I'm sorry, flat what???
A criticism on the flat earth conspiracy theory
I cannot believe that some people today actually still think what is supposed to be obsolete now: the earth is flat. I was having a random casual conversation with a licensed electrical engineer when the flat earth conspiracy came up. To my surprise, he is engaged with the idea that the earth might be shaped like a disk. A licensed electrical engineer, allured by this conspiracy—how funny and unbelievable, I thought. Just recently, I came across this over 30-minute YouTube video titled “Flat Earthers vs Scientists: Can We Trust Science?” where scientists and flat earthers discussed their belief, which I found entertaining if I’d be honest. Watching YouTube videos debunking the flat earth theory has been one of my entertainments lately; and now here I am, writing about this topic.
Every time I hear a conversation about this conspiracy, I cannot help but laugh at some point. I find it too ridiculous that this still has to be discussed today. It’s even disturbing how believers of this has multiplied with the emergence of new media. You would think people are getting smarter in this modern age where science is more advanced and information is more accessible, but the internet has also played a role in the resurgence of the flat earth theory. Notwithstanding, it’s just absurd how people can doubt science so much that they hold onto this conspiracy theory which they cannot even prove. Flat earthers claim several faulty arguments apparently supporting their belief.
The bible allegedly asserts that the earth is not spherical. Although, should the bible really be taken and translated literally all the time? Doesn’t it contain figurative scriptures? Is it really infallible? Didn’t the bible also state in Revelation 7:1, 20:8, Isaiah 11:12, and Ezekiel 7:2 that the earth has four corners? However, in Isaiah 40:22, the earth was then described as a circular disk. So, what really is it? Yes, the bible is sacred, but I believe there are also inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and contradictions in it, not to mention that there are hundreds or thousands of versions of the bible. It may not be best to rely on it for truth-seeking. Personally, I would rather stick to science more than the bible for facts. I’m not sure if there are such thing as biblical facts but certainly, scientific facts do exist.
A simple way of knowing that the earth has curvature, supporting the fact that it is round, is by looking at a horizon alone. A flat earther may argue that they can still see a ship from afar the ocean, observing it by the shore, but can they see the whole of it or is the bottom of the ship slowly becomes nonvisible? Naturally, on a horizon, you would still see a tall object from afar, but you wouldn’t see the whole bottom part of it. With the earth’s curvature of 8 inches per mile, the farthest we can see is about 3 miles away, and that is assuming we’re on an average altitude. If the flat earthers would watch longer a boat sailing away, they would see how it would disappear from their sight as it gets farther.
Gravity, the force that keeps us and everything on the ground, would not make sense in a flat earth theory. Things fall down because of the downward force of attraction towards the earth’s center of mass. Additionally, how else could ocean tides be explained if not with gravitational pull? Claiming that the earth is flat would be going against all the laws of physics. Furthermore, has it ever occurred to the flat earthers that other planets in the solar system are also round? This can be observed simply through a telescope. Planets are round because of their gravity.
Another major claim of flat earthers is that the government and NASA conspired to fabricate evidence that shows the earth’s a sphere. How elaborate of a lie must it take for aeronautics and space research agencies to deceive the people for about half the century? Why would they distrust a study concerning nature that has been dedicatedly refined through thousands of years? Can’t they really accept something indisputable? Distrust in government is quite normal, but disbelief in science is another thing. That is just another level of skepticism to me. You can’t support a theory with a conspiracy. Hence, this belief that the earth is flat will remain a conspiracy theory.
I really cannot grasp how the flat earthers still think that the earth is flat. There are many ways you can tell that the earth isn’t flat. Common sense and critical thinking alone can figure out how the earth is actually a sphere. Our planet being a globe makes so much more sense than it being a plane. Moreover, if we are to face the facts that the science has proven, flat earth is basically a nonsensical, nonviable argument. I think whether to believe science or not shouldn’t even be a question. Maybe science can be challenged but with rationality. Yet for people who still don’t know whether to believe science, may they choose their battle wisely.
Albert Einstein once said, “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.” I may have been critical of the flat earthers, but I don’t think it’s okay to think that the world is flat as it’s not okay to spread misinformation and ignorance even. Again, I just cannot help but be flabbergasted of people believing that earth is flat. As the English astronomer Dr. Stuart Clark claimed in his response to the flat earth theory, perhaps the flat earthers are only doing this for a comic effect, to see how far they can push it. Perhaps they really are not that dense and not hundred-percent serious, I hope. Otherwise, I want to ask, are we evolving backwards? Ultimately, the real issue here shouldn’t be the shape of the earth, but science literacy.
Keywords: flat earth, flat earthers, conspiracy theory, debunking
REFERENCES:
- Jubilee. (2019 October 12). Flat Earthers vs Scientists: Can We Trust Science? | Middle Ground [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/Q7yvvq-9ytE.
- Professor Dave Explains. The 10 Things That All Flat Earthers Say [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/KyD8VIK032o
- Tech Insider. (2018 January 9). An Astronomer Responds To Flat Earth Theory. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/thxbiR-XfJo.
