I was at a public talk in Boulder last month about moon landing doubts.

The speaker showed a photo of a waving flag and said it proved there was no wind in space, but a guy in front of me pulled up a NASA page on his phone showing their full explanation. It made me wonder, how often do we check the other side before we make up our minds? Do you think most conspiracy debates are settled by just looking at the official records?

2 comments

2 Comments

william_west3d ago

Yeah that flag thing is a classic. But it's weird, right? Even when you show someone the NASA page about the horizontal rod in the flag, some folks just won't look at it. Makes me wonder if the real problem is that official records feel untrustworthy to them now. Like, if you already think the whole agency is in on it, why would their website change your mind? So maybe the debate isn't about the facts at all.

the_nathan3d ago

Yeah that part about official records feeling untrustworthy is spot on, @william_west. My buddy tried to show his uncle the real story behind that 9/11 "free fall speed" video, and the guy just said the site was run by the government. I mean, if you start from there, no fact really stands a chance.