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NASA had to train Apollo 11's astronauts to not use profanity (2019)

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Re: NASA had to train Apollo 11's astronauts to not use profanity (2019)

#31

Post by john_strinlai »

wat10000 wrote: post #21
john_strinlai wrote: post #5

> Dr. Larry Poland, president of the non-denominational Miami Bible College, contacted NASA and President Richard Nixon to complain about the profuse profanity from the Apollo 10 crew, demanding they apologize for their behavior. despite my best efforts, i have never been able to understand why or how swear words are inherently offensive. it just does not click with me. a request like this just seems absolutely ridic…

A significant chunk of the population thinks they'll get tortured for eternity if they do it too much, and finds it distressing to be exposed to it as a result.

perhaps obviously, i am not and never have been religious. your comment brings up a point that i have never really thought about: why is it mostly religious people that are against swearing?

does the bible or any religious text specifically call out swearing (beyond taking their gods name in vain, which i can understand avoiding if you are religious)?

Re: NASA had to train Apollo 11's astronauts to not use profanity (2019)

#32

Post by nashashmi »

Rotdhizon wrote: post #7

Growing up I never cursed. As an older teen and young adult I started to around my friends but never in the home around my family. Then I entered the military and very quickly cursing became deeply ingrained in my speech. To the point it was difficult to speak a entire sentence without a curse word. Towards the end I embraced religion heavily and made it a point to cut out cursing entirely. Nowadays I do not curse at…

> Then I entered the military and very quickly cursing became deeply ingrained in my speech

Same. Never cursed before military. But military stress combined with surrounding fellows cursing made it difficult to filter it out from my own language.

Re: NASA had to train Apollo 11's astronauts to not use profanity (2019)

#33

Post by elijaht »

ASalazarMX wrote: post #24
carefree-bob wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you think astronauts are supposed to be "the best of humanity" then you are going to be dissapointed. Astronauts are chosen because they can withstand high G forces and keep cool under pressure. It is very similar to how race car drivers are chosen. No one believes formula 1 drivers are "the best of humanity". And I wouldn't care if astronaut cursed anymore than if a formula 1 driver did.

I'd argue they're precisely the best humannity has to offer for that use case. And even car racers avoid swearing in public.

> And even car racers avoid swearing in public.

That’s absolutely not true. Watch any F1 race and within the first few minutes you will hear a censored drivers radio. IIRC F1 tried to penalize drivers who swore too much on the radio and faced massive backlash from the drivers

Re: NASA had to train Apollo 11's astronauts to not use profanity (2019)

#36

Post by kelseyfrog »

GolfPopper wrote: post #20
john_strinlai wrote: post #5

> Dr. Larry Poland, president of the non-denominational Miami Bible College, contacted NASA and President Richard Nixon to complain about the profuse profanity from the Apollo 10 crew, demanding they apologize for their behavior. despite my best efforts, i have never been able to understand why or how swear words are inherently offensive. it just does not click with me. a request like this just seems absolutely ridic…

IF YOU SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THE EARLY INTERNET MAYBE THIS WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE WHO DISLIKE SWEARING EXPERIENCE WHEN THEY HEAR PROFANITY Now, why they react that way is a lot more complicated... Much like why I and many others find the above almost physically painful. My own personal take is that avoiding swearing in public, like avoiding all caps in the Internet, is a matter of courtesy and respect f…

I simply choose not to be upset by it. Why give someone else that power?

Re: NASA had to train Apollo 11's astronauts to not use profanity (2019)

#37

Post by ndiddy »

GolfPopper wrote: post #20
john_strinlai wrote: post #5

> Dr. Larry Poland, president of the non-denominational Miami Bible College, contacted NASA and President Richard Nixon to complain about the profuse profanity from the Apollo 10 crew, demanding they apologize for their behavior. despite my best efforts, i have never been able to understand why or how swear words are inherently offensive. it just does not click with me. a request like this just seems absolutely ridic…

IF YOU SPENT A LOT OF TIME ON THE EARLY INTERNET MAYBE THIS WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THOSE WHO DISLIKE SWEARING EXPERIENCE WHEN THEY HEAR PROFANITY Now, why they react that way is a lot more complicated... Much like why I and many others find the above almost physically painful. My own personal take is that avoiding swearing in public, like avoiding all caps in the Internet, is a matter of courtesy and respect f…

CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL

Re: NASA had to train Apollo 11's astronauts to not use profanity (2019)

#38

Post by doormatt »

>Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins cursed fewer than 15 times during their moon-landing mission, based on NASA transcripts. Most of that came from command-module pilot Collins. Aldrin cursed just once and Armstrong didn’t at all.

From what I've read about Armstrong, absolutely no surprise there.

Re: NASA had to train Apollo 11's astronauts to not use profanity (2019)

#39

Post by nashashmi »

nemomarx wrote: post #16
Rotdhizon wrote: post #7

Growing up I never cursed. As an older teen and young adult I started to around my friends but never in the home around my family. Then I entered the military and very quickly cursing became deeply ingrained in my speech. To the point it was difficult to speak a entire sentence without a curse word. Towards the end I embraced religion heavily and made it a point to cut out cursing entirely. Nowadays I do not curse at…

You've removed them from your speech but I worry you've still given them some special power over you in your mind with that sensitivity. It would be freeing to treat them like any other word and not react to them so strongly for you, I think.

Profanity doesn't have power over a person. They have a lack of eloquence and a laziness in language. It demonstrates indiscipline and thoughtlessness. And it conjures the wrong kinds of images in the head. Separating yourself from it is a sign of sophistication. And you want to be more sophisticated over time. And you want to be around sophisticated people as well.

Re: NASA had to train Apollo 11's astronauts to not use profanity (2019)

#40

Post by philipallstar »

john_strinlai wrote: post #15
mholt wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using profanity indicates a weak vocabulary. A lack of discipline. A degree of unrefinement unbecoming of astronauts representing the "best" of humanity and their country. Depending on the type of profanity it can divide societies by reinforcing social schisms/prejudices. Such words typically cluster around areas of cultural discomfort such as religion, sex, and hygiene, causing polarizing emotional reactions. It's b…

> Using profanity indicates a weak vocabulary. A lack of discipline. this is just made up, though. not a lick of scientific backing to it.

Where's your scientific backing that it's not made up?
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