I don't think you should become a theorist if you're going into theorizing with the intention of being right. I think that's the wrong way to go about it. The whole point of theorizing was never to be right but rather to explore new possibilities of truth. To create a dialogue. To give people something to think about and explore.
That's why I never latch on to any particular theory in this series as the truth. Because it's important to be open to other interpretations instead of obtaining all of your information from one theorist and choosing to believe them. It is healthy and even necessary to engage with opposing views when thinking critically about media.
This is why it bothers me when people say they learned all of the Five Nights at Freddy's lore from Game Theory and go to them for updates. Don't you want to think for yourselves? Don't you want to put in the effort to interpret the evidence? Isn't that what makes the series so fun?
Of course, I'm not saying you have to become a theorist. Just broaden your horizons a little. Try to see what other people are saying and decide for yourself who you feel is closer to being on the money.
As soon as someone declares that they believe they are correct, it makes me want to stop listening to them. Who are you to say that your interpretation of deliberately obscure evidence is definitive? There is a lot of egoism within the community, and those who feel justified in criticizing other theories simply because they don't understand why anyone would think that way.
Obviously, it's important to try and work toward a truth, but you should not make theories with the intention of being correct. Those are not mutually exclusive ideas. The reason why they are conflated is because some people fundamentally misunderstand the point of a theory. Until we can learn to view theory crafting as a collaborative experience, the theorizing community will always be toxic.
I don't think Fuhnaff has made a single theory that I don't heavily disagree with, but there is respect there. I appreciate what he contributes. He interprets the evidence and comes to his own conclusions. He thinks outside of the box, and that will always be valuable.
Even with my favorite theorist, Id's Fantasy, I do not agree with everything she says. While I agree with a lot of her takes, there are some that I have to respectfully disagree on. That's fine. That's okay. That's healthy.
I can guarantee you that every single theorist you've ever watched, every single theorist in this community, has at least one thing that they are wrong about. Every single one carries around one misconception, one overlooked piece of evidence. And that's okay. That is perfectly fine, because that's what theorizing is about. That is the point. That's what makes it fun.
And yeah. I get it. I'm not saying I am immune. Some theories make me irrationally angry beyond any reasonable measure. A lot of them, actually. I hear someone spout some bullshit and I go NOPE! WRONG!!! but here's the thing.
I keep that to myself. I choose what to say and when to say it. I choose to be respectful and acknowledge their inherent value. A lot of theories make me want to scream and pull my own hair out, but I'm never going to say that they're stupid for thinking that way. I am never going to say that their theory sucks, no matter if I would agree in the heat of the moment.








