Current Events > I don't get the flat earth model

(+) Yeah! (+)

I see this diagram of the sun hovering over a disc and illuminating only half the disc at any given time, to represent night/day. But why is the light arbitrarily stopping at the halfway point? Light doesn't work that way.

Isn't the whole "flat earth" thing just a big joke like that "birds aren't real" subreddit?

It started out as a joke, but now there are a significant number of people who actually believe it.

Fun fact: most people knew the Earth was round during Columbus's time. The reason no one believed he could sail across the ocean was not because they thought it was flat, but because the world was far too large to make the journey before running out of food and water. Which would have absolutely been the case were the Americas not in the way.

Use a flashlight in the dark on a wall.
Does the whole wall light up or only where you point the flashlight?

ANort175 posted...

Isn't the whole "flat earth" thing just a big joke like that "birds aren't real" subreddit?

I think people are genuine. Flat earth beliefs usually overlap with Christian loonies and other conspiracy theory stuff like Sandy Hook false flags and COVID.

Yea but flashlight point in a direction. It's more like having a torch lit in a dark room.

Flat earth is dumb, even ancient Egyptians and Greeks knew the earth was round (although they didn't have the concept of revolving around the sun)

give expanding earth a try
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJfBSc6e7QQ

It's a bizarre "plausible, but unlikely" bullshit theory.

They don't see a Curve or feel the earth moving. So it's flat and all evidence to the contrary are lies told to control us.

Robot2600 posted...

Flat earth is dumb, even ancient Egyptians and Greeks knew the earth was round (although they didn't have the concept of revolving around the sun)

This. That's how ancient navigation techniques worked.
Which means not only are flat-Earthers fucking embarrassing but if they had any self-awareness they'd be just as embarrassed as we are - they live in the 21st century with the proverbial Library of Alexandria in their pocket, yet their general knowledge is more than two thousand years out of date.

And why aren't the other planetary bodies flat?

pokedude900 posted...

It started out as a joke, but now there are a significant number of people who actually believe it.

Fun fact: most people knew the Earth was round during Columbus's time. The reason no one believed he could sail across the ocean was not because they thought it was flat, but because the world was far too large to make the journey before running out of food and water. Which would have absolutely been the case were the Americas not in the way.

Yea, things were already getting bleak by the time he reached the Caribbean. He never would have made the distance if the Atlantic & Pacific were one mega ocean.

I have a mate who's a JW who claims it's all about something called the firmament.

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

bfslick50 posted...

And why aren't the other planetary bodies flat?

Do they even acknowledge the existence of other planets?

Dark_Arbron posted...

Do they even acknowledge the existence of other planets?

Bare minimum what shape do they attribute to the sun and moon?

lilORANG posted...

I see this diagram of the sun hovering over a disc and illuminating only half the disc at any given time, to represent night/day. But why is the light arbitrarily stopping at the halfway point? Light doesn't work that way.

They think of it as more of a spotlight.

They read Bible passages in Genesis as telling of a firm ceiling, above which heaven exists.

Other Bible passages mention "a tent with us as grasshoppers in the tent"

ANort175 posted...

Isn't the whole "flat earth" thing just a big joke like that "birds aren't real" subreddit?

Unfortunately no.

While a portion do claim both of those things as a joke, the problem is conspiracy nuts are not bright. So what some tell as a joke, many take seriously.

Flat earthers, you're wrong.
Sphere earthers, you're also wrong.
The Earth is actually shaped like a Bagel.

I wouldnt mind a flat earth. Getting to space would be easier if gravity only worked on the disc. Of course space front property would be hoarded by the rich.

Foppe posted...

Use a flashlight in the dark on a wall.
Does the whole wall light up or only where you point the flashlight?

This is definitely a thing that you posted

pokedude900 posted...

Fun fact: most people knew the Earth was round during Columbus's time.

The ancient Greeks proved we were a globe. It was never doubted at all afaik.

Pretty sure the classic response is some bullshit regarding the incorrect usage of the words "refraction" and "electromagnetism".

RyukSan posted...

Unfortunately no.

While a portion do claim both of those things as a joke, the problem is conspiracy nuts are not bright. So what some tell as a joke, many take seriously.

Too many tell themselves "they're just jokin"

Unfortunately... no.

Funkydog posted...

The ancient Greeks proved we were a globe. It was never doubted at all afaik.

Yeah, despite the line in Men in Black 500 years ago everybody knew the Earth was flat. Whoops.

Dan Olsen has a good video on flat earth and his take, which I think is probably correct, is that most flat earthers don't believe in it because they really think it makes more sense than the earth being round. Rather, they believe it because they want to think that the people running society are hiding the true nature of the natural world from the general population and that they are among the few people who have seen through the deception.

UnsteadyOwl posted...

Dan Olsen has a good video on flat earth and his take, which I think is probably correct, is that most flat earthers don't believe in it because they really think it makes more sense than the earth being round. Rather, they believe it because they want to think that the people running society are hiding the true nature of the natural world from the general population and that they are among the few people who have seen through the deception.

cool shortcut

bfslick50 posted...

And why aren't the other planetary bodies flat?

The ones Ive met say its because the Earth is special. The Sun, Moon, and planets are balls that orbit the flat Earth. They know those are spheres because you can see it.

How I feel about flat earth is actually been my pinned tweet for over six years now:

https://twitter.com/fretzy99/status/891093787832983552?s=46&t=vUqPoY4pdaiClMgJXvHTog

Flat earth is an ancient virw.

And biblical passages too.

Euripides posted...

This is definitely a thing that you posted

I don't think the person who posted this actually believes this, they're just saying that this is what a flat earther would tell you. And yeah, of course it's stupid, but then so is everything else flat earthers come up with to explain their belief.

lilORANG posted...

I see this diagram of the sun hovering over a disc and illuminating only half the disc at any given time, to represent night/day. But why is the light arbitrarily stopping at the halfway point? Light doesn't work that way.

https://youtu.be/JDy95_eNPzM?si=vXhHLO4PJndVSbz9

This Professor Dave video sums it up pretty early when he says "Therein lies the problem with the Flat Earth model: you don't have one".

And flat earthers use these Bible passages, and more, to start their argument.

Isaiah 40:22

22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in

Matthew 4:8

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor

Revelation 7:1

1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree

punkfanalways posted...

I have a mate who's a JW who claims it's all about something called the firmament.

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

Job 37:18
18 can you join him in spreading out the skies, hard as a mirror of cast bronze

This is a backup line that supports genesis lines about a firm sky, a firmament.

pokedude900 posted...

Fun fact: most people knew the Earth was round during Columbus's time. The reason no one believed he could sail across the ocean was not because they thought it was flat, but because the world was far too large to make the journey before running out of food and water. Which would have absolutely been the case were the Americas not in the way.

also fun fact, Columbus thought the world was much smaller than it is, and for reasons i don't remember, pearshaped

creativerealms posted...

They don't see a Curve or feel the earth moving. So it's flat and all evidence to the contrary are lies told to control us.

That's why flat earthers cant be taken seriously. Our sensations are one of the worst deceivers and red herrings to discovering the truth. Not to mention there are so many phenomena that can't even be observed or detected by human senses alone.

Robot2600 posted...

Yea but flashlight point in a direction. It's more like having a torch lit in a dark room.

But how true to reality is the resultant geometry of a torch against a disc? What is the area of such a spotlight on a disc, versus the area of a spotlight on a sphere? Which is closer to reality? These are easy measurements that can verified. no amount of secret government conspiracy can hide such simple experiments.

but also lol that governments want to hide the truth about earth being flat. What's the advantage of claiming the world is spherical instead of flat?

If Earth was flat, cats would have pushed everything off the edge by now.

Since most flat earthers seem to be Christian, im guessing the reason for government deception, is probably to do with the devil. They probably think that since the Bible says earth is flat, anyone who disagrees is working with the devil to trick Christians