Atheist Forum

Man, astronomy is confusing for some people...

The explain it like I'm Five version is that if I'm in a dark room and turn on a lamp, then hold out a coin and the coin glows, the coin itself isn't actually really emitting light, it's just reflecting light from the lamp to my eyes. The lamp is the only light source in this room.

Edit - is the "dark side of the moon" the part she's getting tripped up on? Cause that's just a saying, it's not literally dark. The moon, just like the Earth, has a day-night cycle. Just like Miami isn't always dark, the far side of the moon isn't always dark.

Hydra009 wrote: Wed Apr 08, 2026 3:54 am

Man, astronomy is confusing for some people...

The explain it like I'm Five version is that if I'm in a dark room and turn on a lamp, then hold out a coin and the coin glows, the coin itself isn't actually really emitting light, it's just reflecting light from the lamp to my eyes. The lamp is the only light source in this room.

I think she is wondering since the far side of the moon is dark to us, how can the astronauts see it. As long as we don't have a full moon, the far side will be visible.

My three moods:
Jovial
Inquisitive/analytical
Bottomless rage

Hydra009 wrote: Thu Apr 09, 2026 4:03 pm

My three moods:
Jovial
Inquisitive/analytical
Bottomless rage

Where's "Fuck Dis Shit?"

theantithesis wrote: Thu Apr 09, 2026 4:53 pm

Hydra009 wrote: Thu Apr 09, 2026 4:03 pm

My three moods:
Jovial
Inquisitive/analytical
Bottomless rage

Where's "Fuck Dis Shit?"

It's a subset of bottomless rage.

Come to think of it, the borg exposed cables sounds like a nightmare to deal with. You walk down a corridor and it probably gets snagged on everything.

On second thought, the needle through the eye thing is probably also a nightmare to deal with. Not a fan of that scene with Picard getting the Coraline treatment.

Hydra009 wrote: Thu Apr 09, 2026 8:48 pm Come to think of it, the borg exposed cables sounds like a nightmare to deal with. You walk down a corridor and it probably gets snagged on everything.

On second thought, the needle through the eye thing is probably also a nightmare to deal with. Not a fan of that scene with Picard getting the Coraline treatment.

I designed digital circuits cards for an airborne weather RADAR that had a moving flat plate antenna. The failure rate of the cables going to the moving parts was 100 times higher than anything else even though mechanical engineers had entire careers doing nothing but cable design. Once time they sent me across the country because new HF radio units were failing factory tests in an environmental chamber. I knew the radio was good because we simulated and tested the hell out of that thing. On the flight out there I told my tech, it's gonna be the test cables. I jiggled the cables and they fell apart in my hand. I told them to replace all test cables every 6 months and flew home that same day.