A Brief History of Moon Hoaxes - Why do people still believe in them?

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Winston

Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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Never paid much attention to this moon hoax stupidity, but it's humorous to learn about.

[video=youtube;PT3ferYrmgU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT3ferYrmgU[/video]
 
The moon landings are a hoax. So was the discovery of America... :facepalm:
 
It's an interesting study in what do you do with people who have a form of mental illness that really doesn't inhibit them functionally. The answer? Nothing.
 
That was an interesting video in that it touched on the psychological issues vs. just refuting the hoax arguments with science (which I've seen many times).

This brought to mind a childhood experience that really isn't related but I'll share it. We lived on the Mexican border so maids were very common. I had a friend whose maid literally didn't believe there was any place in the world outside the US and Mexico. It became a thing with him to try to explain how were were fighting a world away in Vietnam. I forget her arguments against it but remember her not believing coverage on TV.
 
It's an interesting study in what do you do with people who have a form of mental illness that really doesn't inhibit them functionally. The answer? Nothing.

We usually just elect them.
 
This video inspired me to investigate something I'd seen in titles on YouTube, but thought they were joking, making fun of unscientific conspiracy theories. Apparently not:

Are Flat-Earthers Being Serious?

https://www.livescience.com/24310-flat-earth-belief.html

Excerpt:

"It's no joke

The theory follows from a mode of thought called the "Zetetic Method," an alternative to the scientific method, developed by a 19th-century flat-earther, in which sensory observations reign supreme. "Broadly, the method places a lot of emphasis on reconciling empiricism and rationalism, and making logical deductions based on empirical data," Flat Earth Society vice president Michael Wilmore, an Irishman, told Life's Little Mysteries. In Zetetic astronomy, the perception that Earth is flat leads to the deduction that it must actually be flat; the antimoon, NASA conspiracy and all the rest of it are just rationalizations for how that might work in practice.

Those details make the flat-earthers' theory so elaborately absurd it sounds like a joke, but many of its supporters genuinely consider it a more plausible model of astronomy than the one found in textbooks. In short, they aren't kidding."
 
Eventually, if commercial spaceflight becomes commonplace this conspiracy theory will have to be replaced with something else.
 
Eventually, if commercial spaceflight becomes commonplace this conspiracy theory will have to be replaced with something else.
Personally, I subscribe to the Mobius strip Earth theory. :cyclops:
 
It's equally confusing to me why some people cannot believe that rocket engines work in space, and claim that without air to push against a rocket won't work. There was a forum I saw years ago where dozens of pages were filled with people making logical explanations and these yahoos would retort with the weirdest arguments and clearly they couldn't be convinced.

I couldn't decide if they were for real or maybe just very successful trolls.
 
It's equally confusing to me why some people cannot believe that rocket engines work in space, and claim that without air to push against a rocket won't work. There was a forum I saw years ago where dozens of pages were filled with people making logical explanations and these yahoos would retort with the weirdest arguments and clearly they couldn't be convinced.

I couldn't decide if they were for real or maybe just very successful trolls.

There was a rather famous piece in the NYT slamming Goddard on that very point. They eventually retracted it.

https://www.popsci.com/military-avi...-times-nasa-youre-right-rockets-do-work-space
 
Not at all surprised to see that Fox contributed to the propagation of this BS...
 
It's equally confusing to me why some people cannot believe that rocket engines work in space, and claim that without air to push against a rocket won't work. There was a forum I saw years ago where dozens of pages were filled with people making logical explanations and these yahoos would retort with the weirdest arguments and clearly they couldn't be convinced.

I couldn't decide if they were for real or maybe just very successful trolls.
The easiest way to get rid of moon landing conspiracy BS is to ask if they think the Soviets were part of the conspiracy, if they think this could have been kept from the Soviets who would have had every reason to expose the fraud for political reasons.
 
The easiest way to get rid of moon landing conspiracy BS is to ask if they think the Soviets were part of the conspiracy, if they think this could have been kept from the Soviets who would have had every reason to expose the fraud for political reasons.

If it were that easy, there would be no moon conspiracy. People who are irrational will not accept rational answers. It's not about right and wrong. It's about crazy and not crazy.
 
the psychology of conspiracy theorists is quite interesting- something I looked into because a friend of mine falls for many of the conspiracy theories.
he didn't like it when I sent him links to the psychology of conspiracy theorists.
might be because they rang true?

on the rocket engines in space....isn't that why oxidizers are used?

forgot to mention
the earth is flat and has a dome over it and the moon is made out of cheese.:facepalm:

there was actually a Chinese dude a loooong time ago- could have been an emperorr- that wanted to go to the moon. he strapped himself on a chair on top of a huge pile of BP and ignited it.
people actually thought he made it.
 
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The easiest way to get rid of moon landing conspiracy BS is to ask if they think the Soviets were part of the conspiracy, if they think this could have been kept from the Soviets who would have had every reason to expose the fraud for political reasons.

This is a good observation. I also think it would be harder to keep that secret than it was to get to the moon.
 
The easiest way to get rid of moon landing conspiracy BS is to ask if they think the Soviets were part of the conspiracy, if they think this could have been kept from the Soviets who would have had every reason to expose the fraud for political reasons.

the soviets knew all about it being fake, but theres a conspiracy theory why it was never made public!:flyingpig:
 
forgot to mention
the earth is flat and has a dome over it and the moon is made out of cheese.:facepalm:
Reminded me of this:

[video=youtube;JEB7O1K1ZXI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEB7O1K1ZXI[/video]

Bad example of a conspiracy theory, I guess, because it was hollow and he did.
 
The easiest way to get rid of moon landing conspiracy BS is to ask if they think the Soviets were part of the conspiracy, if they think this could have been kept from the Soviets who would have had every reason to expose the fraud for political reasons.

If it were that easy, there would be no moon conspiracy. People who are irrational will not accept rational answers. It's not about right and wrong. It's about crazy and not crazy.
Well, I think it would make anyone other than the true hard core believers think twice about it.
 
Those who will not be convinced just will not be convinced unless they decide to consider alternate explanations. Not until then. It's human nature.

One very important thing to keep in mind is that another equally powerful human nature is the tendency to feel superior to the "idiots" who do not share your point of view. That goes both ways.

From my view, which I assume is shared by most, Flat Earthers and Moon conspiracists are in denial of logic and demonstrable evidence. But keep in mind, from their point of view, they keep trying to hammer you with the truth which you are too stubborn to accept. From their point of view that is.

Beating them over the head with logic isn't going to work on them any more than their beating you over the head with their theories is going to convince you.

We(myself included) need to try to remember to take the "bigger man" approach: With respect listen, understand, and kindly disagree. Offer an alternative and leave it at that. Maybe only then they might stop defending and open up. But that's all you can do and remember: Being right doesn't make you a better person. It just makes you right.

Honestly, that's really hard to do. But I believe it to be the correct action regardless. I too felt a sense of satisfaction when Neil Armstrong punched Bart Sibrel.
 
I hold with the "cognizant dissonance" theory --- that people become so emotionally attached to an idea that when contrary proof is provided, the mind just rejects it. It's more emotionally painful to give up the closely held belief than it is to reject the new facts.

Also, I believe that a person's "affinity groups" play a big part. Often it makes a lot of sense for a person to reject proof that goes against the belief of his or her peers. It doesn't make sense from a logical point of view, but it does make a lot of sense from the point of view of the consequences of what you say you believe. If all of your friends or family believe the moon landing is fake, then what do they think of you if you say the moon landing is real? You could pay a social cost for standing up for that point of view and being rejected by your group. On the other hand, what would you gain be saying you believe the moon landing is real? Not much. In some cases, it really doesn't really matter very much what the truth really is. In the big picture what does it change if you believe in the moon landing or not. But your standing in the group can be greatly affected, so that can easily outweigh the facts. I'm not sure this plays a big part in things like the moon hoax conspiracy theory, but it probably does play a HUGE part in other kinds of beliefs that are contrary to science, especially those that involve religious beliefs or political policy.

I used to get very upset and frustrated about people who I know to be very smart but who reject what I think to be irrefutable and iron-clad scientific evidence. Actually, I still get upset about it, but I'm letting it go a bit more than I used to, and I'm not wasting as much time trying to convince people who are beyond convincing.
 
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How does one correlate the different theories?

Man can't have gone to the moon because of the radiation, yet the Government is hiding aliens in Area 51. Are they immune?
But how did they get here? Rockets can't work in a vacuum.
But wait - with the flat Earth there are no other planets
Must be everyone is sniffing too much from them Chemtrails....:wink::facepalm::rolleyes::lol:
 
the psychology of conspiracy theorists is quite interesting- something I looked into because a friend of mine falls for many of the conspiracy theories.
he didn't like it when I sent him links to the psychology of conspiracy theorists.
might be because they rang true?

on the rocket engines in space....isn't that why oxidizers are used?

forgot to mention
the earth is flat and has a dome over it and the moon is made out of cheese.:facepalm:

there was actually a Chinese dude a loooong time ago- could have been an emperorr- that wanted to go to the moon. he strapped himself on a chair on top of a huge pile of BP and ignited it.
people actually thought he made it.

I believe Mushtang was referring to the idea that since there is no air, there is nothing for the thrust to push against to move the rocket, not the absence of burnable oxygen. Just like there is nothing for sound to move through.
 
I don't believe in moon hoaxes, but I do believe in Moon Hooch.......

[video=youtube;3n6Ra-K7us8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n6Ra-K7us8[/video]

ssix
 
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