Author Topic: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists  (Read 271131 times)

Offline Dr.Acula

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #300 on: October 20, 2014, 11:01:58 AM »
My mother lived in Frankfurt for a time.  Sadly language proficiency is not genetic.  I've visited southern Germany (Ettal, Oberammergau, etc.) but all I can really remember are the pretzels. :)

Brezel  ;D

It's good to know that here are some people knowing German. I live in the western part (Düsseldorf, the capital of Nordrhein-Westfalen). October 3rd, when I remember right, there was an event 30 km's away in Dortmund, where Buzz Aldrin was awarded. I had no luck to get a ticket.
Nice words aren't always true and true words aren't always nice - Laozi

Offline Dr.Acula

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #301 on: October 20, 2014, 11:13:07 AM »
Keine bange - deutsch ist verstanden bei viele.

A comforting fact for someone who tries to follow a debate in a foreign languange  :)
Nice words aren't always true and true words aren't always nice - Laozi

Offline Echnaton

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #302 on: October 20, 2014, 12:25:18 PM »
I'm hopelessly lost on the genders of objects or even why they have genders

I spent some time living in Austria, learning German from other hotel employees and never could get gender straight.  Then when I would go to elsewhere, the locals would correct my Tirolean/American accent. So I did better speaking English, which everyone understood and offended no one.
The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new. —Samuel Beckett

Offline Dr.Acula

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #303 on: October 20, 2014, 01:00:25 PM »

I spent some time living in Austria, learning German from other hotel employees and never could get gender straight.  Then when I would go to elsewhere, the locals would correct my Tirolean/American accent. So I did better speaking English, which everyone understood and offended no one.

My experience with foreigners here in Germany, who are learning this language, is: The most difficult detail to learn are "connected verbs" (I don't know the exact English term for this). An example would be "to call". In English we use: I call you (I call you tomorrow etc etc). The verb in German is "anrufen" (to make the two parts clearer: an - rufen). In German we say: Ich rufe dich morgen an. Most of the pupils/students of German language start with: Ich anrufe dich morgen  :)

I think learning the gender has a similar difficulty, but this is only my opinion.
Nice words aren't always true and true words aren't always nice - Laozi

Offline Echnaton

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #304 on: October 20, 2014, 03:19:03 PM »
It seemed that I needed proper instruction in German.  Not conversations with a few people where we swapped non-technical language help. Most of the other employees wanted to improve their English skills.  Gender was just as far as I got into knowing I was in trouble.  I didn't worry much about things like declension that I can't even explain in English.
The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new. —Samuel Beckett

Offline ka9q

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #305 on: October 21, 2014, 03:37:47 AM »
Keine bange - deutsch ist verstanden bei viele.
Aber nicht jeder.

Offline Noldi400

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #306 on: October 22, 2014, 06:00:15 PM »
Brandt,
have you seen the HB bingo cards we keep around? I've temporarily lost track of the link, but I'm sure someone can provide it.
"The sane understand that human beings are incapable of sustaining conspiracies on a grand scale, because some of our most defining qualities as a species are... a tendency to panic, and an inability to keep our mouths shut." - Dean Koontz

Offline LunarOrbit

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #307 on: October 22, 2014, 07:34:26 PM »
It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth.
I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth.
I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.
- Neil Armstrong (1930-2012)

Offline raven

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #308 on: October 23, 2014, 12:01:49 PM »
I'd love that kid to go to court.

I would too. I would also like to see him defend his arguments against real experts, while it is being filmed for the sake of prosperity. The latter would provide me with more enjoyment than the former, as the DMCA violations are a side show.
Well, claiming Apollo was a hoax is not a criminal matter. It's foolish and deluded,  but it's not a  crime.
Perjury is. 

Offline gillianren

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #309 on: October 23, 2014, 08:24:51 PM »
Misappropriation of government funds?

ETA--I think you missed it; I think the issue is that we'd love to see him try taking others to court.
"This sounds like a job for Bipolar Bear . . . but I just can't seem to get out of bed!"

"Conspiracy theories are an irresistible labour-saving device in the face of complexity."  --Henry Louis Gates

Offline AstroBrant

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #310 on: October 23, 2014, 11:20:39 PM »
http://apollohoax.net/bingo

The top "O" square is kinda tough, as worded. Could that maybe be replaced with "Rockets can't work in a vacuum"?
Other suggestions: "HAHAHA"
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"'Your' instead of 'you're'"
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« Last Edit: October 23, 2014, 11:24:20 PM by AstroBrant »
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Offline Tanalia

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #311 on: October 23, 2014, 11:37:34 PM »
Just reload the page to get a new card.  Some of the squares that come up may be difficult, while some combinations will be nearly impossible.  For instance, getting "Astronauts would have been too cold" and "Astronauts would have been too hot" in the same row/column/diagonal would effectively remove 1/10th of the card's chance to "win".  There is, of course, the chance of an HB presenting both arguments together; we've seen plenty of other self-contradictions.

Offline AstroBrant

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #312 on: November 21, 2014, 11:00:04 PM »
As for questions, I'd like to contribute some that I have used several times and which generally serve to make hoax nuts go away.

1) When they talk about how hot it is on the moon's surface I ask them, "Why is there permanent ice on the tops of the highest mountains, even in tropical zones?"

2) "If astronauts were suspended from wires, why did they keep falling down?"

3) "Would you like to discuss the radiation data from the Chandrayaan, Curiosity, and Van Allen probes?"

4) And when they pick out some "impossible" anomaly in shadows or lighting I ask, "If Apollo was faked on some set, what would have caused this?"
May your skies be clear and your thinking even clearer.
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Offline twik

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #313 on: December 12, 2014, 11:07:16 AM »
For instance, getting "Astronauts would have been too cold" and "Astronauts would have been too hot" in the same row/column/diagonal would effectively remove 1/10th of the card's chance to "win".

Not necessarily. It's quite possible for a HB to argue "they would have been too cold in space, AND too hot on the Moon." (I agree that the chances of bingo would be reduced, of course.)

Offline JayUtah

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Re: A few simple questions for conspiracy theorists
« Reply #314 on: December 12, 2014, 12:25:05 PM »
This is true; there's a lot of cargo-cult reasoning in conspiracism.
"Facts are stubborn things." --John Adams