The problem is he only reads one side that is easier to read (which will always be the pseudoscience, which is easier than actual science), and then decides that side is legit when he doesn't have both sides of the story, and he isn't even capable of evaluating the claims because of his ignorance of science and engineering.RedAppleGP wrote:Look, brimstone, this dude is just the guy who reads a page on some website, and if it seems legit, he'll jump on the bandwagon.
He needs to stop making these assertions without having the prerequisite knowledge to do so. As somebody who actually understands how rockets work -- and most science in general because I spent years learning about it -- it's profoundly insulting.
I would answer his sincere questions about how rockets work if he would stop claiming that they don't work and siding with the conspiracy theorists, apologize for making that claim, and pay me an iota of respect and assume that they do work, and just try to learn how.
IF after learning how they work, he found flaws in the science (like he did the math and proved there wasn't enough reaction mass, or a high enough exit velocity wasn't possible), that would be another matter entirely. Any legitimate criticism of science requires an understanding of science, and having done the math in order to criticize it. Show that the math doesn't work, and you have finally provided real evidence.