Flat Earth?

[jthompson]

Ha - got you

 

PROOF the Earth is flat - there is no curvature on that photo!!!!!!

 

 

CLEARLY the conspiracy to hide THE TRUTH started after this was taken!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(warning - post may contain sarcasm)

 

Agreed. That photo was taken in 1946, a full 2 years before the CIA invented PhotoShop.

[mikeprice]

A valiant attempt was made to provide proof of the Flat Earth Theory

 

 

https://www.indy100.com/article/flat-earthers-ferry-lampedusa-italy-boat-trip-9707056

 

 

Well - OK - not valiant - more amazingly dump and ill informed

 

but amusing

 

I love the navigation using a compass - I wonder how they think it works??

 

and the geographical knowledge is rather short of concepts of distance - among other things

[jthompson]

Of course you're going to fail if you use one of those round-Earth compasses that 'Big Navigation' has been pushing for centuries.

[JRA]

Hang on, would a sextant work on a flat earth?

 

EDIT - no it wouldn't. Neither would an astrolabe. We've been using those for hundreds of years.

Edited September 17, 2020 by JRA

[mikeprice]

Hang on, would a sextant work on a flat earth?

 

EDIT - no it wouldn't. Neither would an astrolabe. We've been using those for hundreds of years.

 

FAKE NEWS

 

we ALL KNOW that all the navigators have been in on the conspiracy for centuries

 

They just hold the things up and pretend to take readings - then get the correct position from a GPS

it just looks harder if you pretend to use a fancy pants device and say you have to look things up and do calculations

 

so they keep up the pretence to keep looking like they do a complex job - rather than just reading what the GPS says

 

 

there you go

that should stop THAT question being asked again

[jthompson]

Yeah, you have to ask yourself, have you personally every actually used an astrolabe? Do you even own one? Do you even know anybody that does???

 

I think there's a simpler truth here: those things never actually existed. We all need to be careful to not go around repeating so-called historical "facts" without doing our own research first.

 

\s

[6Foot2]

.

[JRA]

Yeah, you have to ask yourself, have you personally every actually used an astrolabe? Do you even own one? Do you even know anybody that does???

 

I think there's a simpler truth here: those things never actually existed. We all need to be careful to not go around repeating so-called historical "facts" without doing our own research first.

 

\s

 

It is true I have been taking payoffs from "big navi" but they told me they'd push me off the edge if I didn't co-operate.

[mavhc]

I learned all about the real world in a documentary series I found called The Colour Of Magic

[sted]

I learned all about the real world in a documentary series I found called The Colour Of Magic

 

its turtles all the way down

[6Foot2]

Link: https://twitter.com/MichaelJGolub/status/1357069207221850112 [Picture Tweet]

 

#FlatEarth members: You’re obviously right! The cat playing with Australia proves the earth is flat

 

 

*Tweet may contain satire

 

[Arthur]

[Duranis]

That was actually a pretty good video. It's all well and good mocking these people (I have done so myself) but the majority of them have come to these "crazy" ideas due to conditions outside of their control. One small thing leads into another and with how social media and "customised" search results and content selection is done now soon all they are seeing is all of the conspiracy theories.

 

Even the most mentally healthy of people would probably start to question their reality a little if 90% of their facebook, reddit, insta or whatever feeds were conspiracy theories. It's even worse for people when this is their main contact with the outside world or they have a pre-existing mental health condition that makes these kind of things a lot more difficult to ignore. Add in the effect of feeling like you "belong to something special, that knows something most people don't" and it is a very easy trap for many people to fall into and can be very hard to get out of.

[mikeprice]

I have probably said this before but I tend to get a lot of certain dumb stuff on some other forums that I look at

 

at the moment I get a fair amount of anti-vax stuff

 

I tend to try - if I am feeling up to it - to post a sensible and calm response to a few posts a day - with real facts and replying to specific points

It takes ages to get all the right stuff and find where the poster's 'facts' come from and find how to debunk them in a calm and polite manner

and it gets exhausting

 

posting the rubbish the hard core have is far easier

 

hence a lot of rubbish gets posted and only a small amount gets challenged - giving the impression that the hard core must be right

 

 

same applies to all this stuff - the volume drown out the facts

[jthompson]

That was actually a pretty good video. It's all well and good mocking these people (I have done so myself) but the majority of them have come to these "crazy" ideas due to conditions outside of their control. One small thing leads into another and with how social media and "customised" search results and content selection is done now soon all they are seeing is all of the conspiracy theories.

 

Even the most mentally healthy of people would probably start to question their reality a little if 90% of their facebook, reddit, insta or whatever feeds were conspiracy theories. It's even worse for people when this is their main contact with the outside world or they have a pre-existing mental health condition that makes these kind of things a lot more difficult to ignore. Add in the effect of feeling like you "belong to something special, that knows something most people don't" and it is a very easy trap for many people to fall into and can be very hard to get out of.

 

A key thing, I think, is that there is now a business model behind the propogation of [engaging] garbage. Either through chasing greater engagement on social platforms, or by selling merch to followers. There'll be plenty of people happy to sell you a flat-Earth t-shirt, a Q hat or a common law constable ID card, all of which reinforces a sense of purpose and mission amongst followers.

 

[okay, maybe not 'plenty'].

Edited January 18, 2022 by jthompson

[mikeprice]

A key thing, I think, is that there is now a business model behind the propogation of [engaging] garbage. Either through chasing greater engagement on social platforms, or by selling merch to followers. There'll be plenty of people happy to sell you a flat-Earth t-shirt, a Q hat or a common law constable ID card, all of which reinforces a sense of purpose and mission amongst followers.

 

[okay, maybe not 'plenty'].

 

I did wonder about going on a course to become a Common Law Constable

 

but I think they might end up hitting me

 

apparently I can be annoying (see Mrs mikeprice for details) and I don;t always know when to shut up when someone talks total carp

 

and anyway I didn;t want to contribute to their coffers

[Duranis]

I have probably said this before but I tend to get a lot of certain dumb stuff on some other forums that I look at

at the moment I get a fair amount of anti-vax stuff

I tend to try - if I am feeling up to it - to post a sensible and calm response to a few posts a day - with real facts and replying to specific points

It takes ages to get all the right stuff and find where the poster's 'facts' come from and find how to debunk them in a calm and polite manner

and it gets exhausting

posting the rubbish the hard core have is far easier

hence a lot of rubbish gets posted and only a small amount gets challenged - giving the impression that the hard core must be right

same applies to all this stuff - the volume drown out the facts

 

I have had this same discussion with my partner a few times. I will quite often call out misinformation or racism that I see on the likes of Facebook. My partner says it isn't going to change anyone's mind and just makes me look argumentative. I'm under no delusion that anything I say is going to sway the opinions of people posting these things. They aren't debating in good faith and as you say they don't need to have facts, they just need to keep spewing stuff out until the other side gets tired of trying to debunk it all.

 

However it might make someone reading it stop and question things for a moment. My normal response is that does my partner want our kids to grow up in a world where this kind of nonsense is normalised and unchallenged?

[mavhc]

Plus you get to play conspiracy bingo while you do it.

 

Or "how many steps does it take them to blame 'The Jews'"?

[mikeprice]

 

However it might make someone reading it stop and question things for a moment. My normal response is that does my partner want our kids to grow up in a world where this kind of nonsense is normalised and unchallenged?

 

This is exactly my point in doing it

I will probably never change the mind of the main people - but if someone reads something challenging the original post and it makes them realise the post is not true - then I have done something

[6Foot2]

This is exactly my point in doing it

I will probably never change the mind of the main people - but if someone reads something challenging the original post and it makes them realise the post is not true - then I have done something

 

Flat Earthers, Anti-Vaxers, conspiracy theorists, etc are often challenged, but typically they don't listen. If a point is made that they feel they can't counter or don't understand, they will often throw abuse or block the person making the point that beat them and then pretend that they won.

 

However, in opposing them it shows (to them and others) that what they say about vaccines, or the shape of the Earth, etc is not "correct by default" or that it is not correct "because it was not opposed"

 

It's probably the best that can be hoped for given the circumstances.

 

There might even be the occasional convert along the way too!

 

[mavhc]

The point is never to convince the other side, it's the audience that you're trying to persuade

[paulkerton]

If you think Flat Earth is a mad conspiracy theory, then you need to have a look at The Secret Space Programme.

Basically the Nazis split into two. The Third Reich you all know about, and the Fourth Reich who had bases on Antartica and The Moon, reverse engineered alien space crafts and then went out into the Solar System... Upon which they created a Super Solider Programme and kidnapped children to become part of their Super Army to fight aliens, space vampires and lizard people.

 

:eek::eek:

[ICTDirect_Dave]

If you think Flat Earth is a mad conspiracy theory, then you need to have a look at The Secret Space Programme.

Basically the Nazis split into two. The Third Reich you all know about, and the Fourth Reich who had bases on Antartica and The Moon, reverse engineered alien space crafts and then went out into the Solar System... Upon which they created a Super Solider Programme and kidnapped children to become part of their Super Army to fight aliens, space vampires and lizard people.

 

:eek::eek:

 

Isn't that essentially just the plot of Iron Sky?

[paulkerton]

Isn't that essentially just the plot of Iron Sky?

 

Basically, but yet...

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-culture/marines-on-mars-conspiracy/

[ICTDirect_Dave]

Time to pull this one out again methinks...