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"vonroach" wrote in message
... On Sun, 18 Jul 2004 00:38:37 +0100, "Jaxtraw" wrote: "vonroach" wrote in message .. . On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 18:38:37 +0100, "Jaxtraw" wrote: No. The claim that "Man Went To The Moon" is not a scientific claim; it's an historical claim. Historians can only decide the validity of an historical assertion; for instance "Edward VIII abdicated the British throne" You have confused a `claim' with an historical fact. As a witness to both events, there is absolutely no doubt as to the facts. I was simply making the point that history is not science; and it's difficult to defend the position that there is any such thing as an historical fact (well, a caveat: there is an absolute objective factual history, but no human can ever truly prove it). Did Richard III kill the princes in the tower? Did Marco Polo really go to China? Did Jesus exist? In addition there is an historic coincidence often over looked: the Moon landing and first walk - the culmination of a dream proposed by John F. Kennedy occurring almost on the same day as the culmination and abrupt termination of hopes of his brother for political advancement after an orgy on Chappaquidock Island. Well, there you go. Nobody really knows what happened at Chappaquiddick. There are a number of theories. And who really shot JFK? Was it the lone gunman, or was he the patsy for a conspiracy? Well there I go again telling the historical facts contained in police records, court hearings, and eye-witness accounts. And there you go again revising historical facts to better suit your fancy. Apparently the education system has become so incompetent and pathetic that it can no longer teach historical fact. The lone gunman that shot JFK in the kitchen of an LA hotel is still incarcerated in the California Prison System. His name is Sirhan, just another mideast muslim extremist. Police investigation and court records are also available in this case. Er, JFK wasn't shot in the lobby of an LA Hotel. He was shot in a motorcade in Dallas. By Lee Harvey Oswald. I think you are thinking perhaps of his brother Robert. As to revising facts, I did no such thing. I said that there are alternative viewpoints on most historical issues. There are very few historical "facts", because history is based upon the *intepretation* of a limited amount of evidence. With history, in general, one is stuck with what evidence survives and, unlike science, one cannot go do another experiment to gain more. You should also bear in mind that police records, court hearings and eye-witness accounts are evidence, but do not generally constitute a scientific level of proof. Lots of people have seen the Loch Ness Monster, including a few police and other trustworthy professionals. It's unlikely they're lying. Is this proof of a family of plesiosaurs in the loch? I think most scientists would say no, and I'd agree with them. The successful moon walk was followed closely by several other missions. All are documented in detail. As was the failure of Apollo13. Yes, and as I said, there is no doubt in my mind that the Apollo missions took place just as the history books say they did. A very lucky bunch of men walked on the moon; and I'm appalled frankly that malcontents want to deny them that glorious achievement. But my point was, that the OP was claiming that this issue is one of science and thus the scientific method applies; whereas I am saying it is a matter of history, and thus one applies historical principles; i.e. the weighing of available documentary evidence, which is of course overwhelmingly in favour of the position that the moon landings took place. It isn't science, it's history. It is important to gain a wide knowledge of history so as not to be fooled by revised history written from a biased point of view. Like learning the names of the Kennedy brothers before pontificating on their history, for instance? The abdication of Edward VIII in order to marry an American divorcee followed several months of scandal and constitutional crisis in the UK. His abdication was demanded by parliament despite urgent attempts by the PM to save him. He was a rather weak character with nazi sympathies, so it all came out for the better. I believe he ultimately settled in France and is buried there. His abdication was the only noteworthy event in his life. Who tried to save him is rather a matter of debate; IIRC Ramsay Macdonald was PM at the time and was the one who pretty much forced him (rightly) to abdicate. Whether he was truly a nazi sympathiser or just a weak upper class idiot is again a matter of opinion. There was a great deal of nazi sympathy prior to the war... `Forced him to abdicate' after exhausting every resource in an attempt to save him. Edward VIII's nazi sympathies are on the record in his own words. His life certainly suggests he was a weak upper class idiot despite of spin doctors of the day portraying him as a strong leader concerned with the plight of the working class as in visits to mines, etc. Well, we are now far from the idea of a "fact". These are all opinions. Valid ones, true. But what Ramsay Macdonald really wanted to achieve is, frankly, a matter for Ramsay Macdonald. All the rest is conjecture. History is always an imperfect picture. Please note, I'm not saying you are *wrong*. I am saying that you must consider the possibility that you are not *right*. As to Edward, there's plenty of evidence (again hearsay though) that he enjoyed hobnobbing with the German ambassador, and indeed visited Hitler IIRC, and that the UK govt was deeply concerned about him being a security risk (one reason Macdonald wanted shot of him). Whether he sympathised more broadly with nazi policy in detail is more a matter of debate. Anyway, my general point was that staring goggly eyed at moon photos looking for "scientific" evidence of a hoax is simply a fundamentally flawed approach, and it sure as heck isn't science. It is up to a scientist with a hypothesis to prove their hypothesis; but the onus of proof regarding Apollo is *not* on NASA, because the moon landings are not a scientific hypothesis. They're a historical event. The `scientific proof of the first moon walk' is one that all can share in the very detailed records and televised pictures that remain. It was a fact, just as Pearl Harbor was a fact regardless of the spin put on the facts. You still haven't got my original point have you? It's not an issue for science. It's an issue for history. That was my point. Ian |
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