Buzz Aldrin

I have absolutely no patience for snake oil. It’s even worse when people like me are then accused of being closed-minded as a result. The fact is that we’re on this Earth for a limited time. We simply don’t have the time to believe everything and try everything. The skeptical mind applies the scientific method and dismisses unworthy claims. As Carl Sagan said,

extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

Faith isn’t enough.

I apply the same thought process to conspiracy theories. Some may be true, but the odds of some others being true are just too long. Take the ‘fake moon landing.’ There were 400,000 people involved in making it happen. Do you really believe that a secret among so many could be kept for so long? That alone makes the claim easily to discard.

Have I ever mentioned how much I like Buzz Aldrin? Probably not. He was the second man to plant his feet on the lunar surface. Unlike Neil Armstrong, Aldrin is quite outspoken. Having risked his life to make the journey to the moon and back, he doesn’t hold back when he’s accused of being a part of the conspiracy. Sometimes it goes beyond simply not holding back.

Ten years ago, Aldrin was invited to a hotel to be interviewed for a Japanese children’s program. When he arrived, he discovered that he’d been duped. Instead of an interview, a film crew recorded Bart Sibrel demanding that Aldrin swear on a bible that the moon landing was not faked. The confrontation ended in the most poetic manner that I can imagine.

Aldrin punched Sibrel in the face.

The police determined that his actions were a reasonable reaction to the provocation and no charges were filed.

Go Buzz!