Flat Earth: Difference between revisions
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===The modern myth=== | ===The modern myth=== | ||
The idea that people used to believe that the Earth was flat, mostly due to the influence of religion, is essentially a complete myth. This is often brought up as an example of how secular enlightenment has triumphed over unfounded religious dogma; indeed, some theories state that this is the reason the myth is so popular. The myth is believed to originate with the novel ''The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus'' by Washington Irvine, which perpetuated the idea that [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]] sailed around the globe to prove that it was round. In reality, all that was at stake with Columbus' journey and those of his contemporaries was the ''size'' of the Earth - ships didn't return because they "fell off the edge" but | The idea that people used to believe that the Earth was flat, mostly due to the influence of religion, is essentially a complete myth. This is often brought up as an example of how secular enlightenment has triumphed over unfounded religious dogma; indeed, some theories state that this is the reason the myth is so popular. The myth is believed to originate with the novel ''The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus'' by Washington Irvine, which perpetuated the idea that [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]] sailed around the globe to prove that it was round. In reality, all that was at stake with Columbus' journey and those of his contemporaries was the ''size'' of the Earth - ships didn't return not because they "fell off the edge" but because they were ill equipped to circumnavigate the globe and crews often died of starvation before reaching the far side of the Atlantic. | ||
==Modern "Flat-Earthers"== | ==Modern "Flat-Earthers"== | ||
Revision as of 05:42, 23 November 2009
Flat Earth (or Flat Earth Theory and various other formulations) is the belief that the earth, which the vast, vast majority of the population imagine in their heads as this big spherical thing we're standing on thanks to numerous pieces of evidence, not least pictures of it from space, is actually flat.
Flat history
On certain length scales, the Earth certainly is flat - the floor of a room certainly doesn't follow the curvature of the Earth. As a result of this common sense interpretation, belief in a flat Earth was quite common in the very early days of humanity. A very primitive tribe not venturing much further than a few miles from a central village, or one that lived mostly on a large plain would reach this flat conclusion as "common sense" fairly readily. However, the idea that the entire world really was flat quickly began to be discredited the moment it was properly considered and looked at. Pythagoras suggested that the Earth was round, and Aristotle provided convincing evidence for it in Ancient Greece. By the Middle Ages, even the Catholic Church's most beloved of scientific theologians, Thomas Aquinas, was advancing the Earth's roundness as a fundamental of logic.
The modern myth
The idea that people used to believe that the Earth was flat, mostly due to the influence of religion, is essentially a complete myth. This is often brought up as an example of how secular enlightenment has triumphed over unfounded religious dogma; indeed, some theories state that this is the reason the myth is so popular. The myth is believed to originate with the novel The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus by Washington Irvine, which perpetuated the idea that Columbus sailed around the globe to prove that it was round. In reality, all that was at stake with Columbus' journey and those of his contemporaries was the size of the Earth - ships didn't return not because they "fell off the edge" but because they were ill equipped to circumnavigate the globe and crews often died of starvation before reaching the far side of the Atlantic.
Modern "Flat-Earthers"
Given this history, it should come as a surprise to anyone that any human being existing in the developed world right now should still consider the idea of a flat Earth probable. Since the mid-1800s, though, modern pseudoscientists have been trying to prove that the Earth is flat. As evidence (such as the fact that we can now orbit the planet and view it from a distance or travel around it in aircraft and see that it curves) continues to mount against the Flat Earth, the idea is beginning to take a turn for the silly.
Q: "Why do you guys believe the Earth is flat?"
A: Well, it looks that way up close...
The Flat Earth Society (also known as the International Flat Earth Society or International Flat Earth Research Society) was founded by Englishman Samuel Shenton in 1956. It proposes a worldwide conspiracy (for no defined reason) including everyone in every government, pilots and/or GPS manufacturers, everyone in every communications industry, everyone in the southern hemisphere (the difference between the currently-accepted globe and Flat Earth map are so massive below the equator that they would be difficult to ignore) and anyone using an odometer on a trip between any four landmarks. Also included in the conspiracy are thousands of supersoldiers keeping ordinary citizens from witnessing the Ice Wall, which surrounds the Flat Earth.
However, the Internet is undecided if the Flat Earth Society is extreme parody or serious. Motives for advocating a flat over a round earth earth despite evidence to the contrary are unknown. Even young-earth creationists who think it's 6000 years old don't go so far as to say that it's not round.
The conspiracy theorist bluff, everyone on the planet calls it...
The flat earth theory can be falsified on any clear night an hour or two after sunset by observing satellites in the sky. Unless governments around the world are launching one-shot satellites every night to maintain the conspiracy, a flat earth simply won't support a constellation of orbiting objects. They'll fall right over the edge, giving you nothing but blurry images of a stack of turtles.[1]
See also
- Hollow Earth Theory
- Modern geocentrism
- Terry Pratchett
- Science of Discworld
- Fun:Scientific Geoterrapinism
- Time Cube