Hunchback aka inquisitivemind.

[mako88sb]

Not sure who you're talking about, but there's some mention of them in the Wikipedia article.

Oh, well here's the first of 4 parts of the incidents that started Sept 25 2008 in the UK. I stumbled upon it a couple years ago. A very bizarre case to say the least and a perfect example of how the truth can be stranger then fiction:

[mako88sb]

"Intentional incoherences" have become his primary theme. That is, he believes many competent, honest people were forced (by the CIA, naturally) to do useless work on the Apollo project, and in protest they hid many clues that he is the first to discover. They usually take the form of some unworkable circuit, design or subsystem. Basically, if something was used in Apollo, that proves it couldn't work -- even if the exact same design is widely used outside the space program.

Yes makes a lot of sense to leave clues and hints that are so obscure that he's the first to notice them.  You would think that if somebody went to that much trouble, they would at the very least have a simpler and surer secondary plan that would kick in if too much time had passed.



 

[Noldi400]

One of my favorite videos by the Hunched One - and it's like the fondness you have for a really bad movie, mind you - is the one on what he calls NASA's "Fantasy Equipment". He tosses out twenty or more 'incoherencies' in about ten minutes, things he claims no one else has picked up on.

Some of them are just downright mysterious. He puts up a a PLSS schematic, traces the O₂ circuit in color, then moves on with no other comment. (??) He just loves line drawings and points out numerous places where photos don't match up with drawings. Oh, and he thinks the placement of gauges on the OPS is ridiculous, since the astronaut can't see them while wearing the PLSS - evidently he missed the diagram of the RCS.

I know he's just one more deluded soul, and I probably shouldn't be so amused, but he just works so hard at being misinformed that I regard it as an art form.

[ka9q]

Dogs can follow the gaze of a handler

Really? Whenever I try to point at something (like a thrown ball she didn't see in flight) our dog just stares at my hand. She doesn't seem to understand the concept of indirection.

My theory of the conspiracist mind is that their theory of mind is an outlier on the distribution that leads them be overly fearful of being deceived.

I have often had exactly the same thought. But I think it's not the fear of being deceived so much as it's the fear of being thought a fool by others. (That in itself invokes a theory of mind, I guess.) Since most conspiracy theorists simply lack the training or experience to test the evidence for themselves, and because they're too paranoid to take the word of others, they 'play it safe' by classifying as fiction anything they can't be sure is real.

Consider that the strongest and most obvious attribute of nearly every conspiracy theorist is his open contempt for the gullible 'sheeple' from whom they try so hard to distinguish themselves.

Ironically, by becoming such gullible believers in conspiracy theories, this causes them to be perceived as precisely the fools they fear being thought of. (Yeah, I tried to avoid ending this sentence with a preposition, but it wasn't easy.)

[Echnaton]

Dogs can follow the gaze of a handler

Really? Whenever I try to point at something (like a thrown ball she didn't see in flight) our dog just stares at my hand. She doesn't seem to understand the concept of indirection.

Not being a dog person, I can't tell you much about this, but I have spoken to hunters that have said this and read it in other places.  It is probably not be a characteristic of all dogs. 

I have often had exactly the same thought. But I think it's not the fear of being deceived so much as it's the fear of being thought a fool by others. (That in itself invokes a theory of mind, I guess.)

Each of us uniquely imagines what motivates others.  Most of us are, I think, sufficiently close to being correct. 

Ironically, by becoming such gullible believers in conspiracy theories, this causes them to be perceived as precisely the fools they fear being thought of. (Yeah, I tried to avoid ending this sentence with a preposition, but it wasn't easy.)

When this problem strikes me in the middle of a heated debate, I just tack on "asshole" to the end of the sentence, problem solved.  You restraint is appreciated.

[ka9q]

it's like the fondness you have for a really bad movie, mind you

A perfect metaphor.

He tosses out twenty or more 'incoherencies' in about ten minutes, things he claims no one else has picked up on.

Yes. This is how I became so fascinated by him. I'm an electrical engineer, many of the 'incoherences' he finds are in electronic subsystems, so he's just too easy a target. We've sparred over such esoterica as the VOX in the LM's voice communications system, the wideband FM modulator the LM uses to transmit TV, the A/D converter in the LM telemetry system and the read-only 'core rope' memory in the Apollo Guidance Computer. All of these things have been used successfully outside Apollo, some much more than others, yet almost no amount of literature citations (NASA or non-NASA) has much effect on him. In many cases he claims the circuits violate certain 'design rules' that he makes up out of whole cloth, design rules that a non-electrical engineer probably wouldn't know are imaginary. (Like I said, our arguments get pretty esoteric.)

In the case of the VOX circuits it took days just to get him to concede that 'VOX' means 'voice actuated keying' despite my finding that exact definition in ham radio references as well as NASA's own documents.

Sometimes, much to my surprise, he actually backs down and admits a mistake. But it's never the last mistake that would permit something to actually work; he always keeps a few in reserve to ensure it can't. And sometimes he can be hilariously petty; in our discussion about the CSM's radio subsystem, I had reduced his 'incoherences' to just one: a device labeled as a 'triplexer' had only two radio ports, not three. After unsuccessfully appealing to a simple and perfectly understandable documentation error, I finally found evidence that the device was indeed a triplexer. The third port had been used in early models for development flight instrumentation. When it was removed from the production models, the designer decided to leave the triplexer alone and just not use the third port.

And it goes on and on like this...

I know he's just one more deluded soul, and I probably shouldn't be so amused, but he just works so hard at being misinformed that I regard it as an art form.

Exactly. Our arguments often go far beyond surreal, and surrealism is a key element of the kind of comedy that has always appealed to me. (Yes, I'm a Python and Adams fan.)

[gillianren]

(Yeah, I tried to avoid ending this sentence with a preposition, but it wasn't easy.)

It is generally considered preferable to just give up and do it rather than warp the sentence.

[Echnaton]

(Yeah, I tried to avoid ending this sentence with a preposition, but it wasn't easy.)

It is generally considered preferable to just give up and do it rather than warp the sentence.

What?  Ya don't like my solution? 

[Luke Pemberton]

Yes. This is how I became so fascinated by him.

May I add, you are amazingly patient with him too. In fairness though, he's not like the rest of the YouTube crowd. His arguments might be very flawed, but he's the complete opposite of straydog02, un4g1v3n1 and the rest of the loyal attack dogs when it comes to interacting with others. It is really quite refreshing in some senses, and the lack of the venom and vitriol does make him slightly more endearing.

[ka9q]

Oh he can produce venom, but you're right that he doesn't produce nearly as much as the others you mention.

But what really makes him unusual among deniers are the traits he shares with us rather than with most of those who agree with him. For example, he genuinely seems to believe in free speech. Occasionally he even cites the American principle of the "marketplace of ideas" and the best answer to bad speech being good speech, not censoring people just because you disagree with them.

He also claims to favor science and rationalism and reject ad hominem arguments, though of course he doesn't exactly come close to that ideal.

But most of the time, when you present him with an argument that he can't refute, he'll make a unsupported assertion that you're wrong, label it as "bullshit", or simply ignore it.

More than once, the issue was whether NASA had made some statement, not whether that statement was actually true. I'll cite a NASA reference with the statement, and his usual response is that anything written by NASA is a "joke" and meaningless. A most strange dude.

[Noldi400]

Exactly. Our arguments often go far beyond surreal, and surrealism is a key element of the kind of comedy that has always appealed to me. (Yes, I'm a Python and Adams fan.)

I, too, am a fan of the surreal and absurd, and he do get surreal.

For me, though, the thing with HBs is that, once you assume there was a hoax, it follows that you believe that everyone involved is a fraud and a liar, including the very brave and dedicated men who actually rode the rockets. So any HB allegation is inherently insulting to thousands of honest people as well as to the intelligence of anyone with a functioning brain. No matter how well mannered, it's really hard for me to regard any of them as much above the level of the Seibrels of the world. /rant

Disclaimer: There are those (few) who ask questions out of honest ignorance and seem willing to accept scientifically valid answers once they are pointed out.

[ka9q]

Not being a dog person, I can't tell you much about this, but I have spoken to hunters that have said this and read it in other places.  It is probably not be a characteristic of all dogs.

The funny thing about our dog is that it's a Brittany, a member of a class of gun (hunting) dogs known as "pointers". When they discover prey they will face it, stop, and raise a leg to "point" the hunter to it. Dogs, like their wolf ancestors, are of course cooperative pack hunters. Apparently this is instinctive behavior for the less dominant members, with the more dominant members making the kill and eating first.

Yet our Brittany seems to not have a clue what I mean when I point. Maybe if I faced the ball, lifted my leg and froze, she'd get the idea...

[Glom]

Last week, we went on an away day where one of the activities was learning how to herd sheep, except we used ducks and geese.  We had to use a sheep dog to herd the geese around the field and back into the pen.  We just kind of ran away from the geese while the dog did all the work. He knew where to run to get them to come towards us.

[Chew]

Last week, we went on an away day where one of the activities was learning how to herd sheep, except we used ducks and geese.  We had to use a sheep dog to herd the geese around the field and back into the pen.  We just kind of ran away from the geese while the dog did all the work. He knew where to run to get them to come towards us.

"Wake up, geesle!"

Nah, it just doesn't have the same ring as "sheeple".

[mako88sb]

One of my favorite videos by the Hunched One - and it's like the fondness you have for a really bad movie, mind you - is the one on what he calls NASA's "Fantasy Equipment". He tosses out twenty or more 'incoherencies' in about ten minutes, things he claims no one else has picked up on.

Some of them are just downright mysterious. He puts up a a PLSS schematic, traces the O₂ circuit in color, then moves on with no other comment. (??) He just loves line drawings and points out numerous places where photos don't match up with drawings. Oh, and he thinks the placement of gauges on the OPS is ridiculous, since the astronaut can't see them while wearing the PLSS - evidently he missed the diagram of the RCS.

I know he's just one more deluded soul, and I probably shouldn't be so amused, but he just works so hard at being misinformed that I regard it as an art form.

Must admit, I get worked up more then I should about Hunchbacked but comparing himself to Galileo well discounting any kind of proof that his videos are nonsense is so absurd I can't help myself. Finally got a chance to have a look at more of his videos and I noticed the amount of "likes" is usually such a small number that it's clear he's spending a lot of time and effort for very little recognition.