[Closed] Just when you think we've reached Peak Stupid

I don't know what's up with that click baity webpage but it did horrible things to my iPad.

Brilliant! Anyone who's ever sailed will know that it's not. Horizon distance is very short even over a flat sea - just keep looking for the beach and it's not visible until you're close in (~3 miles).

Either that or the lizard's mind rays are really clever.

Turtle.....elephants.........

42% of Americans
-Would Prefer Losing 1 Family Member to Gun Violence Over Stricter Gun Laws.
-Didn’t Take Any Vacation Days in 2014
-Believe Creationist View of Human Origins
-Check Their Email In The Loo
-Favour Military Takeover of US Government

Not people, but Americans...

Rorschach cannot work out if you made that up or not...

That's a spoof/pisstake website surely?

How can people intelligent enough to create such tosh, believe in it?

That's a spoof/pisstake website surely?

seems like a completely legit new source, in no way is it designed to collect click revenue 😆

Hmmm - click bait…… similar to the entire Mail online website then.

What Somafunk said.

Some people believe the Earth is flat.
Some people believe NASA faked the moon landings.
Some people believe in God.
Some people believe Elvis is still alive.
Some people believe in the existence of extra terrestrials.
Some people believe extra terrestrials built the pyramids.
Some people believe Elvis is alive because of extra terrestrial technology.

I'm bloody glad I put my faith in the tin foil lining of my bike helmet. It shields me from government / alien / GCHQ / NSA brainwave manipulation technology that turns non tinfoil hat wearing people into duped zombies / Daily Mail readers.

I think the site is legit - in that the legitimately believe these things and are your standard conspiracy nutters.

There really is some high level stupidity going on there.

I watched the balloon one, where he showed video from a balloon (once it got through all the "chem trails") that conclusively showed that the earth still appears flat if you don't go high enough.

And then I watched the "Mars is on Greenland" video where he explained that he found this big white place on Google Earth called "Greenland" that was all covered with snow (even though Ireland is right next to it and hardly gets any snow) so it is clearly hiding something. So he zoomed in (on Google Earth) and found high-res panoramic images of the secret NASA camp where they fake the Mars photos.

This one in fact:
https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/humanresearch/analogs/research_info_analog-haughton.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flashline_Mars_Arctic_Research_Station

🙄

Reading some of the YouTube comments the jeranism guy doesn't believe in space or satellites either.

Even the other conspiracy guys (who think Mars probably does exist but is full of aliens that NASA covers up) seem a bit exasperated at him.

Also what's wrong with checking email on the loo?

Any paper your side, Graham?

Moist wipe?

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Fact 1: There is a missile system.
Fact 2: Its guidance system uses a model which doesn't take account of the curvature of the earth*.

Conclusion: The earth must be flat.

* although the speaker "cannot discuss specifics, obviously..."

I'm not sure whether some more formal training in the use of logic would help here, or not.

Incidentally, I very much doubt that we're anywhere near Peak Stupid.

Global reserves of stupidity appear to be growing much faster than our consumption of stupidity. If you look at the supply graph, it's more-or-less exponential, whereas the demand/consumption line is more-or-less linear. Stupidity production probably obeys Moore's Law, whereas stupidity consumption grows largely with global human brain capacity.

If we get quantum computing before we get self-improving artificial intelligence (with the ability to de-link stupidity consumption from human biology), I reckon Peak Stupid could potentially be delayed for centuries.

"Some scientists claim that hydrogen, because it is so plentiful, is the basic building block of the universe. I dispute that. I say there is more stupidity than hydrogen, and that is the basic building block of the universe".

Frank Zappa.

I'm not sure whether some more formal training in the use of logic would help here, or not.

The flat earth thing seems easy to disprove: if the Earth is flat than tell me where the edges are so I can go and see them for myself.

But read the comments on those videos and any attempt to inject any kind of logical thinking means you must be either "a shill" or a pitiful fool who has been indoctrinated into "Sciencism" and just can't see the truth. 😯

Incidentally, I very much doubt that we're anywhere near Peak Stupid.

Global reserves of stupidity appear to be growing much faster than our consumption of stupidity.

I think it must be some kind of human sociological cycle.

We've been through a period of enlightenment with the Industrial and Electronic revolutions, but the rise of stupid and the willingness to reject basic science, plus the revival of religious fundamentalism, could suggest that we are starting to head towards our new "dark age".

The flat earth thing seems easy to disprove: if the Earth is flat than tell me where the edges are so I can go and see them for myself.

It's where the time zones change by 24 hours.

bencooper - Member
Just when you think we've reached Peak Stupid

That's a stupid thing to think...

Fact 1: There is a missile system.
Fact 2: Its guidance system uses a model which doesn't take account of the curvature of the earth*.

Conclusion: The earth must be flat.

I think the theory is not so much that the system doesn't take account of the curvature of the earth - WWI howitzers did that - it's that it doesn't take account of the Coriolis force from the spinning planet.

Which makes sense with a missile travelling at Mach 3 or whatever.

Global reserves of stupidity appear to be growing much faster than our consumption of stupidity.

Wow, I highly recommend reading some of the comments below this jeranism guys videos.

The earth is a flat disc. There are great ice walls all around the edge (which appear as "Antarctica" on those Ball-Earther models).

There is no such thing as gravity. Or relativity. Or space. Or satellites. Or stars. Or other planets.

Or the Dunning-Kruger effect. 😆

Global reserves of stupidity appear to be growing much faster than our consumption of stupidity.

Just found a nice Vsauce video that tackles some of the science and history behind the flat-earthers.

Quite interesting stuff:

I worked briefly for Carlisle Council education department and there was a young chap there who worked as a secretary. He knew I was studying Maths* at university and took me aside to ask if I'd mind checking over some of the numbers in the book he'd written called (I think) "Why Newton was a Fraud and Einstein a Fool". It turned out that not only was he a flat earther, he didn't believe in gravity, believed in phlogiston and the classical elements and he had around about 500 pages of 8pt single line spaced A4 to prove it. Sadly I never got my copy of it as it would have been absolute gold.

He was a nice chap but a bit broken. I wonder if he's still there - if anyone works for them, is there a chap in his early 30s with curly ginger hair, rusty social skills and a faraway look in his eyes knocking about?

*this didn't last

Nice Vid Graham

Like the last couple of minutes where he explained the ongoing "puzzle" that is our scientific understanding

Lolz! I live in Carlisle, one of my riding buddies is friends with a Flat Earther, his stuff pops up on my Facebook feed from time to time, proper crazy shit!! My mate engages with him and asks him the standard stuff and/or trolls him, it's brilliant! I used to work with the Flat Earther years and years ago and he never seemed that bat shit mental to me, although I was just 17 ish at the time so maybe never noticed. He did find God around about the time he started believing the Earth is flat though...

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^ Screenshot from when he was trying to use the eclipse as proof the Earth is flat. ^

I'm still learning everything as far as the flat earth theory. I do know however the bible talks about the moon giving its own light the lesser light to rule the night. So the theory that the sun lights up the moon is false.

^ And a quote from one of the comments I found amusing. ^

Probably wiser to ask why the shadow looks round

What do they say satellites are ?

Not related to flat earther's but a further illustration of how stupidity can rear its head when most unexpected.

An ex colleague of mine from a previous job who was in a normally bullish mood asked me;

"You think you're pretty fing clever don't you?

Me "Not particularly no, but I bet I'm cleverer than you" (If you showed any kind of weakness here it could ruin your week.

him "Ok, why is the sky blue then?" Totally random question considering we are in a building with no windows making aircraft parts.

me "Well, I know why the sky is blue, I would love to hear your theory though"

Him "Well, it's because it reflects of the sea isn't it you thick *" (sneery giggles looking for support from other colleagues.)

Now, I had to dig this seam a little deeper to find out what thought processes came to this conclusion. I pointed out that we are not near the sea, yet the sky is blue outside.

Him "We are on an island, with sea all around"

I kid you not.

It was only when I asked him what he thought the colour of the sky would be if we were sat in the middle of the Sahara desert did it dawn on him that he probably hadn't given this all that much thought at all.

Did I mention this guy makes parts for aircraft.

water vapour absorbs light and more blue gets through hence everything a long way away looks blueish and the sky is a long way away

I knew that one but i reckon most folk would not know it

You're all amateurs. This is the one true book of wisdom, here, free to view online, bursting with knowledge and stuff.

[url= http://www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/ ]http://www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/[/url]

Was that one of you lot commenting on the photo on Flickr or have I unwittingly picked up a weirdo? 😛

Maybe these loons are the antimatter to the matter that gives us Newton and Einstein, maybe without stupid there is no genius.

water vapour absorbs light and more blue gets through hence everything a long way away looks blueish and the sky is a long way away

I knew that one but i reckon most folk would not know it

Fair enough, I don't think that everyone would be able to put it quite so eloquently, but to ask the question in such an aggressive manner while, not only not knowing the answer but having such a remedial theory that he apparently held with conviction until challenged for like 2 seconds, tells me that this bloke was and is as stupid as they come.

What do they say satellites are ?

Seems to vary.

Some say satellites don't exist and are just another NASA hoax, like "space" and "stars".

Others concede that they do exist, but are just following a circular flight path over the Earth disc.

water vapour absorbs light and more blue gets through hence everything a long way away looks blueish and the sky is a long way away

Not correct.

An oxygen molecule is about the size of the wavelength of blue light. This means that the blue part of the sun's light is scattered around much more than the rest of it. It gets scattered around randomly, so the blue photons are bombing around all over the place and they can hit your eyes from any angle. Hence, when you look up at any angle you get blue photons, and then you see blue. The sun's light is actually white, but because some of the blue is scattered around, it looks yellow from down here.

At sunset, the sun's light goes through more oxygen (it comes at a lower angle to you) so more blue is scattered, and hence the sun looks redder. However, the light is also going through a lot more dust in the atmosphere (because the dust is mostly low down) which scatters the red light, so by the same token you get red photons coming from all angles.

Curvature of the earth is clearly visible on a clear day on the beautiful Aberdovey to Barmouth road on a very clear day. I can see three islands on the Lleyn, I thought there was only one.. keep driving, they aren't islands...

ah right process wrong thing

Stands corrected

"Ok, why is the sky blue then?"

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Science innit?

water vapour absorbs light and more blue gets through hence everything a long way away looks blueish and the sky is a long way away

Close,

Its actually nitrogen molecules that scatter the light (the air being mainly nitrogen). The blue end of the spectrum doesn't scatter as much so the sky looks blue as a result

Which is also why sunsets are red. Blue light gets scattered, leaving the red light.

Curvature of the earth is clearly visible on a clear day on the beautiful Aberdovey to Barmouth road on a very clear day. I can see three islands on the Lleyn, I thought there was only one.. keep driving, they aren't islands...

You can also stand by the seashore on a clear calm day and hold a longish straight edge up against the horizon.

Can we make our minds up what scatters the light?

You can also stand by the seashore on a clear calm day and hold a longish straight edge up against the horizon.

Bullshit, I have proof!!!1!1!1!one!!!

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BigButSlimmerBloke:

Health & Safety innit? Designed to keep stupid people alive and allowing them to breed, H&S ensures Peak Stupidity is not on the immediate event horizon.

but HR proves it must be just within reach, surely?

Rachel

Last one, maybe.

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Its actually nitrogen molecules that scatter the light (the air being mainly nitrogen). The blue end of the spectrum doesn't scatter as much so the sky looks blue as a result

No - the sky is black, and it's the *more* scattered blue light that makes it look blue.

what about this then: [img] [/img]

Pretty sure thats round not "flat"

Why is it that flat earthers always visualise the earth as being round? What's wrong with a square or a triangle?

[i]Why is it that flat earthers always visualise the earth as being round? [/i]

I blame Terry Pratchett.

[quote=aracer opined]Why is it that flat earthers always visualise the earth as being round? What's wrong with a square or a triangle?

You deviant weirdo burn the heretic witch

I'm liking that last one ^^ monkeyfudger

Like many flat-earthers he has clearly never been in a moving vehicle.

"If this train is travelling at 100mph then how can I take pictures of those distant hills without it being all blurry."

"Also how come I can stand up without being thrown violently against the back of the train? Eh?"

"Clearly the train is stationary."

😆

Why is it that flat earthers always visualise the earth as being round? What's wrong with a square or a triangle?

it's about the least absurd logical fallacy.

Can we make our minds up what scatters the light?

Just stumbled across this:

When the sun's light reaches the Earth's atmosphere it is scattered, or deflected, by the tiny molecules of gas (mostly nitrogen and oxygen) in the air. Because these molecules are much smaller than the wavelength of visible light, the amount of scattering depends on the wavelength. This effect is called Rayleigh scattering, named after Lord Rayleigh who first discovered it.

Shorter wavelengths (violet and blue) are scattered the most strongly, so more of the blue light is scattered towards our eyes than the other colours. You might wonder why the sky doesn't actually look purple, since violet light is scattered even more strongly than blue. This is because there isn't as much violet in sunlight to start with, and our eyes are much more sensitive to blue.

[url] http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/learn-about-the-weather/how-weather-works/why-is-the-sky-blue [/url]

Why is it that flat earthers always visualise the earth as being round?

Because it "explains" how we can circumnavigate the Earth - we're just travelling in circles.

What I want to know is: what's on the other side??

There isn't another side, it's turtles all the way down.

By the way, in those figures above it says the entire Milky Way galaxy is going at 670,000,000 mph.

That doesn't seem right - the speed of light is 671,000,000mph!

Not sure what the correct "official" speed is, but 1.3 million mph seems to come up a fair bit on Google (e.g. https://astrosociety.org/edu/publications/tnl/71/howfast.html )

Just a few moar because Lolz!

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Can we do dinosaurs or Noah's Ark next?

Please, please, pretty plase.

Are Graham S's videos on the first page actually, really genuine?! If so, for the first time in my life and quite probably the last, I almost feel intelligent. Unbelievable!

I stumbled across some similarly batshit mental conspiracy theorist, she'd commented on a video posted on Facebook by some friend of a friend type thing.

The video itself was to do with the atmosphere (something legitimate about climate change) but that brought her onto chemtrails and Government conspiracies to control the population and how even if you took the battery out of your mobile, NSA/FBI/CIA could still listen to everything you were saying via a direct microphone which beamed your conversation direct to their supercomputers which could track the movements of millions of people simultaneously and ... and ... and...

Basically it was all because NASA were trying to control the atmosphere because they had to try and pretend that the moon landings were real.

[quote=slowoldgit opined]Can we do dinosaurs or Noah's Ark next?
Please, please, pretty plase.

aim higher
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Easy

[IMG] [/IMG]

How thick is the earth disc?

Not quite as thick as most of the people mentioned on this thread

Man tries to put out a fire by driving over it in his truck. Which was full of ammunition.

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Because I know you lot were wondering.

😛

For teh Lolz.

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Not just Flat Earth theories!

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