The Question No Flat Earther Can Answer!

in #science7 years ago (edited)

Put Flat Earth to Bed with One Simple, Non-Scientific Question that Any Layman can Understand.


I was speaking to my brother-in-law last week. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Do you know that some people believe the earth is flat?
Him: Like a pancake?
Me: Yes.
Him: You’ve just got to look at ships sailing over the horizon.
Me: I know.
Him: Are you serious?
Me: Yes.
Him: They are stupid.
Me: I thought lots of people had heard about it.
Him: I haven’t.

If you’re like my brother-in-law and haven’t heard about flat earth (FE) before don’t worry. You have not entered into the twilight zone of Steemit and reading this article will not kill brain cells.

My brother-in-law said that flat earthers are stupid. This is a common response but not one that I would use. But, flat earthers should know that they are making fools of themselves (most inadvertently so). They are chasing a red herring. The phrase ‘red herring means’ ‘to divert’ or ‘distract’. Circa 1680’s fugitives on the run would smear the trail with a red herring hoping to put bloodhounds off the scent.

I don’t like to see people making fools of themselves and I apologize if using the term ‘stupid; or ‘fool’ offends you - that is not my intention. I just want to be honest with you and tell you know what most people think when you tell them that the earth is flat.

You probably already know that this. You’ve probably been called much worse. You probably don’t care because you believe that you are right. I’m hoping to clear some things up for you today. Unfortunately you are not alone.

Scientists and people from all walks of life are wasting time by researching, discussing and proving a spherical earth to you. Hopefully we can put an end to this once and for all.


A Flat Earth Map


flat earth map SteemTruth.jpg


This is one of many flat earth maps and it seems to be the most popular.

I have made the map large so that it is easy for you to see. Now, pretend that you are looking at a clock. Start at the center and draw an imaginary line towards the perimeter. The imaginary line will dissect these countries.

* 2 o’clock - Australia

* 3 o’clock - Russia (green), China yellow green), India (orange)

* 4 o’clock - Ukraine, Turkey, Saudi Arabia (all yellow green)

* 5 o’clock - Europe, Libya (orange), South Africa (yellow green)

* 6 o’clock - UK (green), France (pink) Mauritania (pink)

* 8 o’clock - Brazil (yellow green), Argentina (green), Chile (yellow green)

* 9 o’clock - Canada (orange), USA (green), Caribbean

* 11 o’clock - Alaska (green)


The white area surrounding the map is Antartica. It is an impenetrable ice-wall, apparently.

This is how most flat earthers view the world. Now that we’ve got that out of the way lets move on to the question.

The Question


Q: How are commercial airplanes able to fly Non-Stop between Sydney to Santiago in 14 hours on a flat earth?

A: They can’t. It’s impossible on ALL flat earth maps.


santigo sydney fligth path on flat earth SteemTruth.jpg


Southern Hemisphere Flights


Ask a flat earther to explain non-stop flights between Southern Hemisphere continents i.e. non-stop flights between Australia, Africa and South America.

These non-stop flights are impossible on every flat earth map that I’ve seen.

Let’s take a quick look at some of these flight paths on a spherical earth. Pay attention to the flight path, distance and flight times.


All flights have been calculated at speeds of 500 mph (804 kmh). 30 minutes has been added for take-off and landing.


Flight Speed Flat Earth Calculator SteemTruth.jpg


Sydney > Santiago


Flight Path Time Distance Speed Sydney Santiago Flat Earth SteemTruth.jpg


I have a friend that flies Sydney to Santiago every few years. He spent 3 months there last year. I messaged him while he was away and casually asked about his flight.




I have another friend that has taken the same non-stop flight.


Perth > Johannesburg


Flight Path Time Distance Speed Perth Johannesburg Flat Earth SteemTruth.jpg

Santiago > Johannesburg


Flight Path Time Distance Speed Santiago Johannesburg Flat Earth SteemTruth.jpg


Los Angeles > Hong Kong


The map below shows the flight path, distance and time from Los Angeles to Hong Kong on a spherical earth. The distance and time is almost exactly the same as Sydney to Santiago, as you would expect.


Flight Path Time Distance Speed Los Angeles Hong Kong Flat Earth SteemTruth.jpg


This Flat Earth map below shows the flight path for Sydney to Santiago (the long line), and Los Angeles to Hong Kong (the short line). The Sydney flight is more than the double the distance.

If the earth was flat the flight times would be very different, but they aren’t - and the world is not flat.


santigo sydney hong kong los angeles fligth path on flat earth SteemTruth.png

Next time you encounter a flat earther I would encourage to ask them to explain Southern Hemisphere flights on their map. If they are rational they will say that these flights are not possible. If they are irrational they will attempt to divert you to another topic or say they are working on it. If they start saying that the planes don’t really fly, or talk of secret supersonic planes and jet streams, tell them they’re dreaming.

Don’t get sucked in and waste time on flat earth.

Flat earthers don’t trust NASA and either do I. In fact, I don’t expect any government agency to tell me the truth - but that does not mean that the earth is a pancake. I also know that it doesn’t feel like the earth is spinning and my hair isn’t blowing as I’d expect - but again, that does not mean that the earth is a pancake.

This is where I hope all flat-earthers are honest and admit that they can’t answer this very simple question. I’d like flat-earthers to acknowledge that this question blows the theory out of the water.

I hope that they, and all of us will start focusing on far more important issues than this. Like working together and removing ourselves from the paradigm that we currently find ourselves in!

Red herrings like flat earth cause division and diversion. We split into our respective camps and do our best to win, we are all guilty of it at times. Far too often the conversation turns vitriolic and damage is done. While we are busy pouring out our knowledge, anger and frustration on someone else or an issue, our focus and energy is diverted away from far important things. Like spending time with loved or helping people that need a hand.

Let’s create a better world, a decentralized world, free of tyranny, where we act voluntarily and live with joy and abundance. If you can help me do that I’d really appreciate it. And if you secretly want to keep believing that the earth is flat I’ll be fine with that to.

N.B: No research was required for this post. I’d looked into this years ago. I do not intend to spend more time on FE. I wanted to put this information on the blockchain. Hopefully it will clear up some confusion and give Steemians a simple method to follow when confronting a flat earther.

Thank you for reading.

Till next time!

Yours in Peace, Love & Truth
@SteemTruth

P.S. I’m aware that there are many ways to prove a spherical earth. This is possibly the simplest method, and hopefully the most effective. If you have a better, simpler method please let me know in the comments below.

P.P.S. Many christians have also been tricked into believing the earth is flat. The bible says the earth hangs on nothing.

He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing. (Job 26:7)

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Some interesting analysis. Cogito ergo sum maybe it's all flat and the math works some how. I just figure lies that big not this many people would know about. Seems like eventually someone would prove it with smart phone or something if some ice wall or hollow earth or other stuff, but maybe you can make fake video of anything now. Who knows in this world of ours?

The world is more than a little bit crazy at times @fatkat. I think the powers that shouldn't be take great pleasure in watching us argue amongst ourselves about silly topics like flat earth while they carry on with their plans to keep us oppressed.

What are you doing that is more important than arguing silly topics? What makes this topic silly?

Great post mate. Can't argue with facts.
Y'know what though? It won't deter many of the flat earthers. I've spoken to a number over the past year or so and they can be unbelievably dogmatic
Even when you pose a question or produce evidence contrary to the flat earth 'theory' they're not having it.
It's a shame because 'flat earthers' are being compared to 9/11 truthers and other seriously legitimate truth seekers.
Hopefully this post will convince some of those on the fence and deter some who are considering researching this folly.

Well said mate. Both the truther and christian communities are being negatively impacted by the actions of the flat earthers. I believe that it is a psychological operation that far too many people have fallen for. I'm reminded of CIA memo 1035-960.

It's no secret that the CIA had a plan set forth where they planned to use disinformation on the public.
CIA director William Casey was famously quoted as saying......

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when eveverything the American public believes is false!"

They put it right in your face and still most folks don't have a clue.

I remember that quote. That sums it up quite well. I think it's a psyop.

Interesting!

Oh this debate lol
IMG_8984.PNG

Earth is Flat not surprised
Earth is sphere not surprised
This debate still goes on not surprised

Whatever the shape is babies are still dying from chemical poisoning
💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉💉
26 doses the first year of life ! No wonder we rank 34th in IMR

#truthtrain

IMG_8952.JPG

@steemtruth have to a shout out today !!

That first pic almost answers my question about how thick the disc is?

Funny meme, though I must say vaccines causing autism is very much a disproven theory. Autism is a genetically inherited disorder... so nothing after birth can cause autism.

Chill with the vaccine shit.. vaccines save thousands if not millions of lives every year. You could be hurting someone's child in the future by promoting such a stupid conspiracy theory.

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Time travels slower as you approach the edges of the flat earth.. time is all relative. Therefore, the earth is flat.

Time travels slower at the bottom of a Steemit post, therefore Steemit is Facebook...

whatever shape it is, I don't give a fuck. I care about making it a better place for suffering little children, the victimized, the poor, the hopeless etc. I care about doing my own part no matter how small and so should you.

FE is designed to be a distraction. You would do well to stay away from it and focus on the far more important issues that you have pointed out. I do not intend to keep writing about FE. I just wanted to get this one post on the blockchain in the hope that it would be helpful to others. Thanks for your input.

It is possible that GE was designed to be a distraction, and the current FE distraction is organized around a fabrication as impossible as the original distraction, but to distract us from examining the original while at the same time discrediting itself.

With all due respect I think you are reading too much into it and complicating it. I'm not picking a fight, just how I see it.

I read no more than what is available, and I respect your opinion. If you weren't trying to pick a fight you might have titled this post less provocatively. ;)

Fair enough ;)

Theoretically your theory is possible. I just don't see evidence for it. Thanks for being a good sport.

"When I disagree with a rational man, I let reality be our final arbiter; if I am right, he will learn; if I am wrong, I will; one of us will win, but both will profit." -Ayn Rand

Even though it isn't in the direct quote, I think one could look at this quote on the other side and say there is no profit to be had by either party in a disagreement when the rational, observable universe is not the agreed upon standard. Any appeals to faith or shifting the burden of proof is, as you said, an attempt to divert. Removing the objective eye is to remove the only tool we can use as a common frame of reference in our existence as separate beings.

I think she might have meant that the person that was wrong will profit in being left alone and not being forced to the change their mind and in the end if they are open to it they will profit from being proven wrong and thus able to change their mind on their own accord. I really love that quote. I had never seen it before.

Correct; in the quote, she is speaking of the rational conversation. In my commentary, I am referring to the lack of purpose of your discussion with those of the irrational camp of mind, the people who are denying the many sources that have been duplicated and verified over and over on a given topic, like the shape of our planet. Can and do the discussions happen? Of course. But as you stated at the beginning, the time of critically-thinking and more productively contributing members of society are "wasting their time".

I am fully a skeptic, so I don't argue for blind acceptance as fact. But I do argue that time is everyone's most valuable resource so I make mine count.

well said @thedreamsteem and lovely quote. I am also a skeptic. I never accept anything blindly so years a few years ago I took a close look at flat earth because so many people we're talking about it. I wanted to know the truth so I did the research. There is lots of evidence for a spherical earth but I thought that this was the simplest one for any layman to understand. I spent considerable time looking at flat earth theory. I hope that my post will save people questioning the shape of the earth some time. All the very best!

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ME: So the earth is flat you say?
FE: Yes, without a doubt!
ME: Are the sun and the moon flat too?
FE: him-haw, hee haw, blah blah blah

You know what's even more disturbing than the flat earth theory. The 'no earth theory'. If for example you think that there is a high probability that we're living in a simulation, then technically you might be a no-earther!

The reason it's more disturbing than flat earth, is because it might be true. We'll start to consider these things more and more, when we begin to populate our video games with human like AI that can think and can communicate intellectually with "real world" players.

"All statements are true in some sense, false in some sense, meaningless in some sense, true and false in some sense, true and meaningless in some sense, false and meaningless in some sense, and true and false and meaningless in some sense."

– A public service clarification by the Sri Syadasti School of Spiritual Wisdom, Wilmette. Principia Discordia

I find neither to be disturbing. A couple of things I do find mildly disturbing:
A) No curvature or motion has ever been detected or measured anywhere.
B) Billions of people operate under the assumption that it has been.

Very smart post. Very truthful. The Earth is obviously round

So obvious it is still being debated.