[Closed] These make the truthers look sensible

Holy shitcakes.

Next question - what effect does 'social media' have on the younger generation's ability to relate, to process data and make sense of the greater World?

Bearing in mind a lot of the in people in the linked video are old. Does that mean they are *more* vulnerable to social media than their grandkids? Or would they have been quackers whatever? Or is this some deep-parody performance art?

They guy with his discworld-esque* dioramap - describing how the hovering sun moves around over the 'centre' so the 'edges' remain cold? 😯

*Terry giggles from his grave.

Happy the Artist's shoes say it all really. Ooh aren't I wacky! Or just stupid.

The Woman with the Ruler really needs to publish a paper of her incredible findings. Seriously WTF how can people be this stupid.

I was going to post that link but thought better of it...

[i]The Woman with the Ruler really needs to publish a paper of her incredible findings. Seriously WTF how can people be this stupid. [/i]

Can't argue with the logic . . .

She took "a straight edge" (probably a meter long?) and checked the horizon with it. They looked the same.

Simples.

If the world was truly flat, why would anyone try and convince anyone otherwise? I cannot find an argument where it would be a benefit to anyone to keep this conspiracy going.

The Earth isn't flat, it's a [url= http://web.archive.org/web/20030219072854/http://timecube.com:80/ ]cube![/url]

I like the "ice pond" theory:

[img] https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-c57828dc26b550ee91a3cc9ab42796a9 [/img]

Especially when you get that surface of ice with thawed ponds, and put it on a sphere...

This just reinforces that 9 11 was a conspiracy.
With the earth being flat we should have seen the planes coming from [i]miles[/i] away, yet we didn't, WHY?

And I never posted twice, makes you think.

Flat Earthers are fascinating.

They often pop up on anything space-related on Facebook or YouTube (e.g. NASA videos) and I've had many long conversation/debates with them.

Some of their logic is quite spectacular.

BUT... it can actually be quite an interesting pedagogical exercise as [i]sometimes[/i] the smarter ones ask questions that make you go [i]"Hmmm... yeah... why is that...?"[/i] which sends you down an interesting Google warren.

Why pick on the flat earthers? there are still plenty of people who are equally deluded and still believe in creationism who are not seen on the same level as bonkers-ness as someone who believes the earth is flat....and it is still taught in some schools in this country as a viable alternative to the 'theory of evolution'. Unbelievable.

and these people can vote

Its all the fault of Big Pharma! Belief in the flat earth theory cures aids, cancer and Lyme disease.

I had a client the other day tell me the world was flat. Along with stories that the smithsonian institute destroyed the skeletons of 36ft giants that used to roam earth, there's another sun hiding behind the one you can see, the moon is a hologram put there by NASA and the pores in our skin are 5g receptors so we will all fry.

In the past he's been quite a grounded fella....

Why pick on the flat earthers? there are still plenty of people who are equally deluded and still believe in creationism

Because, technically, you can't disprove creationism, whereas you can easily disprove the flat Earth theory.

Why pick on the flat earthers?

Proving the earth is not flat also proves the earth is not flat. There is only one possibility. So in proving evolution and how the earth was formed as well as the 'big bang' we similarly disprove creationism. Science doesn't 'disprove' stuff, it just proves stuff.

I like that American rapper B.o.B. who wants to prove the earth's flat. By launching satellites. Into orbit.

No, I don't know either.

Fanatical Flat Earthers launch weather balloons with cameras to "prove" the earth is flat.

If the horizon is above the mid point in the lens they dismiss the visible curvature as lens distortion. If it is below the mid point then they take screenshots and frantically draw lots of lines to show how flat it is. 🙄

Having just scrolled up the page and glanced at the "ice pond" pic - it looked upside down, briefly. Made me think - I wonder if a lot of these weirdos just can't get their head around gravity. So if the Earth is a flat plate, nothing can fall off. If it's a globe, some of the stuff on it is like, sideways or upside down.
Eeeh.

As a boat sails off into the distance, it sinks below the horizon.

How do they explain that?

Falls off, dunnit. Have you ever seen one come back?

I wonder if a lot of these weirdos just can't get their head around gravity.

Some don't accept the current scientific explanation of gravity - they believe the force is caused by the disc Earth accelerating upwards (yes I know!)

As a boat sails off into the distance, it sinks below the horizon.
How do they explain that?

Generally they talk about "perspective" and the "fact" that the apparent horizon always rises up to eye level.

If I was rich I'd take them all on a boat to the edge, if I'm right then they'll have to believe it. If they're right well......

They believe the edge is Antarctica and you can't get to it because of the giant ice walls.

Apparently this is why it is "impossible" to fly over Antarctica (despite the fact that people have done it and commercial airlines schedule regular flights that would be impossible with giant ice walls blocking the way)

And boats that go from Russia to Alaska?

Oh that still works. They generally favour a map something like this:

[img] [/img]

The fact that this looks like the UN logo is further "proof" of course.

And boats that go from Russia to Alaska?

Well that's easy, you're just picturing it wrong...

[s]Take a globe and instead of unrolling it flat like an atlas, leave the arctic (or Antarctic) as is and open the globe out from the opposing pole, i.e. one pole forms the boundary of circle with a centre at the other pole.[/s]

edit: What Graham posted

Apparently this is why it is "impossible" to fly over Antarctica (despite the fact that people have done it and commercial airlines schedule regular flights that would be impossible with giant ice walls blocking the way)

That's a point - airlines like to fly on a great circle as its the shortest point between any two places on a globe. If the earth was flat, their routes would actually be larges curves. So they'd be wasting a lot of fuel.

Are the airlines in on this conspiracy?

how do they deal with the SI of a metre changing as you head away from the Arctic?

Are the airlines in on this conspiracy?

Of course! Duh! That's why they fit that glass on planes that makes the horizon look curved.

Example: you can book direct 12h 30m flights from Sidney, Australia to Santiago in Chile.

Watch some FEers (and baller trolls) debate this:
https://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forum/index.php?topic=62950.0

Some excerpts:

1 in 4 world-wide flights were delayed. Weather conditions, or a slight misunderstanding of the earth's shape?
..
the obvious answer is that the maps we're spoon fed are wrong. are there jet streams (an obvious fantasy), or is it to compensate for the fact two places are closer than the round earth map says?
..
in addition, pilots will want money too. we aren't told the full capabilities of their planes, and they adapt the speed they fly at accordingly.
..
the problem is that we don't know what the real map looks like. Consequently, we can't estimate any distances within the FE model. This doesn't mean that the Earth is not flat though.
..
how could anyone know where the edge is? nasa wouldn't give full details even to their employees.
we can't work on a better map when every effort is obstructed, and all information given to us is lies.
..
there are hundreds of flat earthers and yet not one is allowed to be a pilot. might want to think about that. perfect proof of the conspiracy. go into any field where flat earth theory could be disproven, and you're not going to find a flat earther. why?

As I say. It's fascinating.

If the earth was really flat cats would have pushed everything off the edge by now

Apparently this is why it is "impossible" to fly over Antarctica (despite the fact that people have done it and commercial airlines schedule regular flights that would be impossible with giant ice walls blocking the way)
That's a point - airlines like to fly on a great circle as its the shortest point between any two places on a globe. If the earth was flat, their routes would actually be larges curves. So they'd be wasting a lot of fuel.

Are the airlines in on this conspiracy?

Airlines often don't fly in great circles over the poles due to the prohibitive costs of the required emergency gear. Which lends false credence to the flat earthers, and indeed supports the idea that the airlines are in on the conspiracy (probably because they profit so much from the chemtrails and stuff).

If I can see a photo of the underside, I will sign up immediately.

I'm confused.

How can it be an annual conference if this is the first?

If I can see a photo of the underside, I will sign up immediately.

It's just a turtle 🙄

go into any field where flat earth theory could be disproven, and you're not going to find a flat earther. why?

This - this is insane.

All up the A9 written on the back of road signs it says "The Earth is Flat" - ergo is true.

I went into a field near my village, I couldn't prove the earth wasn't flat.

Makes you think...

It's just a turtle

Don't forget the elephants...

My favourite puzzle for a flatty:

In the Northern Hemisphere anyone can go out with a camera on a clear night, point it northwards and take long exposure photos of star trails like this

[img] [/img]

which appears to show rotation around Polaris, the pole star. If the Earth isn't spinning then is it the sky/dome that spins?

In the Southern Hemisphere you can't see Polaris in the night sky. Which seems a bit odd. But you can see the Southern Cross. And taking a star trail photo there shows rotation around Sigma Octantis instead:

[img] [/img]

If the rotation is just due to the dome spinning, then how is it spinning around two different points at the same time?

And why can everyone towards the outer edge of the disc-Earth see the Southern Cross, but not Polaris?

The irony is that no one ever really believed the earth was flat. Yet despite evidence to that effect, folks still like to believe that they did!

Oh they believe alright Charlie.

There are some that just do it to troll, but they are fairly easy to spot.

The true believers tend to either be religious literalists, who say the Bible describes a dome and firmament, and that the round Earth is just a Freemason conspiracy for Satan; or your standard conspiracy nutjobs who will talk about NASA funding and government shills and will often drag in other conspiracies like chemtrails etc.

Sure, but it has never been a commonly held belief, even in antiquity.

It has enjoyed various levels of belief I think.

A lot of FE'ers still cite the [url= https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedford_Level_experiment ]Bedford Level Experiment[/url] performed in 1838 and later published in the book "Earth Not a Globe", which demonstrated that you could see a flag six miles away across still water, even though it "should" be 11 feet below the horizon on the ball earth "model".

[img] [/img]

It then resurfaced in 1904 when Lady Elizabeth Anne Blount repeated it with a telephoto lens.

[img] [/img]

Do they believe other planets are flat, or is it just the earth?

Some of them believe that the "celestial bodies" (not "planets") are round. Though they are usually described as being much closer than science would claim.

Others don't believe in space at all. It's all just on the dome.

What? Painted on? Waiting for Trump to put one of them in charge of NASA.

Take your pick: holes in the dome, projections, lasers, holograms from the moon, glimpses of heaven.

When presented with the star trails problem above I had one FE'er tell me that it couldn't be explained because God made the Dome and it is therefore beyond our understanding.

Tough to argue with that logic! 😆

That Bedford Level experiment is one of my favourite episodes in the flat earth craziness- in 1838 you could be forgiven for thinking that they were right! 🙂

These are my new favourite [s]nutters[/s] people with a different reality 😀

I had a client the other day tell me the world was flat.

There was one on 5-Live this afternoon. Very sincere in his beliefs he seemed. I couldn't detect a note of sarcasm in his voice which I found very troubling.

Plenty of them on YouTube if you care to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

I recommend "Orphan Red" as she is one that can actually pose questions that might make you scratch your head for a bit. (Ignore her [s]annoying[/s] unique "ditzy" presenting style - she's not nearly as dim as she pretends).

https://www.youtube.com/user/SecretCherryKiss

She needs to point and jump more...

I recommend "Orphan Red"

I lasted maybe 30 seconds before her voice made me want to kill kittens

Some don't accept the current scientific explanation of gravity - they believe the force is caused by the disc Earth accelerating upwards (yes I know!)

So anyone care to work out what our current instantaneous velocity is (roughly)?

Anyone seen the videos on YouTube where the experimenters take a spirit level on a plane and ‘prove’ the earth is flat because the bubble is in the middle when placed on a horizontal object, rather than showing the plane dropping its nose to match the curve of the earth.

Apparently gravity doesnt apply to commercial aircraft...

So anyone care to work out what our current instantaneous velocity is (roughly)?

Relative to what?

Well given that, according to some Flat Earther alternate-gravity theory, the speed the disc earth is travelling upwards at has been increasing at 9.80665 m/s for however long they choose the Earth to be.

Even if "gravity" only started when I was born, we should be doing about 43 times the speed of light by now. 😆

And they think water sticking to a spinning ball is silly!

If the world [i]is[/i] flat, how come cats don’t knock things over the edge all the time?

Cat proof ice walls silly.

there are hundreds of flat earthers and yet not one is allowed to be a pilot. might want to think about that. perfect proof of the conspiracy. go into any field where flat earth theory could be disproven, and you're not going to find a flat earther. why?

Polaris is a good one. Travel south, it gets closer to the horizon, eventually going below it. That alone is proof.

But my favourite is driving up the A493 northwards towards Barmouth. What looks like a series of islands is gradually revealed to be a string of mountains on land.

Are you a psychiatrist?

They've discovered us, quick - pull out the platters/hamsters from the STW server and burn them with thermite, from orbit preferably.

All up the A9 written on the back of road signs it says "The Earth is Flat"

I teach Geography in Inverness and I've had to deal with the fall out of that. 2 minutes with an inflatable globe, something to stand in for a ship and the projector to cast a shadow does the trick.

There's also one that reads 'The earht is flat' but I'll leave that for the English teachers to sort out.

Don't forget the elephants...

Nope, it's turtles all the way down...

2 minutes with an inflatable globe,

Can you explain further Spin?

Showing them ship disappearing on the horizon? Or showing shadows from the ship?

Grahams- non believer.....

Can you explain further Spin

I’ve no idea how ace a geography teacher spin is, but when he explains it, it’ll be like night and day.

I’ve no idea how ace a geography teacher spin is, but when he explains it, it’ll be like night and day.

Their explanation for night and day is [i]interesting[/i]* too.

Usually something along the lines of the Sun being much, much closer than science states, actually inside the "dome" just above the clouds, as "proven" by pictures like this:

[img] [/img]

It moves in large circles above the disc and, for some unfathomable reason, is very directional like a desk lamp.

[img] [/img]

* (i.e. completely barking)

I might go all in on flat earthism, its so bonkers, it's hard not to love them the little scamps.

Someone at one of the stores I deliver to is convinced the world is flat.
To reinforce his opinion when he brings up the subject he bangs on about all these internet sites he's been on that prove the Earth is flat.IMHO that's one of the main problems with the web,people use it to reinforce their opinions not to question them or listen to the alternative view.
He's also a major pot head so I guess that's also affecting his rationale...

I might go all in on flat earthism, its so bonkers, it's hard not to love them the little scamps.

It just makes me think I need to start my own cult.

I could then base it in the US and register as a religion to get tax breaks. It worked for Hubbard.

How do they explain Coriolis force and differences between hemispheres? And the fact that water goes straight down the plughole only on the equator?

https://www.theflatearthsociety.org/forum/index.php?topic=54949.0

Is there a head flat earther? Like the pope, for these folk?

I wish to petition NASA to take him/her into space and film the realisation of his/her stupidity.