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Why have flat-Earth theories become so prominent?


Cheval

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I am getting non-stop youtube updates from a comment thread discussing the possibility that the Earth is flat. The proponents of this theory appear, to me, to be supremely confident in the veracity of their "logic" and condescending towards any and all alternative viewpoints - even as people call them idiots and apply scientific methods and articles towards their refutation.

 

There is a prominent community dedicated to this theory's proof and publication. 

 

And most adherents seemingly attribute spiritual and political significance to it, tacitly implying that amorphous "elites" have fabricated all of the scientific achievements of mankind in order to impose celestial worship among atheists and enslave people, either because satan or because profit. 

 

Why has this become so prominent?

How can you debate someone who has decided to ignore your reality?

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I think it's the fascination for people, that some things in this world might not at up. Most of these people are bored out of their skull and then read this kinda stuff on the internet, without checking that this theory might be wrong and some of them seem to not be able to look over their own fence.

 

It's the same with people who believe that Lizard people take over the world.

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I think some people just love thinking that everything is a conspiracy/lie. =/

 

There's also a religious angle to it. They'll deny that the Earth isn't the center of the universe, too. The Enlightenment has not reached everyone, it seems...

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Liberals have issued in a new era of science denial that appeals to younger generations. The simple notion that believing something means that it is fact is very appealing; coupled with the fact that Millennials constantly want to challenge social constructs, they don't even need concrete proof. It's more of a way to seem better than everyone else, and smarter than them, despite the fact that they are looked down upon almost everywhere.

 

...or, like Tails said, stupidity; stupidity works too.

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(edited)

How do you debate someone like this? The short answer is you don't. Not only does debating their hypothesis give it some level of credit, but from what I've seen, they hold almost a dogmatic belief in their stance which can't be shaken with conventional logic, nor hard evidence. Have you heard they think Earth's gravity is actually caused by earth accelerating upward at 9.81 m/s/s? Or that all GPS chips are rigged to "appear" that they're moving in straight lines? Or that there's a bloody ice wall around Antarctica? It's like the complete opposite of science where they're coming up with hypotheses to explain away their observances so their precious bullshit world view can be preserved. 

 

That may have come off as a bit harsh, but it's the truth. Some conspiracy theories, I fully admit, can actually hold some water. This one though... well, I think I made my stance more than clear. My hope regarding the resurgence is that it's driven by people looking for ad revenue to capitalise on the young and the uneducated who don't know better yet. Or alternatively that they're just trolling.

Edited by Celtore
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It is one of 3 things most likely: Drugs, Stupidity, or people wanting to get attention by making ridiculous claims. At this point I simply ignore them. Either they are just ignorant or trolls. No need to even 'debate' them on the subject.

 

 

It's the same with people who believe that Lizard people take over the world.

Wait, that hasn't happened??? I've been living a lie!! D:

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It's people's ignorance that has them believe in such things despite the irrefutable truth that it is a lie they prefer their own take on reality over what's been proven scientifically, I believe that it is a persons right to have their own views but to go shouting those views as facts when they are clearly not is just idiocy and ignorance

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Liberals have issued in a new era of science denial that appeals to younger generations. The simple notion that believing something means that it is fact is very appealing; coupled with the fact that Millennials constantly want to challenge social constructs, they don't even need concrete proof. It's more of a way to seem better than everyone else, and smarter than them, despite the fact that they are looked down upon almost everywhere.

 

...or, like Tails said, stupidity; stupidity works too.

The superiority complex is always the part that fascinates me about conspiracy theorists.

 

I am sure there are more proper and lengthy ways to talk about it, but the way they conjure up classes of people lower or less 'enlightened' than them strikes me as being the most dangerous. It leads to dehumanization. It is the same sort of self-righteous, utopian elitism that has led to widespread and even state-sanctioned atrocity, and they are incapable of realizing it....because they are right and we are wrong. It is a profound lack of self-awareness coming from those completely obsessed with their sense of self-awareness. 

 

But, mind you, I do not believe this is exclusive to a derivative political ideology. I think it it is symptomatic of ideology, generally. 

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The answer is simple.

 

Some people are stupid.

 

It is one of 3 things most likely: Drugs, Stupidity, or people wanting to get attention by making ridiculous claims. At this point I simply ignore them. Either they are just ignorant or trolls. No need to even 'debate' them on the subject.

 

they are either stupid or trolls

I am betting trolls but stupid is a good possiblity also

 

I think these answers sum it up the best. Anyone is free to think whatever they want and they can believe whatever they want... but honestly, it is not that hard to see that the Earth is round and those who try to think up every excuse they can think of to somehow prove it isn't have way too much free time. I mean you have billions of people on multiple continents and islands ranging from all sorts of walks of life with the technology to do a podcast from a broken down village in Africa.... and you want to try to say people are being fooled?

 

The incredibly amount of effort it would take to hide a flat Earth from modern society.. I cannot even begin to try to comprehend that. It is more likely every single member of this forum has a bigfoot living in their house they don't know about vs. the Earth being flat. And to top it off, the main reason I see for this conspiracy is increased globe sales. I mean seriously.... is that some new lucrative market out there set to replace the world economy in 50 years when we realize diamonds are actually worthless and the gold market hits zero?

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I agree with most of what was already said, but I will add this. It is easy to believe something when there is no consequence if you are wrong. Nobody is going to prosecute you or put you on an Inquisition if you believe that Earth is flat. For example, if you believe that you can fly and you jump off a building then you will die. But believing in a flat Earth is a perfectly safe thing to believe. So I think people say they believe it just for fun.

 

I also think that belief is not a hard YES or NO. I think there is some gray area. For example, a lot of people honestly believe that prayer will help cure an illness, but they also go to the hospital and take modern medicine. You might call this a "soft belief." It is very rare to find someone who will put their money where there mouth is when things get serious; call this a "hard belief." I think that there are some people who have a soft belief in a flat Earth. But I can't find a situation in which their life would be at risk for believing it. Therefore, you won't convince someone that they are wrong because they don't hold their believes based on the kind of data you are presenting to them. They have a different framework by which they interpret data. For lack of a better term, we can call it a "conspiratorial framework." 

 

I have watched some of the flat Earth documentaries. I think they are fun, but I like the hollow Earth theory better.

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Today is a sad time, when apperantly some people consider it "wise", "intelligent" to question science on everything, including stuff that can be literally proven just by looking forward. Everything is called "hoax", "attempt to control people" or simply a lie with no evidence to back up such opinion, because "it's an opinion, You have to respect it" or in worst cases "it is a fact because <insert random stranger or retarded internet picture> says so. 

 

Thing is, road to actual knowledge and wisdom is a long and difficult one. People who enforce theories such as flat earth on the other hand provide simple answers that require 0 knowledge at all so of course what they offer appears more "legit" for many, because they apply to logical thinking. And thing with logic is - it is useless with no knowledge, because then it can spawn abominations like "the Earth is in the center of the universe, because sun and moon rotates around it" as this is how planet movement might look like from our surface. It may sound logical and at the same time it is outright wrong. 

 

What I blame for such things being on the rise? Lack of education, at least in polish case. I've seen many incompetent people graduating from schools or even universities. People who support theories like flat earth gain credibility that way. Because who would question person with master degree?

And then to high schools or even primary schools. Why does person, who says evolution is a lie pass biology exam? Why does person, who claims earth is 4000 years old pass history exam? Why does person, who says Noah's ark is a fact and uses seashells in the mountains as an argument for it pass geography exam? 

 

People aren't born stupid, it is their enviroment, people around them AND education they receive (or not receive) that makes them stupid in the end. 

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(edited)

I really think this whole idea of a flat Earth gained most of its momentum from this wave of anti-establishment thought that's been going around lately. Between poor economic situations, scandals, corruption, and a perceived disconnect between those in power and those they rule, a lot of people the world over are starting to really question their governments. And that's cool, I'm totally for that, to a reasonable extent at least. When you stop questioning your government that's usually when the wacky shit starts happening. Y'know, the totally uncool "6 million people killed" kinda stuff?
 
Anyway, I think the problem is that, at least in some people, this mistrust has started to spread to other large groups that are also seen to be filled with the "elite" like corporations (which I guess I'm also kinda okay with), higher education, the scientific community, and others. I'm not saying that all these groups are squeaky clean, or that NASA doesn't have a secret agenda for world domination, but for Christ's sake have none of these people ever had the window seat on an airplane? I mean, it simply astounds me. What could anyone possibly have to gain from tricking the whole world about the shape of the Earth other than going down as having pulled the largest, most elaborate prank of all time? That's the problem with these people. Sure, they're questioning the establishment, but they're just asking really stupid questions to the wrong people.

[/rant]

Edited by w i l d s t a r
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I have to agree that just like evolution denierers, this whole flat earth conspiracy theorists are incredibly frustrating and annoying. For a good chunk of them at least, I blame the lack of a quality education system.

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I'd be curious to see how many flat Earth advocates genuinely believe the Earth to be flat.  I think a lot of it probably comes down to being a symbolic stance against convention rather than being a literal belief in a flat Earth.  By arguing that the Earth is flat it forces people to reconsider things that they take for granted and actually focus effort into constructing reasoned arguments for things that we have grown up accepting as axiomatically true without questioning.

 

At least I hope that's what it is.  The alternatives are rather more concerning.

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(edited)

British author Terry Pratchet used the concept of a flat Earth to write his fantasy novels by creating the Discworld, a fictional and magical flat world carried by four elephants riding on top of a giant turtle traveling through outer space.

Edited by newmarduk
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(edited)

The superiority complex is always the part that fascinates me about conspiracy theorists.

 

I am sure there are more proper and lengthy ways to talk about it, but the way they conjure up classes of people lower or less 'enlightened' than them strikes me as being the most dangerous. It leads to dehumanization. It is the same sort of self-righteous, utopian elitism that has led to widespread and even state-sanctioned atrocity, and they are incapable of realizing it....because they are right and we are wrong. It is a profound lack of self-awareness coming from those completely obsessed with their sense of self-awareness. 

 

But, mind you, I do not believe this is exclusive to a derivative political ideology. I think it it is symptomatic of ideology, generally. 

I just meant that a good amount of SJWs and crazy Liberals like them usually don't give a sh** about science, and are just focused on the spread of anti-establishment rhetoric and feeling superior.

Edited by Snowbound
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I just meant that a good amount of SJWs and crazy Liberals like them usually don't give a sh** about science, and are just focused on the spread of anti-establishment rhetoric and feeling superior.

I agree with you. But in the current political climate, I feel obligated to point out that dogmatism is not reliant on the topics or ideas being proposed. It can come from anywhere, regardless of veracity or good intentions. 

 

"SJW" has become a bit of a punching bag lately, but having lived exclusively in post-9/11 America, I grew up thinking "patriotism" was the sole culprit. 

 

It shifts depending on the circumstances. And now-a-days, I actually feel somewhat alone in my love of country. Truly ironic. 

Btw, to anyone interested, this is the video whose comment section is giving me the updates:

 

I recommend you do not comment or participate. You'll get nothing out of it other than a red notification bell.

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The flat-earth theory technically isn't wrong. If you can hypothetically go at the speed of light towards the Earth, space contraction would cause the Earth to contract into an infintesimally short length. :P

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This is only possible because of the Internet and the way it has democratized information. Because anyone can say anything on the Internet, in addition to becoming the greatest tool for the storage of mankind's information, it has also become the largest collective paranoia and disinformation machine in our pathetic 6000 years of civilization. We live in a day and age where people not only fail at critical thinking en masse, but actively reject it in favor of their own biases. Even when presented with straight facts, they'll twist it in a way that protects the precious beliefs of their fragile primitive minds.

 

Believing in a flat Earth is just another way of people trying to justify their existence on Earth by making it all about them.

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(edited)

I haven't heard much of this at all. The odd person who believes that the earth is only a few thousand years old here and there, and one person who was convinced that aircraft vapour trails contained government sterilisation chemicals, but no-one who believes that the world is flat.

 

I just meant that a good amount of SJWs and crazy Liberals like them usually don't give a sh** about science, and are just focused on the spread of anti-establishment rhetoric and feeling superior.

Most liberals I know went through higher education and took STEM subjects, so I don't really buy that.

Edited by Once In A Blue Moon
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I am getting non-stop youtube updates from a comment thread discussing the possibility that the Earth is flat. The proponents of this theory appear, to me, to be supremely confident in the veracity of their "logic" and condescending towards any and all alternative viewpoints - even as people call them idiots and apply scientific methods and articles towards their refutation.

 

There is a prominent community dedicated to this theory's proof and publication. 

 

And most adherents seemingly attribute spiritual and political significance to it, tacitly implying that amorphous "elites" have fabricated all of the scientific achievements of mankind in order to impose celestial worship among atheists and enslave people, either because satan or because profit. 

 

Why has this become so prominent?

How can you debate someone who has decided to ignore your reality?

Conspiracies are fun to engage in. Flat earth is one of those. Patriarchy, Jews, and illuminati are also fun! :love:

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(edited)

Okay, I finally got a reply on the comment chain. Here's the Flat-Earth Guy explaining his motivation rather than the "science" behind his theory.

 

Why are you doing this?

 

Awareness. The globe is the map of a region shaped into a ball to give you the illusion it is the only region of land and resources available.. People are in denial in a religion of self loathing where they believe they are accidental specks of insignificant dust lost in space.. This is by design since a population empowered realizing there is more than materialism and they have purpose as well as divine right to the land and resources with the entire universe moving around us is not part of the program for those few that control this region..this would scream intelligent design.

 

What fixture in your conscious life relies upon the shape of the earth?

 

This is merely a stepping stone for people to realize their actual empowerment. The goal is for the exploration of space. Not the space above us where we cannot explore, the outer space around us circumnavigating south to North in a straight line. Has never been done. 

Edited by Cheval
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A combination of people being stupid, people being trolls, or people being contrarians for the sake of it

Most liberals I know went through higher education and took STEM subjects, so I don't really buy that.

Yeah, last I checked, liberals were pro-science

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