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Flat Earth Belief Growing Worldwide

Started by Ecurb Noselrub, November 17, 2019, 03:37:28 PM

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Ecurb Noselrub

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/16/us/flat-earth-conference-conspiracy-theories-scli-intl/index.html

This appears to be primarily an outgrowth of complete distrust of those in authority.  Everyone is lying to us - a massive conspiracy is at work.  Hard to see how this happens.

Tank

It's a denial of science as the only valid method of describing reality. It is the result of poor education that that values myths over facts. It is caused in part by apparent equality of one persons opinion over another.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Old Seer

Wouldn't it be obvious that orbiting satellites show clearly that the planet is a globe. Wouldn't orbiting a pancake shape show the other side. One must conclude that the flat earth floks have no physicists to advise them.
The only thing possible the world needs saving from are the ones running it.
Oh lord, save us from those wanting to save us.
I'm not a Theist.

No one


Siz

Quote from: Old Seer on November 17, 2019, 04:40:20 PM
Wouldn't it be obvious that orbiting satellites show clearly that the planet is a globe. Wouldn't orbiting a pancake shape show the other side. One must conclude that the flat earth floks have no physicists to advise them.

Elon Musk: Why is there no Flat Mars Society?
Flerfer: Hi Elon, thanks for the question. Unlike the Earth, Mars has been observed to be round,"

FSM help us...

When one sleeps on the floor one need not worry about falling out of bed - Anton LaVey

The universe is a cold, uncaring void. The key to happiness isn't a search for meaning, it's to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually you'll be dead!

Icarus

I have a rather large lithograph, about 20 x 30 inches, of the flat earth.  It is a sea scene with ships of the 1700s era falling off the edge.  There is one lifeboat like vessel with an outboard motor. That little boat is desperately trying not to be washed off the edge.  It is sort of hilarious

The picture has been popular for many years.  The name of the painting is: I Told You So.  My copy of the pic is nicely framed and hangs proudly on the wall behind a toilet (loo?) An appropriate place in my belief.   You can get your own copy at Amazon, I suspect.

billy rubin

flat earth theory is really an interestiung topic to make people think abou what they really know, and what they believe based on what people tell them.

not solipsism.

i have only ever met one man who couild actually prove that th eearth was round, right there, in front of you. he was a sailor, and could show you with a sextant that stellar azimuths were consistent with a spherical earth but not a flat one.

except now i'm wondering about a flat earth and a curved sky.


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Ecurb Noselrub

No one is able to personally prove all the things mankind knows. We rely on experts, and we rely on the experts peers to keep them in line.  When people lose faith in experts, then we are in trouble. That's what has happened with Trump - he undermines our agencies and institutions who actually have knowledge, thus encouraging idiocy and conspiracy theories.  Sign of the times. 

billy rubin

well, see, that's the point.

what do physicists and priests have in common?

cassocks and holy writings and lots of people who believe them because they're the experts.

they're not very different to most people.



"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

jumbojak

When an acceptable response to questions about how the Earth could be shown to be flat is, "Look into it" we are in trouble as a species. And that's very common.

"Amazing what chimney sweeping can teach us, no? Keep your fire hot and
your flue clean."  - Ecurb Noselrub

"I'd be incensed by your impudence were I not so impressed by your memory." - Siz

Bluenose

The flat earth brigade amuse me no end.  The lines of evidence they have to wilfully ignore in order hold to their "theory" are endless.  As a professional navigator in in a previous life I know from actual experience that charts (maps for all you land-lubbers) simply would not work the way they do if the world was not (more or less) spherical.  When navigating, you have to take into account the properties of the particular type of chart you are using, especially the inherent distortions built in to the particular projection you are using, or you will not end up where you intend to.  Each type of chart has its own peculiarities and its own best uses.  These, for me at least, are something that is embedded in my soul.  It's almost as if I can feel the way the curved surface of the Earth is represented on the flat surface of the chart.  The idea that the Earth is actually flat is a complete nonsense to me.

edit
----
For some cartographical fun, look up the difference between the following projections (there are many others): Mercator's, Transverse Mercator's, Conic, Lambert's conic conformal, Polar
+++ Divide by cucumber error: please reinstall universe and reboot.  +++

GNU Terry Pratchett


Magdalena

#11
Quote from: Icarus on November 17, 2019, 10:13:57 PM
I have a rather large lithograph, about 20 x 30 inches, of the flat earth.  It is a sea scene with ships of the 1700s era falling off the edge.  There is one lifeboat like vessel with an outboard motor. That little boat is desperately trying not to be washed off the edge.  It is sort of hilarious

The picture has been popular for many years.  The name of the painting is: I Told You So.  My copy of the pic is nicely framed and hangs proudly on the wall behind a toilet (loo?) An appropriate place in my belief.   You can get your own copy at Amazon, I suspect.

"I've had several "spiritual" or numinous experiences over the years, but never felt that they were the product of anything but the workings of my own mind in reaction to the universe." ~Recusant

billy rubin

yez.

the flat earth theory depends on several things, most unlikely is the necessity for a massive conspiracy to falsify photography and space flight and so on.

but what interests me is that most people accept theories completely on faith, but reject contradictory theoriez that are equally founded on faith.

i am not a navigator, but its easy to zee tbat the usual "proofs" of round earth theory tbat one sees prezented are complete nonsense, but are trotted out as if they were . . . holy writ.

for example, search google for "proofs that the earth is round" i did and have opened the first search rezult, a blind test:

https://www.google.com/amp/crosstalk.cell.com/blog/seven-ways-to-prove-earth-is-round%3fhs_amp=true

take the first three proofs of the seven presented.

1. watch a ship zail off to zea, if the flag zikz below the horizon last the earth is round. if you have ever actually done this, you will find that sometimes the ship sinkz below tbe horizon and sometimez it doesnt, based on temperature interfaces and refraction. the exceptions are generally ignored, which renders this method inconcluzive.

2. watch a lunar eclipse. they zay if the shadow is round, the earth is a sphere. except a flat earth shaped like a disc will also cast a round shadow, and a disc-earth is the common model.

3. climb a tree and you can see more earth than if you were on the ground. this is true. but i have never seen a tree tall enough to give a definitive answer about a spherical earth, and it neglects the disappearance of distant objects due to atmospheric haze. like many, this last proof is just a prediction from tbeory that nobody has ever done.

so just these first three pieces of ordinary evidence dont actually prove anything, as they are dezcribed in this very firzt search rezult.  but they are commonly held to be definitive.




"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Tank

Quote from: Old Seer on November 17, 2019, 04:40:20 PM
Wouldn't it be obvious that orbiting satellites show clearly that the planet is a globe. Wouldn't orbiting a pancake shape show the other side. One must conclude that the flat earth floks have no physicists to advise them.

Satellites are not real. They are a construct of the Devil.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Dark Lightning

Satellites are actually spots on the celestial sphere made by powerful light sources powered by prehistoric gargantuan hamsters. The shape of the satellite is based on how the various sources are pointed, to make a pattern. The stars that appear to be moving are actually kids using laser pointers, sweeping them slowly across said sphere.