the flat earth (Full Version)

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philosophy -> the flat earth (10/26/2008 10:14:22 AM)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7540427.stm

...so are the people who believe this gullible idiots or admirable free thinkers?

Reason i ask, is that there are a number of other issues where some  people flatly (forgive the pun) reject accepted science.........is there a broader dynamic at play here?



SL4V3M4YB3 -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 10:24:57 AM)

This is a more interesting question than most may think.
 
Obviously I don't think images from space are fake but you have to ask yourself: is it a question of scale?
 
There is nothing that is 100% flat. The property of flatness is the human aspiration for an impossible perfection. Since nothing is 100% flat can we then say that for all intents and purposes the earth is flat since in terms of scale to us it is. If you was to zoom out far enough you might discover and observe that space appears to be flat, we don't think this way because like those earth bound people in the past we can't easily imagine what we haven’t seen evidence of such as the earth being not flat. No one actually thought the earth was flat in the past they simply didn't think about the question at all.



TheHeretic -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 12:33:07 PM)

        Back away, Phil.  Whether it is truly believed, or simply an elaborate joke, there is no point in dealing with such people on that issue.

      One fun twist, not worth bringing up should you encounter a flat-earther, is that the foundation of the original Flat Earth Society (based right here in my area) was a strict adherence to biblical references to "the corners of the Earth," yet the folks in your article all say it is round...



MadameMarque -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 12:34:57 PM)

I...well, you can see...when you're up in an airplane, the horizon slopes forward, away from you continually.  How do they explain sunrise and sunset?  Maybe they think it's just bendy?

I know that angels push the other planets around in the Heavens.  But that earth on the back of a turtle or elephant thing doesn't make any sense - what are they standing on?

Reality is just a matter of popular concensus.
 
- Lily Tomlin



JustDarkness -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 12:37:04 PM)

well flat and not flat is something different then round :P
so the question is a bit tricky  .lol

the world is round because you can "fly/walk" around it with teh start beeing the finish.
In the past people thought the edges were the end. (because the horizon seems to vanish?). Following that theory you can't have finish and start at the same spot.

you know...people were burned for discusing this...




puella -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 12:37:05 PM)

Hmm... this is another one of those things that make me say "yikes"!

What is really troubling is that there are many people, especially here in the US's "God's Country" which actively pursue an agenda of demonizing science and perhaps a bit less concretely intellectualism.

It is something we should be very concerned about, in my opinion.



philosophy -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 1:25:20 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: puella


What is really troubling is that there are many people, especially here in the US's "God's Country" which actively pursue an agenda of demonizing science and perhaps a bit less concretely intellectualism.



...this is the dynamic i'm trying to address. In fairness it's not an exclusively US phenomenon....(Seeks, i know you;re there somewhere).......why does this dynamic keep popping up in what is supposed to be a post-enlightenment society?



JustDarkness -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 1:35:48 PM)

if you keep people stupid..you have more power over them ( like china tries)
or
soem people just like to be against everything or see a conspiracy in everything



popeye1250 -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 1:37:27 PM)

Obama voters!



puella -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 2:21:08 PM)

Dinosaur-ridin' generalists...

WTF Popeye?



Real_Trouble -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 4:00:54 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: philosophy

quote:

ORIGINAL: puella


What is really troubling is that there are many people, especially here in the US's "God's Country" which actively pursue an agenda of demonizing science and perhaps a bit less concretely intellectualism.



...this is the dynamic i'm trying to address. In fairness it's not an exclusively US phenomenon....(Seeks, i know you;re there somewhere).......why does this dynamic keep popping up in what is supposed to be a post-enlightenment society?


Because, to be blunt, people are stupid.

There will always be people ranting against all kinds of things that are, in fact, true.  The question is how to deal with them.



TheHeretic -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 5:26:17 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: puella

WTF Popeye?



          I could be wrong, but I think he was comparing the blind allegience and faith of Obama's fanatic base, to the blind allegience and faith of those discussed by the OP.

         Given their confidence that a man who has never done or led ANYTHING is going to solve all our problems, I'd say the comparison is apt.



kittinSol -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 5:35:24 PM)

And another passive aggressive dig at those that disagree with you ... [8|] .



slaveboyforyou -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 5:39:52 PM)

I took astronomy in college to satisfy my science requirements.  The professor talked about skeptics of the Big Bang, evolution,  the moon landing, etc.  What he said always stuck with me.  He said that those people were vital to humanity.  They keep scientists on their toes.  They make us think and question our beliefs.  They keep us from becoming arrogant and complacent.  They make us investigate our beliefs instead of blindly accepting them. 



Lordandmaster -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 5:58:40 PM)

Unlike, say, creationists and flat-earthers, who blindly accept their beliefs.

quote:

ORIGINAL: slaveboyforyou

They make us investigate our beliefs instead of blindly accepting them.



Owner59 -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 6:35:35 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: TheHeretic

quote:

ORIGINAL: puella

WTF Popeye?



        I could be wrong, but I think he was comparing the blind allegience and faith of Obama's fanatic base, to the blind allegience and faith of those discussed by the OP.

       Given their confidence that a man who has never done or led ANYTHING is going to solve all our problems, I'd say the comparison is apt.





Freely picking and choosing Obama b/c he`s the better choice isn`t blind allegiance.

Choosing the worse of two choices, that`s blind allegiance.

I imagine Obama critics are quite envious of the support Mr. Obama has earned.Envious to a fault.

A 100,000 people showed up to see him is red state Colorado.



slaveboyforyou -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 6:45:01 PM)

quote:

Unlike, say, creationists and flat-earthers, who blindly accept their beliefs.


Yeah so?  I never said I agree with them.  Were you trying to make a point with your sarcastic reply, or do you have an inferiority complex that causes your spitefulness?  If it's the latter, I get emails all the time about creams you can rub on to fix that.  [8|]



Lordandmaster -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 7:06:25 PM)

You sound really unhappy.



UncleNasty -> RE: the flat earth (10/26/2008 10:27:27 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: MadameMarque

How do they explain sunrise and sunset? 



Actually that is pretty easy.

Just off the coast of North Carolina, on an island, is a facility and operation that hanldes that every day.

They take a small disk of pyrite, super heated and glowing, and shoot it across the sky. The disk, or sun, is only about the size of  quarter. Take one out of your pocket and hold it up next to the disk in the sky. About the same size. It sets out in the desert in far western Arizona.

Uncle Nasty



Rule -> RE: the flat earth (10/27/2008 12:06:09 AM)

FR
 
It is blatantly obvious that the Earth is flat and that it has corners: nearly every map in an atlas demonstrates these qualities. The only exceptions are some maps of the poles, which often do not have corners, but are circular.



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