There was a great talk at Chichester Skeptics in the Pub on Tuesday from Dan Parry, author of Moon Shot.
A gentleman came who did not believe that the Moon landings had happened, and was trying to persuade us of that "fact". His biggest issue was that, so he said, the door of the lunar lander was too small for the pressurised space suit of the astronauts to fit through. I hadn't heard this argument before. I explained to him (alas, I forget his name) that this seemed like a trivial issue to me, given the huge weight of evidence that shows they did get there. Whilst I couldn't explain exactly how they got through, based on the measurements he stated, I said that it's pretty easy to image things being squeezed through tight spots it happens all the time.
I then added that photos now existed of the landing sites, and that, for me, to believe the moon landings were faked, I'd love to know how all the left over bits ended up on the Moon. He was unaware of these photos, and so I said I'd sign post him to them (this post will be shared via the ChiSkeptics twitter feed), here they are:
Apollo 11:
Apollo 12:
Apollo 14:
Apollo 15:
Apollo 16:
Apollo 17:
I then asked him what it would take for him to accept the moon landings. He told me that the photos probably wouldn't be enough, and that he would always have his doubts, because a grain of truth can't be hidden with a mountain of lies.
When debating those into conspiracy theories, alternative medicine or other pseudoscience, it can be quite useful to see if there could exist anything that would make the other change their mind. If there isn't, well, their mind can't be changed then there is no point in the debate, and you might just as well listen to their differing opinions.
It's also a good question to ask yourself - what evidence would you need to change your mind about your beliefs?
UPDATE: The guy in question at a subsequent Skeptics in the Pub told me these photos were rubbish, and as evidence used the resolution available on Google Street View as evidence. As the title says, there's no convincing a Moon Landing Hoaxer.
A gentleman came who did not believe that the Moon landings had happened, and was trying to persuade us of that "fact". His biggest issue was that, so he said, the door of the lunar lander was too small for the pressurised space suit of the astronauts to fit through. I hadn't heard this argument before. I explained to him (alas, I forget his name) that this seemed like a trivial issue to me, given the huge weight of evidence that shows they did get there. Whilst I couldn't explain exactly how they got through, based on the measurements he stated, I said that it's pretty easy to image things being squeezed through tight spots it happens all the time.
I then added that photos now existed of the landing sites, and that, for me, to believe the moon landings were faked, I'd love to know how all the left over bits ended up on the Moon. He was unaware of these photos, and so I said I'd sign post him to them (this post will be shared via the ChiSkeptics twitter feed), here they are:
Apollo 11:
Apollo 14:
Apollo 15:
Apollo 16:
Apollo 17:
I then asked him what it would take for him to accept the moon landings. He told me that the photos probably wouldn't be enough, and that he would always have his doubts, because a grain of truth can't be hidden with a mountain of lies.
When debating those into conspiracy theories, alternative medicine or other pseudoscience, it can be quite useful to see if there could exist anything that would make the other change their mind. If there isn't, well, their mind can't be changed then there is no point in the debate, and you might just as well listen to their differing opinions.
It's also a good question to ask yourself - what evidence would you need to change your mind about your beliefs?
UPDATE: The guy in question at a subsequent Skeptics in the Pub told me these photos were rubbish, and as evidence used the resolution available on Google Street View as evidence. As the title says, there's no convincing a Moon Landing Hoaxer.
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