# Is it \*theoretically, logistically\* possible for Boston to have been 'faked'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 9, 2013, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880 "2013-05-09T11:15:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/41 "2013-05-09T18:30:18Z")
Questions like this are best answered with statistics, and some metrics from the intelligence community. Find out how the probability of disclosure (of a secret) increases as more people are let in on the secret. calculate the various factors (single individuals are inscrutable, groups of several dozen or more are fairly predictable), and you’ve got the probability that any single person will disclose (intentionally or otherwise) ruin secret. We’ll call this value x. To determine the probability that **nobody** disclosed the secret, we take the statistical inverse of x (1-x) and give it an exponent equal to the number of participants (we’ll call this n), so you end up with (1-x)^n. Even if x is a tiny fraction of a percent, the sheer numbers of people make it infinitely improbable. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/42 "2013-05-09T19:17:44Z")
Another reason it’s not a conspiracy: China would have to be in on it, too. A Chinese citizen was killed and if there was any inkling of a US conspiracy they’d be all over it. This is a good reason for it not being a false-flag conspiracy, too. > [@lazybratsche](#): > > More implausibly: this plot would have to depend on the timely and efficient operation of the Green Line to get all of the conspirators to the right place! 😛 People who don’t live in Boston don’t realize how funny (and true!) this is. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/43 "2013-05-09T19:30:11Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > People who don’t live in Boston don’t realize how funny (and true!) this is. Except for Italy in the 1930s is there anywhere people wouldn’t realize this? ---
**Author:** ![split\_p\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@split\_p\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/split_p_j)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/44 "2013-05-09T20:06:42Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Exactly. It’s the same logical disconnect as all the dozens of blogs and loony sites saying “Spread the word - THEY are trying to censor us - THEY don’t want you to know!!!” All on sites that are freely allowed to operate and remain accessible to anyone. If THEY are trying to quah the rumours, THEY are not doing a terribly good job, now, are THEY? > Agreed (not that I think it was), but that’s not what the OP was asking. There is no way that the actual bombs and victims could have been faked, as the extreme lunatic fringe are claiming. I already said there is no way it could have been faked, and it’s true, I learned the information I posted in the media. To be fair, I see it is now being reported that the wife is facing serious questioning. I’m not claiming the information is not out there at all, or that I have access to info that nobody else can find or even that info is being actively hidden. I see it more as a story being woven without all the facts, and no attempt being made to look any deeper than that. For example, the uncle calling them losers was on the news right away, but his own background was glossed over. They made him out to be some kind of random guy, but really he is not. I’m not saying that means anything in of itself, but when members of your family are blowing things up it could be relevant . Why not give us the background about the guy right then and there. It’s done for much more trivial matters. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/45 "2013-05-09T20:19:56Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > They all parachuted in. No one saw a thing. This was quite a conspiracy. My brother, who is a parachute jumper, lives in Watertown. Uh oh. Maybe I better stay at home investigating myself - especially since I’ve lived in Cambridge and even stayed in Copley Plaza. Another disproof - anyone can investigate the backgrounds of those who have lost limbs and prove that they had them before the bombing. The OP’s friend might want to think about checking himself into the funny farm if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/46 "2013-05-09T20:21:48Z")
> [@TerpBE](#): > > People need to remember that “the government” couldn’t even cover up a BJ that only 2-3 people knew about. Well, it’s hard to cover up a conspiracy of even just 2-3 people, when one of the primary participants shouts it from the rooftops. So the problem there was just a very injudicious choice of co-conspirator (on the part of the _other_ primary participant). ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/47 "2013-05-09T20:54:57Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Except for Italy in the 1930s is there anywhere people wouldn’t realize this? Boston, like most cities with public trains, has multiple lines. The other lines (Red, Blue, Orange) have your typical big-city transit line problems. The Green line, though, is in a class all by itself and must rival the worst of US transit lines. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/48 "2013-05-09T21:01:07Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > Boston, like most cities with public trains, has multiple lines. The other lines (Red, Blue, Orange) have your typical big-city transit line problems. The Green line, though, is in a class all by itself and must rival the worst of US transit lines. If that’s the one running into Cambridge it’s about to get a lot worse. ---
**Author:** ![split\_p\_j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19b73/32.png) [@split\_p\_j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/split_p_j)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/49 "2013-05-09T21:01:54Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Well, it’s hard to cover up a conspiracy of even just 2-3 people, when one of the primary participants shouts it from the rooftops. So the problem there was just a very injudicious choice of co-conspirator (on the part of the _other_ primary participant). Not to mention the stakes weren’t high for them, even if they did get caught. “Investigative journalists” managed to get every detail in that trivial matter though. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/50 "2013-05-09T21:22:06Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Theoretically I don’t even know if Boston really exists. I’ve never been there. > Sure there’s pictures, video, millions who say they live there or have been there but I’ve never seen the place myself. It could be one massive conspiracy against all of us who have never been there. After googling “vicsims” and reading parts of a very long thread about 9/11 victims, it indeed makes a lot of sense if I’m the only one not on the conspiracy (adding more people, like you, makes things more complicated, so I’m applying Ockham’s razor) ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/51 "2013-05-09T21:27:01Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Except for Italy in the 1930s is there anywhere people wouldn’t realize this? Coincidentally, the Italians are to blame for the faulty Green Line trains. Whoda thunk that they would know how to design a street car that can survive a Boston winter? > [@clairobscur](#): > > After googling “vicsims” and reading parts of a very long thread about 9/11 victims, it indeed makes a lot of sense if I’m the only one not on the conspiracy (adding more people, like you, makes things more complicated, so I’m applying Ockham’s razor) Yeah, this line of thinking leads to a strange intersection between solipsism and paranoia. Everyone is out to get me, but nobody else is real, therefore… I’m actually out to get me? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/52 "2013-05-09T21:41:38Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#): > > …Yeah, this line of thinking leads to a strange intersection between solipsism and paranoia. Everyone is out to get me, but nobody else is real, therefore… I’m actually out to get me? If I am not against myself, who am I? If I am only against myself, what am I? If not now, when? Didn’t Hillel say that? \ ---
**Author:** ![Kevbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@Kevbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kevbo)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/53 "2013-05-09T21:43:12Z")
The thing about CTs is that the more implausible it is, the more people who must be in on it, The more elaborate the planning must have been, therefore it must be a REALLY HUGE conspiracy!!! ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/54 "2013-05-09T22:06:43Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > If that’s the one running into Cambridge it’s about to get a lot worse. Nope, that’s the Red Line. Although the Green Line does go to Lechmere and will be extended though a part of Cambridge to Somerville/Medford. Eventually. Probably. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/55 "2013-05-09T22:51:35Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Another disproof - anyone can investigate the backgrounds of those who have lost limbs and prove that they had them before the bombing. I was going to say the same thing. That’s the simplest proof. Assuming they could fake a bomb and fake the deaths, and even fake some injuries, you can’t fake the lost limbs. ---
**Author:** ![thicksantorum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@thicksantorum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thicksantorum)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/56 "2013-05-10T01:09:46Z")
When you think about it… after a certain point, the only way a conspiracy theory can work is if everyone else is in on it, and you’re actually the star of a reality show, since birth, like in The Truman Show. In fact, that scenario is far more reasonable than most conspiracy theories. Think about how many people would have to be “in on” something like 9/11. Now think about how many people you’ve ever actually known in your life, who would have to be actors to fool you into believing the show is real. The latter is a far lower number. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/57 "2013-05-10T01:32:03Z")
> [@thicksantorum](#): > > When you think about it… after a certain point, the only way a conspiracy theory can work is if everyone else is in on it, and you’re actually the star of a reality show, since birth, like in The Truman Show. > > In fact, that scenario is far more reasonable than most conspiracy theories. > > Think about how many people would have to be “in on” something like 9/11. Now think about how many people you’ve ever actually known in your life, who would have to be actors to fool you into believing the show is real. The latter is a far lower number. That’s more or less what I alluded to above. Now the issue is : why would you keep dropping hints at me (in the form of CT évidences) that this conspiracy exists? It has to be some sort of experiment. The simplest explanation is that I’m a brain in a jar. ETA : And if it is a Truman’s show, it must be pretty boring… ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2013, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880/58 "2013-05-10T09:04:14Z")
> [@Fubaya](#): > > [QUOTE=Voyager] > > Another disproof - anyone can investigate the backgrounds of those who have lost limbs and prove that they had them before the bombing. I was going to say the same thing. That’s the simplest proof. Assuming they could fake a bomb and fake the deaths, and even fake some injuries, you can’t fake the lost limbs. [/QUOTE] Unless… they actually lost those limbs years ago, and the loss of those limbs was covered up so that it could be made to look like they were lost in the Boston false flag operation!! :eek: It all makes sense! 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-theoretically-logistically-possible-for-boston-to-have-been-faked/657880.md?page=2)