[Closed] Eek!

Seriously.

Delete your Facebook account.

Can't. Wouldn't want to skew my view of humanity too far in the other direction.

It all has a very seductive morbid fascination to it...

You think that, but it controls you.

Yes, master.

We have a new guy at work
late 30's seemingly rational chap, just casually mentioned his flat earth beliefs and various conspiracy theories - total conviction...

Link!

I could do with a cheap laugh!

Why the $%*! would you pay attention to, or give a second thought to, anyone who claims the earth is flat?!? Some of you on here really really need to ignore the world's weirdos and extremists.

SaxonRider

Why the $%*! would you pay attention to, or give a second thought to, anyone who claims the earth is flat?!? Some of you on here really really need to ignore the world's weirdos and extremists.

Because...

professor_fate - Member

We have a new guy at work
late 30's seemingly rational chap, just casually mentioned his flat earth beliefs and various conspiracy theories - total conviction...

....as the quote above shows, people get sucked in. A combination of factors, mainly that everyone loves to think they have some hidden or secret knowledge (they know what's really going on) combined with a lack of willingness or interest in actually doing any real research or learning towards gaining a deeper understanding of complex issues, compounded by the ease of which liars and manipulators can create and broadcast content via platforms like youtube and you have a perfect breeding ground for these things.

seemingly rational chap

The key word here is [I]seemingly[/I].

I know a couple of guys like that in my workplace too. I have a laugh with them once in a while, and otherwise ignore everything they say.

They're loveable, but bonkers. I would never think of taking them seriously.

YouTube is the safe haven for plenty of this stuff.

SaxonRider

seemingly rational chap

The key word here is seemingly.

Or, he is actually rational but he's some combination of cynical/arrogant/lazy. Without getting into a debate about what constitutes "rational" it should be pretty obvious that a lot of otherwise rational people believe some some completely absurd things,

I would never think of taking them seriously.

A lot of this stems from creationists. Considering the money they have, and how close they are to power both in the Uk and the US don't you think it merits concern? And while the most recent trends regarding Flat Earth are essentially a combination of disestablismentarianism and an anarchic sense of humour regarding mainsteam media there is a sizeable chunk of this movement that keeps relating things back to genesis, creationism, christian fundamentalism young earth etc.

It's fine to laugh it off in the short term but ultimately you can't let horrendously stupid ideas go unchecked or they fester and breed in the dark.

Send um all into space and they would claim it's still a flat earth but just roundly shaped.

It's fine to laugh it off in the short term but ultimately you can't let horrendously stupid ideas go unchecked or they fester and breed in the dark.

And that's why we have eBikes

All the water would just fall off the edges when it's really windy. Unless there is a lip. Is there a lip?

Dammit, I'm going to have to join Facefriends now just to find out if the fools think there's a lip.

Turtles, all the way down.....

I saw them on the way back from la.

Some of you on here really really need to ignore the world's weirdos and extremists.

Oh....

Taking yourself a bit too seriously dear....

Chill out a little - it's funny!

Clearly it's not flat, I've ridden my bike up and down some bloody steep hills.

They must all be from Lincolnshire/east Anglia.

I [b]am[/b] from East Anglia. Does that mean I'm more susceptible to this insanity?

everyone loves to think they have some hidden or secret knowledge

I have loads of secret knowledge. I often wish I didn't.
Do you know how difficult it is trying to remember what you're not meant to tell people?

PS both physically and mentally I think the earth probably is flat in east Anglia.

Surely this theory must have started in Holland. Very flat and copious amounts of the Jazz woodbines.

It's a popular view with a section of the, let us say, "alternative" population hereabouts. Along with aircraft contrails being full of government-sourced chemicals to control the population and the efficacy of herbal cancer cures...

Whooooop! I'm a teapot.

With these conspiracy theorists, you'll find a significant overlap in the Venn diagram with "not having a job" and "not really having a life of their own".........

Is there a lip?

Is there a lip?

There's the "cir-cum-fence", I've read it in a book so it must be true.

This, as Woppit says, does tend to go with the chemtrail and HAARP conspiracy crowd, and also the moon-landing crew as well. Trying to point out to them the obvious flaws in their arguments just convinces them that you're just part of the conspiracy.
I keep handy some links to photos of fighter vapour trails over London in 1942, and a piece by a French writer who fought missions in 1939 where he describes the vapour trails left behind which guided the enemy fighters, which tends to leave them without much to argue back with.
Still, it's always difficult to argue with an idiot, 'cos he'll just beat you down with experience...

CZ - sorry to disappoint, but I wrote that account. Sweated over the French. Honest. 😉

A while ago, purely to mislead the omniscient Google about my interests, I signed my gmail a/c up to numerous e-newsletters, some of which are through Beliefnet.com. Expect emails about angels, the good lord JC, interspersed with things like "7 things you never knew lemons could do" and "Body Repair Trick Hidden by the Establisment" which is a drink (OMG a drink!? Really!?) that works particularly well for people.... over forty.... suffering from "foggy thinking".

I love/hate flat earthers. They are absolutely fascinating and amazingly it is a growing belief (and yes, it's not pisstaking, lots/most of them genuinely believe this).

I've spent a fair amount of time chatting to them on YouTube and Facebook.

As batshit mental as most of them are, some rare ones do occasionally ask interesting questions and it can be an interesting pedagogical exercise to figure out the answer and try to explain it clearly.

(Unfortunately if you successively do challenge a belief this way then they just say you must be a NASA plant or a government shill 🙄 )

My favourite head-scratcher is to ask them about stars. We can't see the Southern Cross from the Northern Hemisphere. Folk in the Southern Hemisphere can, but they can't see Polaris. Folk near the Equator can see both. How does that work on a flat earth?

Anyone with a camera can go outside on a clear night and take a long exposure photo of the sky. If they are in the Northern Hemisphere they will get an image showing the stars appearing to rotate around Polaris. At the equator they'll get an image of the stars going across the sky. And in the Southern Hemisphere they'll get an image of the stars appearing to rotate around a point near the Southern Cross.

Best answer I've had to this conundrum?
The celestial dome was created by God and is beyond human understanding. 🙄

I'm on the big bird to Salt Lake next week.

If you do that in January you get two sunsets on the flight (OK that flight was Phoenix). Try working out the flat earth physics for that.

Surely everyone know that it's a flat disc balanced on the backs of four elephants which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin.

My favourite head-scratcher is to ask them about stars. We can't see the Southern Cross from the Northern Hemisphere. Folk in the Southern Hemisphere can, but they can't see Polaris. Folk near the Equator can see both. How does that work on a flat earth?

To be honest, conspirationists scare me. My guilty pleasure is to play the devil's advocate and troll those that think science is absolute. 😈 [GrahamS, not implying you are one of them]

Body Repair Trick Hidden by the Establisment" which is a drink (OMG a drink!? Really!?) that works particularly well for people.... over forty.... suffering from "foggy thinking".

Sweet baby Jesus! Can you send me a link to the recipe? I turned forty a couple of months ago and now misplace everything. I can't believe "the man" would hide this from us. Bastards!

How about the "celestial dome" having some sort of lenticular structure?

The tricky part is that it's (obviously) not a "now you see it, now you don't" thing.
As you move further south, Polaris gets closer and closer to the horizon until just after you cross the equator it is no visible. Meantime the Southern Cross starts to appear and gets higher in the sky the further into the Southern Hemisphere you get.

That all makes perfect sense if you are moving across a spheroid, but no sense at all on a flat disc.

My guilty pleasure is to play the devil's advocate and troll those that think science is absolute

Yeah there are plenty of trolls, but they are usually fairly easy to spot. There are an amazing number of true believers too (mostly either bible literalists, conspiracy nuts or both).