My bold added. There are very, very few people such as you describe. The Truth Movement has had eight years to reach them, and if they haven't by now, they never will.
One thing you may have noticed about the Truth Movement is that it is practically impossible for them to admit to a mistake, no matter how simple or trivial. I would even go as far as to speculate that most cases of inflation stem from being caught in a lie, and being unwilling or psychologically unable to own up to it.
There's a reason for this. It's because the Truth Movement is a small, closed community, and it bases virtually all of its conclusions on its own "common sense," its own opinions, and its own isolated research. If one pokes even the tiniest hole in this incestuous discussion circle, it raises doubt about the whole thing, the entire society.
This isn't like science. If we find an error in our theories, which happens frequently, this error leads us to favor a different theory, or propose a new one. But what about the Truth Movement? If we decide to finally retire one of their pillars, say the whole thermite thing is rejected once and for all, since those ideas are founded solely on the alleged credibility of certain individuals, it wipes out a whole swath of their Movement. Think about it -- if they suddenly admitted that the "Journal" of 9/11 Studies was a crock, it would bring down practically every talking point of theirs with it.
So, naturally, they cannot allow this to happen. They defend their ideas, tooth and nail, through every means available except the right one, namely whether or not those ideas make logical or scientific sense.
This is what makes them worthless in debate. They're playing by a different set of rules.
We see multiple examples of this in this very thread -- Tony, for instance, has made three flagrant lies. One, that there was no tilt in the upper structure of WTC 1 just before collapse. Two, that the bowing seen on the south wall of WTC 1 several minutes before collapse wasn't there at all, and according to him didn't occur until after the core failed. And three, the "safety factor of the core = 3." All three of these are strong irreducible delusions, because all three of them are quite easily and definitively disproven -- the first two by clear photography.
Now, I don't say this just to pick on Tony. The sad thing is, he's one of their more rational proponents. The only reason I agreed to debate him in the first place is because I honestly thought, desperately hoped, he'd react to criticism in a rational way.
Unfortunately, this didn't happen. Everything he said was the same crap he proposed here, months ago, without budging in any direction. I brought up stuff he'd said in 2007, really crazy stuff, to see if he'd learned anything, but he didn't -- he deflected until he could deflect no more, and then stood his ground and defended it all.
Ergo, forget future debates. They can't hold up their end of the bargain. Were there large numbers of people who might be swayed by the spectacle, then repeatedly destroying them in debate might be worth it, but there are no such people. This is nothing more than a playground struggle against a kid with delusions of taking on the champ.
We see exactly the same behavior in other conspiracy theories. Nobody I know of goes to conferences to debate Moon Landing deniers -- what's the point? Real evolutionary biologists don't bother debating creationists, either. We already know where it will lead. If they had real science, they'd present it. Since we know they don't, but they're still arguing, we know they'll never stop.
Same as the Truthers. Richard Gage claims to have 900-odd engineers behind him, and he goes to AIA conferences every time someone donates enough cash for him to do so, but does he present papers there? Heck no. The idea of going to a conference and not presenting is alien to me, and to most scientists. That's the whole point of the conferences.
So screw 'em. If I go on the air again, it'll be for educational purpose. I don't see the Truth Movement or anyone in it having a role in education. Again, if there's an exception, if I've overlooked someone, let them present their case. I won't hold my breath.
Uh, no they won't. They've gotten nowhere.
