Whatever you do(or don't do), it can put a strain on working relationships and even friendships if you're not careful. Approximately a month ago, a friend/colleague turned to me, and with the straightest of faces, told me this: "The earth is flat, bro'".
To back up a bit, this was in response to a part of a previous conversation in which I was being summoned to "write about" a "flat earth". Those who follow me closely might be able to figure out what the context is here. Naturally my response to being summoned to do this was to ask this person if they meant to mock the idea of a flat earth, because I am surely capable of that.
Welp, no, they were serious, and my heart sank when it hit me that they were not kidding. All I could do at that point was to literally put my face in my hands and utter out loud, "Oh, god....no. No, no, no, NO!"
A few minutes of passionately exchanged ideas took place..i.e....they, offering why science is wrong and how "we've been lied to"; me, why science is right and how the dots are never connected with conspiracy theorists. And, well, they're not connected. What the hell does anyone stand to gain by keeping the true shape of the planet from you, me, and everyone else? No satisfactory answer.
And then some rather obvious questions come up, such as why there are time zones if the earth is flat. How is it that during a lunar eclipse we can actually witness the earth's shadow against the moon, and this shadow is curved? Not to mention, in a flat earth model the earth never even gets between the sun and moon.
Entertaining their hypothesis, if the earth has "edges", why on earth(no pun), in this day and age, where nearly everyone has a camera at their finger tips in their waking hours, has no one ever, not once, taken a video or picture of the "edges" of the earth?
Well, well, it's because the entire North Pole, which the flat-earther believes goes around the entire circumference of the flat, pancake earth, is a heavily guarded "no fly zone". That's why.
IOW, you've now entered the flat earth apologetics zone. Why do we have hundreds of thousands of pictures taken by NASA depicting a spherical planet? They're "faked", that's why. How is it I can be flying over seas and look out a 747's window at a really high altitude and see a curved horizon? Oh, it's because the plane's windows are curved, which creates a fish eye effect, and subsequently this distorts what I'm seeing. I'm dead serious. You can't make this up. ...::sigh::
Fortunately, the subject has not come up since then.
Would removing the turtle and elephants really make it less outrageous?
14 comments:
I've witnessed this phenomenon on some of the "Free thinking" group pages on social networks where a rash of these "free thinkers" are forcefully positing the flat earth meme. I honestly don't know how one combats it when someone willfully chooses to ignore the evidence right in front of their eyes. THat said, it almost seems like "mass trolling" ... I guess since they can't get attention any other way, ... as one popular meme says "They've gone 'full retard'" with over the top outrageousness.
Funny that with all this technology that they don't even question, that the shape of the earth is the "questionable" topic of the day ... I guess you could always point out that Lord Cheeto (45), who is very likely this person's hero and savior, believes the earth is round when he acknowledges that "GLOBAL" warming is a Chinese hoax.
... another thought is to ask the question - "If photos of the earth show it as "flat" ... where are the rest of the continents?"
... also ... why is there no documentation of "Circumference Guard"? One would think that this could be easily verified ... and why haven't we ever heard of someone who works for said guard force? If there was such a thing it would have to be one of the greatest multinational endeavors throughout all of history. And think about that for a moment ... "Area 51" is said to not exist and yet we have TV shows about the area presenting evidence of it's existence by demonstrating the security around the area - Video, signage, pictures fencing, etc ... and yet, throughout ALL of recorded history, not one single solitary "The Earth ends in 500 feet, Keep Out" sign has even been suggested to exist.
See, this isn't really even a science question - it's an observation question ... we can demonstrate the spherical earth and then test and measure it scientifically ... same "could" be done with the edge of the flat earth ... get a picture and collect your Nobel Prize.
I must confess that up until recently the only organization I knew of that posited a flat earth was the Flat Earth Society, which I've always thought of as a fringe cult. Then in the last year or so there was a rapper who was a flat earther, then even more recently, an acquaintance that you and I have in common from back in the day(initials F.L.) posted something about it on FB. But the incident I describe in the post involves someone else, not them.
I honestly don't know how one combats it when someone willfully chooses to ignore the evidence right in front of their eyes
Here's the rub, and I hate to use the term, but it fits: They believe in alternative evidence. They use science selectively while claiming to be skeptics, so of course they end up with their own "evidence" that they believe refutes the colloquial "spherical earth" model. IOW, they cherry pick, which we both know is a form of subjective validation. All conspiracy theorists do it.
For example, flat earthers claim that if you film a ship sailing away at sea, that, sure, it seems to disappear bottom first, and mast last, but that this is just "perspective"; that the person filming it can simply zoom in on the ship and it becomes fully visible again. They attempt to demonstrate this in one video by conducting an experiment in which a man walks away from the camera, and as he appears to start disappearing legs first the further he goes down the road, they zoom in on him and he becomes fully visible again. And voila! Flat earth!
But guess what they ignore? Yes, you guessed it! Distance! Eventually both a ship sailing away and a man walking away will completely disappear if you keep repeating the zooming process long enough. Why? Well of course, because the earth is round. So, while they use science..e.g.."perspective", they completely leave out distance; they totally ignore the enormity of the earth.
"If photos of the earth show it as 'flat' ... where are the rest of the continents?"
Sad to say, but in short order you'll get stopped at "photos of the earth". They tell you that the earth has never been photographed from space, and that every, single photo depicting a spherical earth(or other round planet) has been "faked". Yes, I'm dead serious. But what's especially mind-blowing is that one of the main pieces of evidence that they'll cite for a flat earth is some pictures circulating on the internet in which the sun is depicted with clouds both in front of it, and behind it. The clouds behind the sun is supposedly the damning evidence, because if the sun was really about 93 million miles away, there's no way clouds could be behind it.
Now, your guess is as good as mine when it comes to how a close sun proves a flat earth, but it appears to be tied to the bible, and when you dig deep enough into this, this is what you'll find. This is people trying to get "Genesis" validated by "science". Oh. Em. Gee!
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/03/19/what-is-going-on-in-the-nba-now-even-shaq-thinks-the-world-is-flat/
I was going to comment about sportsballer Kyrie Irving on how he might be about the most visibly famous person to take the "Flat Earth" position ... only to discover that now Shaq is on board that crazy train.
I guess we'll have to "reserve judgment" until we get those pictures of "End of the world" signs and see documentation of the "Edge of the world Protection from falling in the void accidentally" patrol force.
... until such time, I'm Team Globe ;)
Edge of the world Protection from falling in the void accidentally
Funny stuff, but that's not exactly why the edge of the world, aka the North Pole, is (supposedly) heavily guarded. See, it's not guarded so that no one falls over the edge; it's guarded because of the conspiracy to keep us from knowing that the real shape of the earth is flat. If anyone SAW the edges with their own eyes? Well, c'mon, then it would leak, and before you know it, it would no longer be a secret that the earth is "flat". The cat would be out of the bag and we'd all be forced to change our minds about it. Dead. Serious.
"... but that's not exactly why the edge of the world, aka the North Pole, is (supposedly) heavily guarded."
Fair point ... BUT ... accordingly it IS heavily "guarded" ... so my major point is, where is the evidence for this guard, guard force, barriers, obstructions etc. No signs not fences no armed or unarmed guards no drones, no robots no missiles, machine guns ... nothing ... not one scintilla of evidence that the area approaching the end of the world is in any way obstructed by an ETERNALLY INTERNATIONAL force or agreement.
Who is keeping this secret? - and remember, this HAS to be a consortium that has existed since the beginning of human consciousness.
That being said ... what would be the huge problem from "knowing" the truth of the earth being flat? In all honesty, I'm extremely ignorant of the "Flat Earth" conspiracy so when I ask these questions, I really am clueless. I guess as a "Globalist" or a "Baller", I've dunk deeply from the round vat of koolaid. And once one excludes all the evidence from airplane, space and satellites, I just don't know, first hand, the mathematical and scientific evidence/arguments that demonstrate the "ball" position. although I can go out in the back yard with my telescope and see how stars rotate in the sky and how different stars become visible during different seasons ... I don't know how to produce a coherent model to demonstrate the round earth position ... but I fully believe that even the evidence I can experience is enough to make the round earth a confident position to hold.
I find it a fun and interesting exercise to engage because it reminds us to make sure the positions we hold are, in fact, based on observation and evidence ... in other words, it's good practice ... like calibrating instruments ... or tuning a guitar every so often even if it doesn't "seem" to be out of key/tune at the time when we do it.
Totally off the topic, are you guys still on the same practice schedule? I really do want to come up and hang out again some evening ... especially after the hockey season ends
I don't know if you've found this in your investigation ... but here's a link to a video series that lays out the evidence relying on non NASA generated evidence/science ... I haven't finished watching it all yet but I'm posting it to you anyway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9ksbh88OJs&list=PLAbO4DdyTGZpp-IOSB7qUbb_QYYg9ZA9B
so my major point is, where is the evidence for this guard, guard force, barriers, obstructions etc.
As you point out, there isn't any. But as we both know, a lack of evidence for something doesn't stop people from believing it despite the lack of evidence. Where's the evidence for "creation" by invisible, conscious creator-beings? Same deal, there isn't any, so creationists spend their time attacking evolution thinking that this will make their "creation" hunch true by default. Same fallacious reasoning for flat earthers; they spend all their time attacking a spherical earth model thinking that if they can put enough holes in it that a flat earth model becomes the default, "true" earth model.
Who is keeping this secret?
According to them, NASA, but this would have to include NASA being in cahoots with every other space program around the globe, even those that are privately run. It's utter lunacy.
what would be the huge problem from "knowing" the truth of the earth being flat?
Reasonable question. Their mindset is that since a flat earth model coincides with and substantiates the bible, that, oh, NASA is therefore evil; they have a sinister agenda and want to keep the truth of the bible suppressed. You know, it's all part of the conspiracy.
Totally off the topic, are you guys still on the same practice schedule?
Yeah, but we're in writing mode. IOW, we come in, bust out 3-4 old songs, and then move right into new material, which could be boring because arranging means playing stuff over and over and over. Notwithstanding, spectators still show up, so feel free.
I don't know if you've found this in your investigation ... but here's a link to a video series that lays out the evidence relying on non NASA generated evidence/science
Yup. I was watching that one just the other day.
NASA, but this would have to include NASA being in cahoots with every other space program around the globe
Ya think we should clue them in that NASA and the realistic concept for space flight has only been around for 70 years or so? I mean, with the flat world being over 6000 years old and all, how do they account for the other 5930 years of "hiding" the edge of the world from humanity? ... or maybe, that why the Midionites and the Amalakites, etc. had to be silenced!
and ... my brother brought up an interesting question ... if the world is flat, like a coin ... what's on the other side? ... and to expand on that excellent question ... how thick is the world slab and can we drill through it?
I can't emphasize enough how much the fact that NASA has only been around since the 1950's ... surely in the world history of exploration SOMEONE had to find the edge of the world at some point ... so how did they (whoever the hell THAT might be) get feudal kings, Pharoahs, Sultans, Aztecs and all the other different civilizations to agree to an unending pact to hide the edge of the world ... you know, before NASA?
"... or maybe, that why the Midionites and the Amalakites, etc. had to be silenced!"
Oh, sure...become a flat earth apologist, why don't cha? = P
Ha! :D
I guess I shouldn't give them any ideas, should I? :P
Uh, no. lol
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