30 replies to this topic

[Russell Swan]

Alas, most people are simply stupid; think of a Bell curve representing human intelligence; half the population is below the mean. It has always been this way, but before the Internet, the stupidity was confined ti isolated communities; whereas now, the Net makes communication instantaneous.To paraphrase Asimov, "my ignorance is just as valid as your knowledge."

That’s correct. Half the people are relatively stupid. Worse, and more relevant is that all people are ignorant. No one knows it all. The problem lies in people forming uninformed opinions and thinking they are correct. Smart people tend to do that less. Smart people realize how little they do understand.

Edited by Russell Swan, 26 March 2025 - 07:10 AM.

[Phil Cowell]

That’s correct. Half the people are relatively stupid. Worse, and more relevant is that all people are ignorant. No one knows it all. The problem lies in people forming uninformed opinions and thinking they are correct. Smart people tend to do that less. Smart people realize how little they do understand.

With the changes in industries we tend to have more stovepipes. People work in their area of expertise which now unlike the past is changing faster and faster. 100 years ago someone could do an apprenticeship and learn the skills of their trade. Those skills pretty much would last their lifetime, that’s not true today with technology changing so quickly.

Understanding that is going to become much more important in the future, as the world can only support so many retro artisan craftsmen. We’re in the knowledge as a skill era and in many cases it’s changed in 5 years or less.

[Sebastian_Sajaroff]

To those who deny the Apollo XI landing, I ask them : how come the Soviets never denied  the Apollo missions ? They were among the first ones to congratulate the Americans, and that landing was publicly broadcasted on TV and newspapers by the USSR government !

[KBHornblower]

They just might argue that we and the USSR were in collusion with a hoax.  That may not be anymore outrageous than some of their other arguments.  The fact that the USSR was our Cold War adversary may mean nothing to them this long after the event.

[csrlice12]

We're all just constructs of a rock in space...

[PalomarJack]

Last night I was doing my thing (stealth science, as I like to call it) from the middle of town.  I have a favorite spot that gets a lot of foot traffic.  These days I use the lightest scope that gets the job done, which is one of those ubiquitous 102mm Maks.  Its perfect for the Moon and planets. 

 

Last night four young men stopped for a look.  I fully expect to discuss the “did we really go to the Moon?” question at some point and that’s exactly what happened. I have a short answer prepared that ends with, “all the Apollo landing sites have been photographed from lunar orbit by Russia, China, Japan, India, the ESA as well as the US.  They all show the same thing, which exactly matches what NASA reported back in the day”.

 

One guy said, “What if that’s all fake, too?” I asked, what would be the benefit of all these countries conspiring to fool us?  What’s the payoff?  The answer?  Its all one big psyop (psychological operation). 

 

They all seemed happy with that answer, and I realized at that point there was nothing I could say to change their minds.  I’m sure they talked later about how they “owned me” and shut me down. 

 

The rest of the night was great, as it always is, but that that interaction made me sad.  Its a shame we have to deal with this.

Don't let it bother you in the least. Another thing you should consider. They were trying to get an emotional response from you and the Psy-op remark would have been the "last ditch effort". Don't go along with these rubes and they will be less likely to pull these stunts with others. I simply point out, yes, photos, videos and audio can be faked.

 

But:

 

1. The soviets had spies in NASA and if anything was faked the US would have been exposed to the world as a fraud.

 

2. All of the landing sites have been confirmed by other space agencies the world over, including ones not so friendly with the US. China even gave belated congratulations for a "Job well done".

 

3. It was too big to keep secret. In all the thousands involved in the project someone would have talked at some point.

 

4. What would have been the point? What's the end game? Why waste millions, more likely billions of dollars on over a ten year long fraud?

 

5. The communications links were all unencrypted and would today be called "Open Source". There were thousands of people and organizations around the world listening to and watching the down-links. Including, radio amateurs, news organizations and other governments. How did they compensate all of them in return for cooperating with the fraud, to this day?

 

As stated above, I point out it would have been far easier and cheaper to just go in the first place. If they keep at me, I know they are just trying to "punk" me and I change the subject leaving them to go away disappointed.