a theory about theories

So this originally was going to be a series of blogs (still may be..depends on reaction). But I've been thinking a lot lately about the theories we all cook up here on the forum. Many of us seem to bounce ideas off one another quite well..but it makes me question a few things.

Where do the ideas come from? Directly story related? Speculation? Totally made up "off the top rope"?
How much stock do you actually put into a theory, is it a deadset possibility within the story? Or just a really fun idea?
What potions of your own personal experience weigh in on the theories you come up with?
Basically...why do we analyze this show as much as we do?

I'll keep it brief, but ill go first

I'm a creative thinker. My imagination is never shut off...i also LOVE researching things to the point of borderline obsession. Therefore, once I see a creative line that "could" possibly happen within the story...i have to figure out the how's and why's. Some of you may have noticed it..but my main little cubbiehole for these ideas is the crackpot thread..to me just sitting back and dreaming up as many different ways this story could play out is nearly as much fun as listening to the actual show. And lets all be honest..michaels last name, date of birth, astrological sign,etc..will have very little to do with the actual story..but shit, its fun to work on stuff like that.

For the most part I try to keep my speculative posts in the theories section..and keep hard facts ideas within the chapter discussions..that just makes the most sense to me...

So there ya go..now, tell me...why do you "do what you do" around here?...i know I'm interested..and I'm sure others are as well

Todd out

To me going on the forums, reading about theories others have and things like that help me see stuff I would never see before... Like if no one would have said anything about ink I would never have figured out where he came from because , to be honest, when I was listening to that news story all I was thinking about was how every zombie story starts... You know, they switch on the tv in the morning and gasp as they see people being eaten in the streets... Anyways I enjoy reading and posting comments because it let's me understand the story better and learn things I didn't know

7odd, I kind of have the same mentality that you do. I love to research things and obsess over things that interest me. As for how I come up with my thoughts and theories, I usually end up taking what the questions raised and then see what evidence is out there that might lead to a conclusion and then form a theory around that evidence. Plus I'm always thinking about what works best from a story perspective. There can usually be a lot of explanations for a question but if an idea doesn't move the story along in a logical way that's consistent with what came before I tend to discount it as a probable explanation.