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[Misc] Do you believe the Earth is flat?

Do you believe the Earth is flat?

  • Yes, I firmly believe the Earth is flat

    Votes: 38 10.0%
  • I'm unsure, but the Earth could be flat

    Votes: 19 5.0%
  • I believe The Earth is absolutely NOT flat

    Votes: 322 85.0%

  • Total voters
    379






GT49er

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 1, 2009
49,445
Gloucester
No there isn't



No it isn't. I'm sorry, this probably appears rude and argumentative. But the chance is exactly zero. It's not 0.infinite zeros 1, it's 0.
Agree. It's a zero chance in the same way that there is zero chance that you or I won't die.

On that happy thought, I'll leave his thread and go find a more cheerful mad-as-a-box-of-frogs theory!
 


Pondicherry

Well-known member
May 25, 2007
1,085
Horsham
A question I often ask flat earthers is "If the world is flat, then how can a Jet/Airplane be flown in the same direction and eventually arrive back at the same place it took off from?" I have yet to have an answer. Maybe some of the believers here can shed a bit of light on it.
If you fly around in a circle, you will return to the same point.
 


Han Solo

Well-known member
May 25, 2024
2,923
Agree. It's a zero chance in the same way that there is zero chance that you or I won't die.

On that happy thought, I'll leave his thread and go find a more cheerful mad-as-a-box-of-frogs theory!
You're actually a lot less likely to die than the world not being "round" imho.

Eternal life can't be that far into the future.

Agree with @Greg Bobkin that nothing is entirely certain. For all we know or don't know the world can be some sort of 2D chip installed into the head of a horse on Mars and the whole thing is just some optical illusion. Technically it is also not quite round but rather... some other geometric shape I've forgotten about.
 


Pondicherry

Well-known member
May 25, 2007
1,085
Horsham
Agree. It's a zero chance in the same way that there is zero chance that you or I won't die.

On that happy thought, I'll leave his thread and go find a more cheerful mad-as-a-box-of-frogs theory!
Surely, the only way that you could personally say with 100% certainty that the earth is a globe, is by you personally observing it from several thousand miles away, otherwise you are just relying on what others have told you or filmed or photographed. You may be an spaceman so apologies if you have actually observed this.
 




Hugo Rune

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 23, 2012
23,821
Brighton
Technically it is also not quite round but rather... some other geometric shape I've forgotten about.
Correct. Gravity from the moon and Sun makes the planet ‘fat’ at the equator.

Far more interesting than flat earth theory is how flat earth grifters convince the thickest c***s of their toddler science and then make a lot of money. They should not have any airtime. They are conmen in the mould of Farage.

 
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GT49er

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 1, 2009
49,445
Gloucester
You're actually a lot less likely to die than the world not being "round" imho.

Eternal life can't be that far into the future.

Agree with @Greg Bobkin that nothing is entirely certain. For all we know or don't know the world can be some sort of 2D chip installed into the head of a horse on Mars and the whole thing is just some optical illusion. Technically it is also not quite round but rather... some other geometric shape I've forgotten about.
OK, contact me again in 200 years, and I'll admit you're right!
 


GT49er

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 1, 2009
49,445
Gloucester
Surely, the only way that you could personally say with 100% certainty that the earth is a globe, is by you personally observing it from several thousand miles away, otherwise you are just relying on what others have told you or filmed or photographed. You may be an spaceman so apologies if you have actually observed this.
Errmmm.............. let me think about this before answering..................





No.
 




Pondicherry

Well-known member
May 25, 2007
1,085
Horsham
Turritopsis dohrnii, also known as the immortal jellyfish, is a species of small, biologically immortal jellyfish[2][3] found worldwide in temperate to tropic waters. It is one of the few known cases of animals capable of reverting completely to a sexually immature, colonial stage after having reached sexual maturity as a solitary individual. Others include the jellyfish Laodicea undulata[4] and species of the genus Aurelia.[5]

Like most other hydrozoans, T. dohrnii begin their lives as tiny, free-swimming larvae known as planulae. As a planula settles down, it gives rise to a colony of polyps that are attached to the sea floor. All the polyps and jellyfish arising from a single planula are genetically identical clones.[6] The polyps form into an extensively branched form, which is not commonly seen in most jellyfish. Jellyfish, also known as medusae, then bud off these polyps and continue their life in a free-swimming form, eventually becoming sexually mature. When sexually mature, they have been known to prey on other jellyfish species at a rapid pace. If the T. dohrnii jellyfish is exposed to environmental stress, physical assault, or is sick or old, it can revert to the polyp stage, forming a new polyp colony.[7] It does this through the cell development process of transdifferentiation, which alters the differentiated state of the cells and transforms them into new types of cells.

Theoretically, this process can go on indefinitely, effectively rendering the jellyfish biologically immortal,[3][8] although in practice individuals can still die. In nature, most Turritopsis dohrnii are likely to succumb to predation or disease in the medusa stage without reverting to the polyp form.[9]

The capability of biological immortality with no maximum lifespan makes T. dohrnii an important target of basic biological aging and pharmaceutical research.[10]
 


ConfusedGloryHunter

He/him/his/that muppet
NSC Patron
Jul 6, 2011
2,427
If you don’t think the probability of the Earth being flat is zero, do you believe that the probability of anything is zero?

Just a couple of examples to illustrate:

1066: William the Bastard didn’t defeat Harold and be crowned King on Christmas Day. (This requires belief in historical record, and we all know how that can be manipulated).

E=MC2: This requires belief in scientific experts and we all know where believing experts gets you.

Is there anything where you believe the probability of anything is zero?
I have one for you.

The probability of meeting an Arsenal fan who doesn't bang on about that red card.
 


zefarelly

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Jul 7, 2003
22,898
Sussex, by the sea
A question I often ask flat earthers is "If the world is flat, then how can a Jet/Airplane be flown in the same direction and eventually arrive back at the same place it took off from?" I have yet to have an answer. Maybe some of the believers here can shed a bit of light on it.
YEah but . . . . I can drive my car at say, Goodwood, and end up where I started. Not only is it flat, its straight, in a cosmic loop!
 




Baldseagull

Well-known member
Jan 26, 2012
11,839
Crawley
Surely, the only way that you could personally say with 100% certainty that the earth is a globe, is by you personally observing it from several thousand miles away, otherwise you are just relying on what others have told you or filmed or photographed. You may be an spaceman so apologies if you have actually observed this.
No, you can observe lunar eclipses from all over the world, and always see a circular shadow, therefore the earth is spherical.

You can navigate the surface of the earth and prove to yourself that it is a globe.

You can observe the sun, its rise and fall, and the changes to that over the year and from the Poles to the equator.

There must be dozens of ways to prove to yourself that the earth is spherical without getting off planet.
 


ConfusedGloryHunter

He/him/his/that muppet
NSC Patron
Jul 6, 2011
2,427
No, you can observe lunar eclipses from all over the world, and always see a circular shadow, therefore the earth is spherical.

You can navigate the surface of the earth and prove to yourself that it is a globe.

You can observe the sun, its rise and fall, and the changes to that over the year and from the Poles to the equator.

There must be dozens of ways to prove to yourself that the earth is spherical without getting off planet.
How do you know it isnt cigar shaped though?
 






Pondicherry

Well-known member
May 25, 2007
1,085
Horsham
No, you can observe lunar eclipses from all over the world, and always see a circular shadow, therefore the earth is spherical.

You can navigate the surface of the earth and prove to yourself that it is a globe.

You can observe the sun, its rise and fall, and the changes to that over the year and from the Poles to the equator.

There must be dozens of ways to prove to yourself that the earth is spherical without getting off planet.
A shadow is two dimensional so will not demonstrate that the earth is a globe.
As stated previously, if you travel in a massive circle on a disc you will return to the same point.
Observing the sun and its movements does not in itself prove the shape of the earth. Why couldn't the sun rise and fall over a disc.
 


Sid and the Sharknados

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Sep 4, 2022
5,868
Darlington
No, you can observe lunar eclipses from all over the world, and always see a circular shadow, therefore the earth is spherical.

You can navigate the surface of the earth and prove to yourself that it is a globe.

You can observe the sun, its rise and fall, and the changes to that over the year and from the Poles to the equator.

There must be dozens of ways to prove to yourself that the earth is spherical without getting off planet.
As indeed, plenty of ancient philosophers did quite successfully.

Weirdly, the idea that the world is flat has only been even vaguely popular after we left the planet.
 


Greg Bobkin

Silver Seagull
May 22, 2012
16,282
If you don’t think the probability of the Earth being flat is zero, do you believe that the probability of anything is zero?

Just a couple of examples to illustrate:

1066: William the Bastard didn’t defeat Harold and be crowned King on Christmas Day. (This requires belief in historical record, and we all know how that can be manipulated).

E=MC2: This requires belief in scientific experts and we all know where believing experts gets you.

Is there anything where you believe the probability of anything is zero?
No.
 


Greg Bobkin

Silver Seagull
May 22, 2012
16,282
No there isn't



No it isn't. I'm sorry, this probably appears rude and argumentative. But the chance is exactly zero. It's not 0.infinite zeros 1, it's 0.
OK, that's fine :shrug:
 








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