obviously batshit crazy and not true (Mance is Rhaegar) and some are wild but weirdly plausible. They're not all created equal. There is a spectrum of crackpottery, from "What are you smoking and can I have some?" to "... You know, I can actually see it."


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Pretty straightforward question.

I don't know who came up with the word and how it came about (I would also like to know those things) but from my understanding, it means a theory that is kind of crazy but not able to be disproven, like with a lot of speculation and really thin, stretched out connections between "clues"?

Is it a theory that there is no way its true, like Mance is Rhaegar for example, when we know for a fact that Rhaegar is dead?

Is it a theory with no evidence that just takes a lot of clues and takes them a lot further than what we actually have but it may well be true, like for example Giants = Green Seers?

How do you understand the term?

Crackpot = we don't know for a fact Rhaegar is dead ;)

i.e. Before LS, everyone said - we know for a fact Cat is dead.

That's the joy of this series; all bets are off. Crackpot theories explore crazy possibilities, and some of them could possibly come true.

I doubt anyone predicted Cat would come back as LS.

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It's a theory that you know has "cracks" in it, as Kevvy said, but you believe/want to believe it anyway. Some crackpots are obviously batshit crazy and not true (Mance is Rhaegar) and some are wild but weirdly plausible. They're not all created equal. There is a spectrum of crackpottery, from "What are you smoking and can I have some?" to "... You know, I can actually see it."

So the "crack" part of the word has to do with the cracks of the theory, and not that the one who makes it is doing crack or pot while coming up with it? :P

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Crackpot = we don't know for a fact Rhaegar is dead ;)

i.e. Before LS, everyone said - we know for a fact Cat is dead.

That's the joy of this series; all bets are off. Crackpot theories explore crazy possibilities, and some of them could possibly come true.

I doubt anyone predicted Cat would come back as LS.

:agree:

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It's basically theory without textual proof... But not with contriving text proofs, like Mance=Rhaegar, which is not even a crackpot, but an invention of some fans. Basically, crackpot works as "outside the box idea" that has nothing against it. Simply, it is guessing game without actual proof, but also without things to contrive it.

I must say I agree much more on your own interpretation of crackpot as "out of the box interpretation of evidence within the book in a new perspective that sustains a statement that is not provable to be wrong" than we the one other posters gave.

For me, fully far fetched theories that have not a smooth and consistent textual foundation at their basis aren't crackpots but simple bullshit or wishful/assumptions thinking.

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I must say I agree much more on your own interpretation of crackpot as "out of the box interpretation of evidence within the book in a new perspective that sustains a statement that is not provable to be wrong" than we the one other posters gave.

For me, fully far fetched theories that have not a smooth and consistent textual foundation at their basis aren't crackpots but simple bullshit or wishful/assumptions thinking.

Well, Apple is right when said that crackpot is a huge umbrella and that it covers huge versatility of theories. For example, Lem Lemoncloak = Richard Lonmouth is a crackpot, or even H+A=J+M... But, I truly believe that fan's wishful trolling thinking about Rhaegar=Mance don't even deserve to be called crackpot. It is basically fanfic catastrophe...

Also, your definition of crackpot should be in Oxford dictionary... Very well said :)

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I've always thought of it this way:



  • First you smoke a little weed (please share some with us)
  • you use the search function on your pdf or whatever application you use to read your books.
  • you find words that correspond or match up or evoke the same kind of feeling and imagery
  • you search yourself for all the hopes and desires you have for this series
  • you match up your desires with the key words you searched in the pdf and see hidden clues aka foreshadowing and such
  • you think to yourself "hey, I should share this shit"
  • you go to your laptop and 2 hours later we have people debating whether or not Tyrion could, in fact, be the son of Aerys and Joanna, If Mance is Rhaegar, if Varys is a mermaid OR [insert any theory you think to be crackpot]
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Euron is Dario. Ned is alive, Howland married Rhaegar and Lyanna. Mance is Rhaegar, Lemore is Ashara who is dorkstar's mom. Oh yeah, the most crackpot of them all: Aegon is a Blackfyre (jk)

I wouldn't say Lemore is Ashara is TOO crazy. They never found Asharas body and Lemore has given birth and Ashara had a miscarriage

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I doubt anyone predicted Cat would come back as LS.

Considering her death and resurrection happened in the same book, I think that's a safe bet.

Crackpot means that you've found a connection in the books that's not explicitly stated, and are trying to guess what that connection could mean. The Mance = Rhaegar crackpots have gotten a lot of hate, but there are plenty of Targ symbols associated with Mance. The positive and creative boarders try to figure out why Mance has Targ characteristics, while the negative @$$hole boarders insult you personally for not being aware of that one SSM from years ago, and insist that any connections you have found must be completely false because one possible conclusion you mentioned has been ruled out by an SSM.

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I've always thought of it this way:

  • First you smoke a little weed (please share some with us)

you use the search function on your pdf or whatever application you use to read your books.

you find words that correspond or match up or evoke the same kind of feeling and imagery

you search yourself for all the hopes and desires you have for this series

you match up your desires with the key words you searched in the pdf and see hidden clues aka foreshadowing and such

you think to yourself "hey, I should share this shit"

you go to your laptop and 2 hours later we have people debating whether or not Tyrion could, in fact, be the son of Aerys and Joanna, If Mance is Rhaegar, if Varys is a mermaid OR [insert any theory you think to be crackpot]

How dare you imply Varys is not, in fact, a mermaid. That's what's crackpot! The signs are there...

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