Jack White passed...

[scooter]

Just read over at  JREF that Jack White passed away.
...admittedly, mixed emotions at this end.

[gillianren]

As I've said elsewhere, while the death of the man leaves me mostly without reaction, I do grieve for the wasted potential.  Imagine what he could have accomplished had he been willing to learn.

[ka9q]

Yes. I won't celebrate anyone's passing. But I'll miss some people more than others.

I've had exactly one email exchange with Jack White, a few years ago. He had found what he claimed was a reflection of the US flag off the commander's window of the Apollo 11 LM, in a picture (I believe AS11-40-5862) taken before the flag was set up. I wrote him in a polite, neutral tone to point out a few facts:

1. The geometry didn't work. The location of the Apollo 11 flag was incompatible with being reflected by the commander's window to the location of the camera.

2. The reflection did not look much like a US flag.

3. The object claimed to be the mast of the flag coincided with the LPD (landing point designator) graticle etched on the commander's window.

4. The object claimed to be the flag itself coincided with the shade of the overhead rendezvous window in the LM.

White replied in an angry tone, essentially asking how dare I send him email or question his conclusions.

I think that was the end of my only conversation with Jack White.

[raven]

One of the saddest things one can say about someone is that the world is honestly improved by their passing.
Rest in Peace, Jack White, may you find the truth you never could in life.

[ka9q]

I probably shouldn't make light of it, but I'm reminded of a joke that went something like this:

Jack White arrives at the Pearly Gates. On meeting God, he asks the one question that has obsessed him for most of his life:

"Who killed JFK?"

God replies: "Lee Harvey Oswald. And he did it entirely on his own."

Jack: "Oh my [god], the conspiracy has gotten to you too?"

[gillianren]

Okay, that's funny.

[Luke Pemberton]

Imagine what he could have accomplished had he been willing to learn.

So true, and gillianren's word do not just apply to conspiracy theorists. Sadly, I think some CTers know what they are doing, and are highly exploitative for their own needs. That is what sets them apart from others who have potential but are unwilling to learn.

I try not to comment too much on the passing of conspiracy theorists now. It has got me into trouble, and left an innocent third party exposed due to a HB individual's attempt to name and shame me with aggresive cyberstalking.

I am sure Jack had family that have to deal with his passing right now. I hope he is at peace now, and they that mourn find peace in the days to come.

[frenat]

Yes. I won't celebrate anyone's passing. But I'll miss some people more than others.

I've had exactly one email exchange with Jack White, a few years ago. He had found what he claimed was a reflection of the US flag off the commander's window of the Apollo 11 LM, in a picture (I believe AS11-40-5862) taken before the flag was set up. I wrote him in a polite, neutral tone to point out a few facts:

1. The geometry didn't work. The location of the Apollo 11 flag was incompatible with being reflected by the commander's window to the location of the camera.

2. The reflection did not look much like a US flag.

3. The object claimed to be the mast of the flag coincided with the LPD (landing point designator) graticle etched on the commander's window.

4. The object claimed to be the flag itself coincided with the shade of the overhead rendezvous window in the LM.

White replied in an angry tone, essentially asking how dare I send him email or question his conclusions.

I think that was the end of my only conversation with Jack White.

he had an astounding ability to NEVER admit he was wrong about anything.

He claimed there was an explosion in WTC 6 (not a typo, six) BEFORE either tower collapsed and it was caught on tape.  His evidence?  A still taken from the video that day that showed a dust cloud rising in the vicinity DURING the collapse of the first tower.  When I tracked down the video he ignored it.

[ka9q]

he had an astounding ability to NEVER admit he was wrong about anything.

Indeed. Consider this classic exchange between White and committee counsel Mickey Goldsmith when White testified to the House Subcommittee on Assassinations (HSCA) in 1978:

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/jwhite.txt

I have twice testified formally to Congressional subcommittees. Although I'm not a politician, lawyer or lobbyist who does it professionally, I'm a reasonably good public speaker, I knew my subject and I had a friendly audience. I testified in favor of bills introduced by the committee chairmen; the few other members who showed up were cosponsors. I only had to read a prepared statement (which I had rehearsed to the bathroom mirror quite a few times), answer a few softball questions and listen to a lot of political posturing. No one challenged my expertise. Everyone was in fact quite courteous.

Yet it was one of the more nerve-wracking experiences of my life, especially the first time. I can't even imagine being subjected to the kind of nationwide public humiliation that Goldsmith directed at Jack White during his HSCA appearance. I would have crawled away with my tail between my legs and probably would never have been heard from in public again.

It took me a long time to understand that some people must either be born without any sense of shame, or with the ability (innate or cultivated) to completely suppress it. During the 2008 election, I came to the realization that this is probably the single most helpful trait any public figure can have, especially a politician or conspiracy theory peddler.

[GoneToPlaid]

Yes. I won't celebrate anyone's passing. But I'll miss some people more than others.

I've had exactly one email exchange with Jack White, a few years ago. He had found what he claimed was a reflection of the US flag off the commander's window of the Apollo 11 LM, in a picture (I believe AS11-40-5862) taken before the flag was set up. I wrote him in a polite, neutral tone to point out a few facts:

1. The geometry didn't work. The location of the Apollo 11 flag was incompatible with being reflected by the commander's window to the location of the camera.

2. The reflection did not look much like a US flag.

3. The object claimed to be the mast of the flag coincided with the LPD (landing point designator) graticle etched on the commander's window.

4. The object claimed to be the flag itself coincided with the shade of the overhead rendezvous window in the LM.

White replied in an angry tone, essentially asking how dare I send him email or question his conclusions.

I think that was the end of my only conversation with Jack White.

Hehe. What the "brilliant" Jack White who also claimed to be a "photo expert" couldn't figure out (see attachment).

[raven]

To be fair, for someone with only an average knowledge of Apollo, and I would include myself in this statement, that really does look a lot like the flag set up.

[Obviousman]

To be fair, for someone with only an average knowledge of Apollo, and I would include myself in this statement, that really does look a lot like the flag set up.

And that is what he relied on, that he enforced: don't question, remain ignorant.

[Noldi400]

GTP: In the "flag in window" pic, unless you have something definitive, I'm not sure that's a mylar shield that looks like a flag - it looks to me more like one of the 'cue cards' the crew stuck up here and there. I think there's an image around somewhere of Armstrong inside the LM with one of those visible above/behind him. Not that it matters which it was - the cross-marks on the LPD are pretty much the "smoking gun" of that debunk.
=======================
I was thinking (always chancy) and you know what would be fun? A conversation with a rational reasonable, intelligent person who is a Hoax Believer and who has some fairly coherent theory of how all the parts of the "hoax" fit together and could have been pulled off.

It'd probably be like shooting fish in a barrel, though - a reasonable, intelligent person with a high school level understanding of science should be enlightenable (?) with minimal effort. Still, it would be a fun conversation.

[LunarOrbit]

I was thinking (always chancy) and you know what would be fun? A conversation with a rational reasonable, intelligent person who is a Hoax Believer and who has some fairly coherent theory of how all the parts of the "hoax" fit together and could have been pulled off.

I don't think such a person exists.

[twik]

Yes, you'd need a strange combination - a reasonable person who could put a good argument together (and believe it) that something that did happen didn't happen.