Mythbusters Take On Moon Landing Conspiracies
I’m a sucker for Jamie and Adam; I’ve watched their show Mythbusters since Day 1 and admired the way they had fun while doing science. Science is fun – as any scientist will tell you – so why do we have the impression that it’s not? I’ll tell you why: Science is not meant to be taught – it’s meant to be done. One learns Science the same way that one learns any craft – by doing it. Just my $.02.
Anyway, last night’s episode was one of their best yet. One by one they dismantled – perhaps gutted would be a better term – some of the most common conspiracy theories that question whether Man really did walk on the moon three and a half decades ago.
Here’s Popular Mechanics’ take on the show:
For Hyneman and Savage, taking on the moon landing conspiracy was a no-brainer. “They’ve been on our radar for a long time, because it’s something everybody knows about, and it’s not something you can go there yourself to check it out—at least not very easily,” Hyneman told PM last week. “When we started to look into all the suspicions that were there, there was a lot of meat for us to dig into. Especially since it’s sort of centered on special effects—that’s our daily work, so we got into it.” Though other people have tackled the moon conspiracy, “We felt that we couldn’t put it to bed until we put our own stamp on it,” Savage says.
And put their stamp on it they did. The show will not convince all 20% of the US population that believes the landings were faked, but it should reinforce the facts of the landings, as well as the power of Science to disprove ignorance and irrationality systematically and thoroughly.
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