Wikipedia:Skeptic vs believer

An amusing take on an imaginary dialogue between a skeptic and a True Believer regarding the makeup of the moon. The discussion illustrates some of the tactics used by and perspectives of the players, such as conspiracy, the mingling of multiple contradictory ideas to justify a premise that is never abandoned and the ol' bait-and-switch.


 * Skeptic: The moon is a large, rocky body that orbits the earth.
 * Believer: The moon is made of cheese.
 * Skeptic: The moon is not made of cheese. They landed on the moon and brought back rocks.
 * Believer: The moon is made of cheese. They landed on parts of the moon that are rocky.
 * Skeptic: The moon is not made of cheese. Years of scientific evidence and observation support this.  A cheese moon would be destroyed by meteorites and gravitational forces.
 * Believer: The moon IS made of cheese. It's very strong cheese.  Or it keeps getting replaced by the moon-cheese factory.  Big Astronomy doesn't want you to know it is cheese because it would affect sales of telescopes.  What if Big Astronomy just hangs up a cardboard cutout of the moon whenever it gets destroyed?  Therefore the moon is made of cheese.
 * Skeptic: The moon is not made of cheese, there is no proof that Big Astronomy exists and it is irrational to expect so many scientists would lie for so long. Also, a cardboard cutout would not be cheese.
 * Believer: The moon IS made of cheese. Big Milk is keeping the truth from the people so we won't mine the moon for cheese.
 * Skeptic: The moon is not made of cheese, it is not economical to mine the moon and transport anything, cheese or not, from the earth to the moon. Plus, this contradicts your assertion that the beliefs about a rocky moon are maintained by Big Astronomy, which you haven't actually supported in any way.
 * Believer: THE MOON IS MADE OF CHEESE!!!!!!! SHUT UP!! I'M GLAD I WON THIS ARGUMENT!!!!!
 * Skeptic: No it's not and no you didn't. The moon is made of the same materials the crust of the earth is made of.
 * Believer: The surface of the moon may, perhaps have rocky elements to it. But underneath the crust, it is solid cheese.
 * Skeptic: Cheese is made up of fat, protein, water and gas, while rocks are made of, well, rock which is much denser. A cheese moon would not exert as much gravitational pull on the earth, and we would be able to tell the difference between a cheese-core moon and a rock-core moon through the influence on the tides.
 * Believer: ...(erases discussion) I like pie. Therefore I win.
 * Skeptic: Sigh.  Moron.