Okay, we all know that no one who works for a major scientific organization would ever take Buzz Aldrin’s punching bag seriously, right? And we would be so terribly, terribly, wrong.
:smack:
You know, guys, if the stupids are breeding faster than we are, we’re going to have a real problem on our hands shortly.
I thought this was a funny quote:
Of course he’s talking about the radiation shield! What else would he be talking about?
At least our own Bad Astronomer is out there fighting the fight. Isn’t it cool to see him quoted on cnn.com and go “Hey! I know that guy!”
We should keep stupidity in captivity and on display. That way, when children are visiting the stupidity center the teacher can say, “don’t get to close children, this one throws out bad ideas, making a mess of whatever it hits”.
The Bad Astronomer told CNN
Amen to that brother! If we want to see the United States continue to be a world leader, we’d better be educating our kids in the sciences, and more importantly - how to think critically. Otherwise, our time has come and gone.
Now THAT’S Fighting Ignorance! Go Buzz!
GOD I hate Fox and that show. The other day at my other Job a young school kid interupted a conversation I was having with someone defending communism. I simply asked that If the West was so weak why was it able to get a man on the moon even after a poor start with the Space Race. Snot nose laughs and says, “Everyone knows that was faked!”
I asked him where he gets that information to which he replied
“There was a documentary on it.”
I nearly choked on my sandwich A DOCUMENTARY?!?!!? A FUCKING DOCUMENTARY?!?!?!
He says any rockets that go into orbit would explode
I merely asked him why I was spending money on a Sattelite receiver if that was the case.
Blank stare…
I waved my hand in front of his eyes as he tried to understand what I asked him… I walked away in disgust and merely pointed him towards BAD Astronomy.com
I doubt it will convince him… stupidity is quite terminal at times
Lord save me from Loonies
Wow - sure is an uphill fight, battling ignorance. When a piece of imbecilic Fox tripe passes for a documentary, you know you’ve got problems.
I thought only a handful of misguided nutjobs believed the moon landing was faked. Looks like there are a lot more misguided nutjobs than I anticipated, and at least one in the NSF. Gah.
I am ashamed of my species.
Kn(Rock on, Buzz!)ckers
I was starting to worry, I hadn’t seen this month’s moon hoax thread.
Was it clear from the quote that the NSF employee in question was a scientist? It’s not quite so disturbing if the NSF accountant believes this crap, or the guy who cleans the building…
“Indeed, the National Science Foundation’s Pollak says two of her colleagues, after watching the Fox special, thought it was possible that NASA faked the moon landings.”
It is possible they faked the landings, this is the proper “scientific” perspective. It’s merely improbable that it could have been this successfully pulled off and the Fox special didn’t provide any reason to think it was fake.
While you are of course correct, it shows why scientists should not perhaps speak to the general public without choosing their words better. Saying it is “possible”, meaning that it is highly unlikley and that no evidence supports it - as opposed to “likely”, is a fine distinction lost on the rabble.
Although it is true that the “rabble” should have Anthracite, but it does not make it incorrect on the part of the scientist to have stated the truth. I did not see the Fox programme, but taking the statement at face value, I think that the statement “it is possible” is correct, and the fact people took it out of context speaks ill not of the scientist, but of the people who made the programme.
Bang on Anthracite or at least the reporters, charged with relating scientific info to us, should know and explain the difference.
The moon is a hoax?!?
No, but it is made of cheese!
IIRC Washington (meaning the Government) was
No mention of science or scientific stuff. 
There are a certain number of people who don’t trust the government, no matter what. In addition, what the government did (I don’t recall which agency, but I think Air Force) with regard to Roswell/Area 51 UFO debacle kind of backs up this attitude.
Ofbfuscate, deny, cover up and pretty soon nobody believes you.
I did not see the Fox news ‘special’ as I rarely watch Fox (only NFL with the sound off) so I don’t know what was said, but I’d say the government should shut up while they’re ahead.
I take it none of you have ever gone to a ‘psychic fair’.
You think believing the Apollo program was fake is nuts? Wait until you see a 30 year old businesswoman pass her hand over a chunk of quartz and exclaim, “You can just FEEL the energy emanating from it!”
Remember pyramid power? People were spending thousands of dollars to put steel pyramid frames over their beds to improve their health.
Polls consistently show that significant numbers of westerners believe in spirits, ESP, UFOs, Bigfoot (despite being an admitted hoax), crop circles (despite being an admitted hoax) and the Loch Ness Monster (despite being an admitted hoax).
Discussions of science on the internet are often interrupted by people who can’t tell the difference between real science and television (“I think you can travel faster than light. On Star Trek, they just warp space”).
The fight against ignorance is an uphill struggle, folks. And it’s a steep slope. Better break out the pitons and snap hooks.
Yes, but the newsmedia that sells most in this country, usually, is stuff with a sensationalist/“this could be true … who knows?” bend to it. “documentaries” and such sell more than “Here’s the proof that the moon landings were real”.
I didn’t say it was incorrect at all. My post is right there up above. I said that they should perhaps “(choose) their words better”. Was what I said that different from what you are saying that you needed to even dispute it with me? 
When you speak to the general public on scientific matters, it is your responsibility to make sure that your message is clear and not misinterpreted. As a scientist, you have to remember that you are speaking to people who most likely have a VCR flashing “12:00”, a book on feng shui, or have at least one first or second-cousin who has been butt-probed by aliens.
I didn’t come down on the scientist quoted. I only said that the person in question should have chosen their words better.
So, the Moon Hoax “documentary” on Fox has all its flaws yet was still aired and convinced a more than small amount of people to that garbage; what credibility do you think is there in a “documentary” on RODS that Fox has continally stalled the airing of?
BTW, the Art Bell Show is behind only Rush in ratings.