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My Parents Are Flat Earthers

jameshfisher.com

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Re: My Parents Are Flat Earthers

#161

Post by eesmith »

repolfx wrote: post #159
eesmith wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to make that argument, then be aware that many more subtle questions on the Earth's geometry still don't have clear cut answers. That is, as "geometry" becomes more and more refined, there are questions of why the the continents are they way they are (Wegener's theory wasn't rejected until the 1900s!), why certain volcanoes exist where they are, why certain rock formations exist where they are, etc. That'…

Geometry, geography and geology are different things. There are no outstanding subtle questions about the Earth's geometry as far as I'm aware. It's not a perfect sphere but we have literally mapped the surface of the Earth with detailed 3D point clouds - we can model the geometry down to near arbitrary levels of detail, and we do. Look at Google Earth! Questions about how the Earth got into its current state and why…

Even if you speak only of shape, WGS 84 != EGM96 != EGM2008. The geometry handles increasingly more and more subtle details.

Re: My Parents Are Flat Earthers

#162

Post by eesmith »

tntn wrote: post #141
eesmith wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you want to make that argument, then be aware that many more subtle questions on the Earth's geometry still don't have clear cut answers. That is, as "geometry" becomes more and more refined, there are questions of why the the continents are they way they are (Wegener's theory wasn't rejected until the 1900s!), why certain volcanoes exist where they are, why certain rock formations exist where they are, etc. That'…

There are no subtle questions about whether or not the earth is flat. Continental drift and geology are very much irrelevant.

I did not think that "geometry" meant only "is the earth flat or not".

Re: My Parents Are Flat Earthers

#164

Post by xemoka »

ykevinator wrote: post #149
squirrelicus wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the same brain space is used by futurists too. Magic batteries, dehumidifiers, a/c units, rockets, tunnels, Mars colonization, integrated neutral/digital systems. People want to feel like they are a part of a new age of knowledge set apart from the intellectually content masses, and feel like they're more honest in breaking free from the doctrine handed down by elites. And no. It's not fair to say that about…

It's the same. There is no logical difference between believing in flat earth and believing in spermless conception

There is one difference here though: we have observed parthenogenesis in nature, so we know it can occur. We have not observed anything like a 'flat earth'.

Re: My Parents Are Flat Earthers

#165

Post by everdev »

james_s_tayler wrote: post #136
everdev wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember a teacher in the 80s asking the class when humans proved the Earth was round. The correct answer for her was when an astronaut took a picture from outer space. While I'm sure your theory fits for some, there's also some misunderstanding of science that can be at play too. For me, there's little difference between a flat earther and believing we didn't know there Earth was round until we took a picture. Sur…

You're susceptible to misinformation to the extent that you can't verify a truth claim. And you can't verify most truth claims. You can gaslight basically anyone about basically anything by playing epistemological games with them. Unless they have direct experience with the thing in question and they have personally observed the phenomena in question you can always get people to realize that they take everything they…

Very well said!

I heard someone on the Joe Rogan podcast describe science as faith.

There's nothing in the universe that says gravity today must act like gravity tomorrow. We basically take it on faith that we understand gravity and that it's not changing.

If you're looking for 100% confidence, "I think therefore I am" or simply "I am" is as close as we've come.

Re: My Parents Are Flat Earthers

#166

Post by pmontra »

tartrate wrote: post #46
pmontra wrote: post #24

I'm sure they have a good explanation for it that I don't bother to google, but how do satellites orbit a flat Earth to give us common experiences like satellite TV and GPS? And what about the moon.

According to the video, satellites simply don't exist. Satellite dishes read signals that have bounced off of a dome around earth. And the moon, well, the author quotes a book he received: “One day humanity will have to go back in time 4.6 billion years to build Earth’s Moon!” Yikes.

And when they'll be at it, maybe they'll flatten Earth and rewire the minds of most of us to think it's a sphere. Why didn't I think about it? ;-)

Re: My Parents Are Flat Earthers

#167

Post by repolfx »

eesmith wrote: post #161
repolfx wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Geometry, geography and geology are different things. There are no outstanding subtle questions about the Earth's geometry as far as I'm aware. It's not a perfect sphere but we have literally mapped the surface of the Earth with detailed 3D point clouds - we can model the geometry down to near arbitrary levels of detail, and we do. Look at Google Earth! Questions about how the Earth got into its current state and why…

Even if you speak only of shape, WGS 84 != EGM96 != EGM2008. The geometry handles increasingly more and more subtle details.

Yeah, but those aren't subtle questions, they're subtle answers :)

Re: My Parents Are Flat Earthers

#168

Post by pliftkl »

fourier_mode wrote: post #153

> But the Moon’s dimensions show the designers used the metric system How does looking at dimensions affirm that metric system was used? > They live in respectable houses, and host meals with respectable friends. They eat well. They travel for holidays, by plane, all over the Earth. The OP tells as if this is a good thing. However this is the scariest parts of all. Because who knows these people can as well be the ne…

Obviously when humans designed the universe, we didn't use the metric system. We used English units, which is why the speed of light is 1 foot per nanosecond!

(Actually that's a _really_ close approximation and very helpful in reasoning about special relativity).

Re: My Parents Are Flat Earthers

#169

Post by barberousse »

I feel like more people need to read Foucault. He is in a sense the prototypical the writer responsible for a lot of the contemporary left perspective on the entrenchment of practices of power in innocuous places (speeches, the design of prisons, schools, clinics, etc). In a sense, even challenges to climate change can find some anchor in his work. His work is avowedly nonpartisan ("I am just making tools", to paraphrase), though Foucault himself was a gay French historian who did much activism on prison reform and has an interesting take on the Iranian Revolution. But at the end of the day, I know no better resource with which to navigate modern information hysteria (and no matter how well-dressed in "rationality" it may appear).

Re: My Parents Are Flat Earthers

#170

Post by lisper »

tntn wrote: post #139
lisper wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you're underestimating how hard it is to disprove a flat earth (to a flat-earher).

I think you are confusing how hard it is to convince flat-earthers that the earth is not flat with how ridiculously easy it is to prove the the earth is not flat. I (and the original comment you responded to) are discussing the second of these two.

Those two things are not distinct. It is manifestly untrue that it is easy to prove that the earth is round because there are people who have seen this alleged proof and remain unconvinced. The fact that you (and I) think those people are idiots is not probative.
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