Teachers: do you believe the moon landings were a hoax?

[noblegiraffe]

I was just on Teacher Tapp and found the results from this poll pretty horrifying: 15% of teachers polled don’t disagree with the statement “I believe the moon landings from 1969 to 1972 were actually a hoax”.

What now? Nearly 1 in 6 of us??

15% of teachers polled don’t disagree with the statement “I believe the moon landings from 1969 to 1972 were actually a hoax”.

So badly worded ! Can't teachers come up with something a bit clearer when doing a poll ?

Oh goodness. Actual moon landing deniers on this thread. I didn't believe they even existed up til now! Am quite excited.

I will say that the novel based on a fake moon landings story, Capricorn One, is quite brilliant. There was a very gripping movie made as well. I'm wondering if some of the moon landing deniers have somehow misunderstood that these are works of fiction and not fact.

You can kind of understand moon hoaxers in that the moon landings are going to fall out of living memory. They happened before I was born; and many countries/politicians say “we’re going to go back!” and never end up doing it.

I’d like to to happen in my lifetime

No, Noble, I don't think the Moon Landing was as real as Peppa Pig. I am simply pointing out that, like Peppa, just because it was on the television does not mean it happened. I suspect it probably did happen, but I do not know it happened. You're clever - you can see the difference, can't you?

But anyway, we left a mirror on the moon. You can fire lasers at it and they reflect off it back to Earth. It would be a bit weird if that happened but we hadn’t been to the moon, then it would be aliens.

Great. When I see someone do that, or do it myself, I will believe that someone left something shiny on the Moon. My point stands - I don't know the 1959 landings weren't faked.

"I suspect it probably did happen, but I do not know it happened."
Could you give some examples of things you know happened?

I understand exactly what you’re saying farce and I’ve no idea why giraffe is getting so agitated.

BertrandRussell

I know I pushed a 7lb baby out of my vagina. I know I met the Queen. I know there is such a thing as a hyena.

When I studied Astro Physics I was amazed how many guys in my group also believed it was a hoax.

In fact there were really mental conspiracy theorists in that group.

I think Thisreallyisafarce did philosophy lesson 1, thinks they understand that 'nothing is provable' and is using that on this thread to try and appear clever rather than understanding that if they know jack shit about a subject (and a degree in history suggests they probably did no science post 16) then maybe they are incapable of assessing the evidence and should believe the experts.

However I burst my DB's bubble a couple of months ago. He says they were all taken into the school hall in the afternoon to watch it live

I wonder if I went tot he same school as your husband, we all went into the hall to watch something from space live, I thought it was the first moonwalk but I would not have been at school then.

There were various misssions, landings moon walks etc.

Until I see a convincing evidence base for any purported fact

Get yourself a laser, the astronaughts left a mirror on the moon, it still reflects back today.

Also the effort they would have had to go to in faking it, not only everyone keeping quiet but they would have had to fake appollo 13's disaster.

The TV had to be routed through Australia because of the position of the earth and the moon for the first moon walk. Why would a bunch of Australian scientists agree to fake that? How could the US fake signals fro space that Aussie scientists wouldn't detect as fake?

Appollo 18 went to an area to look at the rocks/stone formations, so they took geologists rather than piolts. The moon buggy was damaged, which meant one wheel would spray black dust on to the astronaughts, black dust on a white space suit causes the astronaught to fry so the wheel arch HAD to be mended, why would you fake that?

The science, particularly from Appollo 18 has advanced understanding of the universe and its formation, produced theories that are still standing up to new information now. That's something you cannot fake.

I will believe that someone left something shiny on the Moon. My point stands - I don't know the 1959 landings weren't faked.

Well there wasn't one in 1959 so no problem with that, however how do you think 'someone left something shiny on the moon' without actually going there?

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DVmVxSFnjYCA&ved=2ahUKEwiRvs_ClbreAhWlK8AKHf8-Bl8QwqsBMA56BAgKEAU&usg=AOvVaw1INQ9uJ8ztoON6J-kVgzgF" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lunar Retroreflectors. Other sources are available.

CountFosco

Physics A Level actually. But no. My argument isn't about the deniability of all knowledge. Although, ultimately, I think we have to accept that everything we call 'knowledge' is a construction, in practice, that is an absurd way to make judgements about the likelihood of something being 'factual'. I have listed some of the things I consider 'facts'. I just don't include things people tell me, that I haven't seen sufficient evidence of myself, in that category.

sashh

Well done for spotting my date fail. It was 6am - I wasn't looking at my keyboard too closely.

I may get a laser.

Anyway, you seem to be misunderstanding me. I am not arguing it didn't happen. I am just arguing that, as of this moment, I don't know it did. So, no amount of throwing facts at me is going to help. You're a stranger on the internet. Nothing you say is a 'fact' until I have the opportunity to evaluate the evidence myself.

In all likelihood, it happened. I just don't know it did.

Anyone who can't accept this and wants to get personal, well, I think you have your own issues.

Some people get very agitated when their world view is questioned.

Vitalogy

It's a bit odd, isn't it? You'd think I'd cast aspersions on the integrity of their mothers, the way some are reacting.

Thisisreally

No I'm not misunerstanding you, I'm giving you some examples you can veryfyyour self wither from sources you trust or from your own experiments.

I think there are huuge amounts of knowledge I because I trust the source, there are others I don't believe because I don't trust the source.

Slightly off topic but I know a teacher who doesn't know what the holocaust is. When I tried to explain it to her she was very doubtful about the numbers involved.

Unbelievably worrying.

sashh

You really are. I said I accept the Holocaust and Partition as facts, because the sources I have seen are sufficiently convincing, despite not having been there to view these events as empirical fact.

You were rather rude, actually.

But it doesn't matter. In my opinion, things we have been told happened, are not "facts", they are reported facts. They only go into the category of "facts" to me when I am personally acquainted with the evidence base. That's me. It doesn't have to be you.

shamofamockery

Worrying that she didn't already know, or worrying that she didn't immediately accept what you said as fact?

Nothing you say is a 'fact' until I have the opportunity to evaluate the evidence myself.

Incorrect, anyone can quote a fact and it will still be a fact even if you haven’t evaluated the evidence. It’s whether you believe it to be a fact after you have evaluated the evidence

ivykaty44

I have already made that clear. To me, it's not a fact until I have evaluated the evidence.

thisisreallyafarce

Both. In this situation, both. Some things just don't have to be unpicked and checked for inaccuracies. It was one of the most significant world event in several hundred decades. I honestly find it pathetic that someone who's job it is to impart knowledge didn't know about it and refused to believe some of the facts I explained to them.