Xavier Pascal (“hunchedbacked”) ruins Quora.com

[jfb]

Xavier Pascal has gone to the question/answer site Quora.com.
Now, I know that Xavier Pascal has no valid evidence against the moon landings... but, others don’t know that. He’s turned to “answering” questions people have about the Apollo Program with nothing but his own ignorance and I find this very troubling since it seems people actually started believing him. Fortunately, however, Quora.com is also home to many NASA employees, scientists, engineers, technologists, space enthusiasts, etc. This has put him at odds with many people.
I feel that people should receive actual information about the Apollo Missions and not the poisoning nonsense hunchbacked likes to answer with. I wonder if there’s something we can do or should we just ignore him? https://www.quora.com/profile/Pascal-Xavier

This is a problem with any site that relies upon its membership to be the primary source of knowledge, be it Quora or Stack Overflow or whatever.  Unless they implement and enforce some minimum standard of expertise before anyone can participate, than people like Pascal can put their nonsense out there and have it on the same footing as any actual NASA engineer. 

Frankly, if people want actual information about Apollo, they should start with NASA's web pages and go from there.  If they aren't willing to do that for whatever reason, then they're not really interested in actual information about Apollo.

[BDL]

Xavier Pascal has gone to the question/answer site Quora.com.
Now, I know that Xavier Pascal has no valid evidence against the moon landings... but, others don’t know that. He’s turned to “answering” questions people have about the Apollo Program with nothing but his own ignorance and I find this very troubling since it seems people actually started believing him. Fortunately, however, Quora.com is also home to many NASA employees, scientists, engineers, technologists, space enthusiasts, etc. This has put him at odds with many people.
I feel that people should receive actual information about the Apollo Missions and not the poisoning nonsense hunchbacked likes to answer with. I wonder if there’s something we can do or should we just ignore him? https://www.quora.com/profile/Pascal-Xavier

This is a problem with any site that relies upon its membership to be the primary source of knowledge, be it Quora or Stack Overflow or whatever.  Unless they implement and enforce some minimum standard of expertise before anyone can participate, than people like Pascal can put their nonsense out there and have it on the same footing as any actual NASA engineer. 

Frankly, if people want actual information about Apollo, they should start with NASA's web pages and go from there.  If they aren't willing to do that for whatever reason, then they're not really interested in actual information about Apollo.

Good point. I just get concerned when people are exposed to hunch’s toxicity outside of YouTube, because it usually ends in the increase of the HB population.

[ka9q]

Note that you can downvote and report answers on Quora.com.

One of the reporting options is "Factually Incorrect: Substantially incorrect and/or incorrect primary conclusions" I suggest invoking that on all of Pascal's answers that qualify. Note: not all of his stuff is total garbage, though most of it is. Be selective.

[BDL]

Note that you can downvote and report answers on Quora.com.

One of the reporting options is "Factually Incorrect: Substantially incorrect and/or incorrect primary conclusions" I suggest invoking that on all of Pascal's answers that qualify. Note: not all of his stuff is total garbage, though most of it is. Be selective.

Thank you. I will.

[Dalhousie]

Xavier Pascal has gone to the question/answer site Quora.com.
Now, I know that Xavier Pascal has no valid evidence against the moon landings... but, others don’t know that. He’s turned to “answering” questions people have about the Apollo Program with nothing but his own ignorance and I find this very troubling since it seems people actually started believing him. Fortunately, however, Quora.com is also home to many NASA employees, scientists, engineers, technologists, space enthusiasts, etc. This has put him at odds with many people.
I feel that people should receive actual information about the Apollo Missions and not the poisoning nonsense hunchbacked likes to answer with. I wonder if there’s something we can do or should we just ignore him? https://www.quora.com/profile/Pascal-Xavier

The quality of the answers there are rather depressing

[onebigmonkey]

Xavier Pascal has gone to the question/answer site Quora.com.
Now, I know that Xavier Pascal has no valid evidence against the moon landings... but, others don’t know that. He’s turned to “answering” questions people have about the Apollo Program with nothing but his own ignorance and I find this very troubling since it seems people actually started believing him. Fortunately, however, Quora.com is also home to many NASA employees, scientists, engineers, technologists, space enthusiasts, etc. This has put him at odds with many people.
I feel that people should receive actual information about the Apollo Missions and not the poisoning nonsense hunchbacked likes to answer with. I wonder if there’s something we can do or should we just ignore him? https://www.quora.com/profile/Pascal-Xavier

The quality of the answers there are rather depressing

The quality of the questions is more worrying.

[gillianren]

Good point. I just get concerned when people are exposed to hunch’s toxicity outside of YouTube, because it usually ends in the increase of the HB population.

Last gasps.  From what I can tell, hoax belief is dying.

[JayUtah]

Last gasps.  From what I can tell, hoax belief is dying.

Phil and I had this discussion a few months ago.  The Flat-Earthers seem to be the astronomy guffaw of the decade.  However we both noted that these theories tend to come and go cyclically.  By "these theories" I mean conspiracy theories in general.  After they are debunked and lay fallow for a number of years (10-15, we guesstimated), someone else rediscovers them and gives them a new coat of paint.  Bennett and Percy did little more than rejuvenate what Bill Kaysing and Ralph Rene had done a decade previous.  And now we're seeing people pick up Percy et al. as if they were newly discovered.  I may live to see Clavius.org become relevant again, in which case I will definitely have to refresh the 1990s era hand-coded HTML.

[benparry]

Good point. I just get concerned when people are exposed to hunch’s toxicity outside of YouTube, because it usually ends in the increase of the HB population.

Last gasps.  From what I can tell, hoax belief is dying.

hold that thought Gillian.

i'm not sure where your based but did anybody here from the UK watch the TV show 'This Morning' on Wednesday. A guy by the name of Martin Kenny who appeared there not too long ago with 2 of his flat earth friends, was on spouting the Moon Landings. he was up against a woman from a university. I haven't watched it but I messaged This Morning and asked if they would be up for a Live TV Debate. I also messaged Martin asking him the same question.

is there anybody here from the UK (I know Jason is) who would be up for a TV show on ITV debating this.

[MartinC]

hold that thought Gillian.

i'm not sure where your based but did anybody here from the UK watch the TV show 'This Morning' on Wednesday. A guy by the name of Martin Kenny who appeared there not too long ago with 2 of his flat earth friends, was on spouting the Moon Landings. he was up against a woman from a university. I haven't watched it but I messaged This Morning and asked if they would be up for a Live TV Debate. I also messaged Martin asking him the same question.

is there anybody here from the UK (I know Jason is) who would be up for a TV show on ITV debating this.

It's available on YouTube - not sure if forum rules allow me to post a link - search This Morning and Moon Landings and it will show up. It's a pretty poor piece, the usual uninformed arguments put forward by Kenny with Dr Bosman shaking her head in disbelief. Perhaps more concerning were the results of the online poll that indicated the majority of those responding believe the landings were a hoax. With the 50th Anniversary approaching I just hope we see some quality documentaries about the Apollo programme that will ensure the general public are better informed.

[nomuse]

Hrm. Cycles. I think Moon Hoax may have made a lean towards "Moon Landings were real but what did they find there that they are covering up?" but it doesn't seem to have extended into a full-length lunge.

In psuedoarchaeological circles, the go-to for hyperdiffusionism was "Aliens!" for a while, but in the past decade or so seems to have drifted back into an older and more generalized "gods/demons" sort of thing. This more-or-less paralleling the way UFOs shifted a decade or so before that from physical craft visiting from physical extrasolar planets to immaterial energy beings/spirits from a higher plane.

Flat Earth, on the other hand....the largest remaining collection of Moon Hoax around is just one chocolate in a whole big box of space denialism, science denialism, and the pretty-much required anti-vax, climate change denialism, alternate medicine/homeopathy woo ball.




(Sorry, posting on a full set of meds so expect I'm rambling even worse than usual).

[BDL]

hold that thought Gillian.

i'm not sure where your based but did anybody here from the UK watch the TV show 'This Morning' on Wednesday. A guy by the name of Martin Kenny who appeared there not too long ago with 2 of his flat earth friends, was on spouting the Moon Landings. he was up against a woman from a university. I haven't watched it but I messaged This Morning and asked if they would be up for a Live TV Debate. I also messaged Martin asking him the same question.

is there anybody here from the UK (I know Jason is) who would be up for a TV show on ITV debating this.

It's available on YouTube - not sure if forum rules allow me to post a link - search This Morning and Moon Landings and it will show up. It's a pretty poor piece, the usual uninformed arguments put forward by Kenny with Dr Bosman shaking her head in disbelief. Perhaps more concerning were the results of the online poll that indicated the majority of those responding believe the landings were a hoax. With the 50th Anniversary approaching I just hope we see some quality documentaries about the Apollo programme that will ensure the general public are better informed.

There’s a new documentary about Apollo 11 that’s been announced.
The release date isn’t known but I’m just happy it exists.
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-072018a-apollo11-documentary-neon-cnnfilms.html

[Dalhousie]

hold that thought Gillian.

i'm not sure where your based but did anybody here from the UK watch the TV show 'This Morning' on Wednesday. A guy by the name of Martin Kenny who appeared there not too long ago with 2 of his flat earth friends, was on spouting the Moon Landings. he was up against a woman from a university. I haven't watched it but I messaged This Morning and asked if they would be up for a Live TV Debate. I also messaged Martin asking him the same question.

is there anybody here from the UK (I know Jason is) who would be up for a TV show on ITV debating this.

It's available on YouTube - not sure if forum rules allow me to post a link - search This Morning and Moon Landings and it will show up. It's a pretty poor piece, the usual uninformed arguments put forward by Kenny with Dr Bosman shaking her head in disbelief. Perhaps more concerning were the results of the online poll that indicated the majority of those responding believe the landings were a hoax. With the 50th Anniversary approaching I just hope we see some quality documentaries about the Apollo programme that will ensure the general public are better informed.

Since UK polls delivered Brexit and "Boaty McBoatface" clearly a late number people in the UK when faced with a poll decide to do a piss take.  I don't think they say anything.  The first reaction of many in the UK people towards the ESA naming competition for the for the ExoMars rover (which has substantial UK contribution) was the same.

[Jason Thompson]

is there anybody here from the UK (I know Jason is) who would be up for a TV show on ITV debating this.

Count me out. Firstly, there is no 'debate' to be had: these clowns are simply wrong. I'm not about to put myself on to a TV show that will inevitably present it as some even-handed, two-sided issue. Secondly, I wouldn't trust the editors. Thirdly, as the discussions here show, their side is based on asking questions and sowing doubt, and fixing that is much harder in a live TV debate than sitting here with plenty of material to debunk them at my fingertips. The format doesn't support a sensible conclusion.

[Bryanpoprobson]

is there anybody here from the UK (I know Jason is) who would be up for a TV show on ITV debating this.

I am but I do keep my ID away from these idiots I’ve got one now desperately trying to find out who I am. I have received various threats from these morons. One person on YouTube (who we partially converted from the dark side) received death threats against himself and his wife, he was the subject of a video with a hangman’s gallows. He got the video removed with a court injunction, but when the threats continued a subsequent action awarded him 15,000 Canadian dollars and an injunction against the perpetrator.