Sometimes a good idea may be immortalized in writing, or sculpture, or painting.
Bad ideas get spoofed in comics. Stellar Worlds is spoofing the Moon hoax.
It would be impolite of me to say I agree with the characterization. So instead I’ll just point you to the comic and let you make up your own mind if these guys writing books about the hoax are cranks or just kooks.
Tip o’ the artist’s beret to Aaron Price.
If you went to BadAstronomy.com and found yourself here, never fear: the BA Blog has moved to its new home at Discover Blogs. The original BA site (with the Moon Hoax debunking and all that) is still online, too.
Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
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"Reading this book is like getting punched in the face by Carl Sagan. Frightening, but oddly exhilarating."
-- Daniel H. Wilson, author of How to Survive a Robot Uprising
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March 13th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Short but to the point.(Hey they say that about me too.) Need we say more?
March 13th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
I gotta admit, I would love to see some of these guys on TV doing the last panel!!
-Froth, Froth- “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! I AM NOT A KOOK!!! -Froth, Froth-
March 13th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
If I were a TV host, I’d do that.
March 13th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
The guy that calls the guy a commie really got my attention and gave me a thought. Nowadays, we know that anybody who blows smoke up your behind by calling you a Communist simply for disagreeing with them or giving credit to some kind of conspiracy theory, you can be sure that you probably have a real point to make.
If guys like Bart Sibrel and the like are called Commies on a daily basis, can we really blame them for being so persistent?
March 13th, 2007 at 6:45 pm
When it comes to Communists and the Moon Hoax, there are only two things you need to understand:
1. The Hoax was perpetrated to convince the rest of the world that the USA was better than the USSR.
2. The Hoax couldn’t have been perpetrated without the USSR finding out.
This explains why the Soviets blew the whistle in 1973 - oh, wait…
March 13th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
Have you heard about a Swedish movie that mocks this conspiracy theory by stating that the football World Cup of 1958 was a conspiracy and never really took place? They prove it using, among other things, the shadows the players cast in the field. Here’s some info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konspiration_58
March 14th, 2007 at 6:54 am
The average males ejacula contains 100 million sperm, ergo, with odds of 100 million to one against the BadAstronomer being here at all, that’s essentially zero and therefore the BadAstronomer must be a fictional character made up by the gubmint to fool everyone and cause trouble fer all God Fearing, groveling good folk, who just want to bend their knees to the mountain fairy,,,
Gee, I wonder if Mrs. BadAstronomer knows that???
It’s easy to be a kook. Hard to be otherwise,,,
Schools can only teach critical thinking skills when they have teachers trained in such and few teachers are so educated, so we’re stuck with trying to inculcate such skills in an adult populace. Unfortunately, those most in need of such education are highly unlikely to visit this site other than to complain about being picked on for their lack of critical thinking skills. I think everytime the BA mentions something contentious, he’s reaching more people in need of this education than he would ever do by being totally reasonable.
You can lead a horse to water, but the only way to force it to drink is to drown it,,,
I expect critical thinking will become the norm only thru necessity, as in when competition for jobs require much more mind than muscle sweat. But I may be an optimist,,,
Hoax believers really need to be continually reminded , the only way a secret can be kept between any two people, is if one of them is dead,,,
Gary 7
March 14th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Just to remind people, Persians were among some of the finest thinkers in the old world. The following is a reference to the developer of algebra, one of the most powerful mathematical forms ever devised,,,
,,,ancient Iraqi named Mohammed Ibn-Musa al-Khwarizmi.
Just because he was moslem, doesn’t mean he wasn’t absolutely brilliant,,,a statement I used when my Saudi friend Saib was trying to put Einstein down because he was Jewish.
GAry 7
March 14th, 2007 at 11:37 am
How many pages are there to this cartoon? I got a 404 when I tried to go to the third panel.
March 14th, 2007 at 11:38 am
Oops, it was the fourth panel.
March 14th, 2007 at 11:56 am
Gary Ansorge Says: “…so we’re stuck with trying to inculcate such skills in an adult populace.”
Oooh, I love it when you talk dirty
- Jack
March 14th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Personally, I don’t think there’s much humor in the cartoon. I prefer the one-panel efforts of most of the many editorial cartoonists throughout the country, or the wit of guys like Tom Tomorrow or Pat Oliphant - who can do in one panel what most other cartoonists need four or six to do.
I second Mr. Ansorge - I reiterate my statements in postings past: I firmly believe critical thinking skills should be a subject taught to students beginning in the third or fourth grade, along with a course in comparative religions and one in philosophy, and should continue at least until the Junior year in high school. Know your enemy is the rationale for the religion course; know your ism is a good reason to study philosophy. Think how much fun the kids would have as they began to apply their newly-learned critical thinking skills to the last two…
March 14th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
When I read the comic I was sort of like my mom after a Sunday t.v. movie…is that it; what happens next? So I guess the blurry grilled cheese eating figure is the punch line. Anyway I guess anyone with two hours and a computer can now write comics.
March 14th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
For those wishing to teach critical thinking skills, there is an excellent book by Jef Clark, used in schools and universities in Australia called “Humbug!”
and available from the Australian Skeptics (sic) website at www.skeptics.com.au Highly recommended
March 15th, 2007 at 6:22 am
When I was a kid, one of the most popular skeptical sayings was “I’m from Missouri.”, meaning, “show me the proof, fool.”
I rarely hear anyone say that anymore. I just hope Missouri hasn’t gone woo-woo,,,
Gary 7
March 15th, 2007 at 11:03 am
I’m from Missouri.