Why do people believe such things?

[Schrodinger's Dog]

http://www.theflatEarth'society.org/forums/

I always thought the Flat Earth Society were a source of amusement, and weren't all that serious in their beliefs, but I guess like others I was misinformed.

Would like to hear any opinions on this site for and against.

I found it a cracking read, almost as interesting as arguing with creationism, but without the religion.

Anyway it never ceases to amaze me what people believe, so if you have anything out there that is also in the same league or at least close, then feel free to post.

My personal favourite section for this site is angry ranting, that is genious and I humbly submit we should have the same thing in all feedback sections of all forums.

Anyway enjoy.

 

[d_leet]

I love how in their FAQ they call it a non-sequitur to ask why the Earth doesn't produce a gravitational field when the sun and moon and stars do, since there is apparently no reason to think these objects are made of the same thing, so I really wonder what they think the Earth is made of that is so different from other celestial bodies that it doesn't produce a gravitational field.

 

[Rach3]

I love how in their FAQ they call it a non-sequitur to ask why the Earth doesn't produce a gravitational field when the sun and moon and stars do, since there is apparently no reason to think these objects are made of the same thing, so I really wonder what they think the Earth is made of that is so different from other celestial bodies that it doesn't produce a gravitational field.

Err, the Earth is extremely different from a star, and the law of universal gravitation is far from obvious, it took a Newton to figure it out. You don't see two tennis balls attracting each other, unless they're on a torsion pendulum.

 

[d_leet]

Err, the Earth is extremely different from a star, and the law of universal gravitation is far from obvious, it took a Newton to figure it out. You don't see two tennis balls attracting each other, unless they're on a torsion pendulum.

True, but since they don't seem to ignore the laws of physics and their image of the Earth isn't just a completely flat disk but more of a hockey puck kind of thing, it has to have some mass even in their theory so I would think they would realize it would have a gravitational field, but you do have a point.

 

[Evo]

Just pit them against the hollow Earth believers. http://www.tlonh.com/articles/hollowEarthHistory.asp

 

[Mattara]

This is the biggest piece of cr@p I've ever seen.

Although if you are a member of a cult, it is your fault in this case :/

 

[JamesU]

Just pit them against the hollow Earth believers. http://www.tlonh.com/articles/hollowEarthHistory.asp

:uhh:

 

[zoobyshoe]

To the best of our knowledge, the following list consists of all the genuine flat earthers active on this website:

Daniel
bullhorn
Dogplatter
Dr_Bill
Chaltier
Dionysios

The list will be revised as others come to light.

The list of genuine flat Earthers appears above in order that no one erroneously think that certain other persons are flat Earthers just because they have access to this forum as several non-flat Earthers have made posts here in the past.
Many persons have made pro-flat Earth posts or even played devil's advocates, but further investigation often reveals that such persons have also made other posts which indicate that they do not actually believe the Earth is flat whatsoever.

It seems to me this could well be tongue-in-cheek played to the hilt. A few of us sustained such non-sensical whimsy for quite a while here in the Stupid Quetion thread. It's not funny unless you're totally commited to pretending you believe it.

 

[Chi Meson]

This has come up before, and I remember a prior comment I made about the FES:

I have a friend who is a flat-earther. I know it is a put-on, and he is not that stupid. It is a game, and the game is to never let the facade break. He will never-ever admit that he is joking, but his statements will continue to be obviously outrageous and deliberately goading.

The English would say he enjoys "taking the piss out of people." Most if not all "flat-earthers" are this way. Perhaps a few are indeed mentally ill, but it's hard to tell the difference.

 

[zoobyshoe]

This has come up before, and I remember a prior comment I made about the FES:

I have a friend who is a flat-earther. I know it is a put-on, and he is not that stupid. It is a game, and the game is to never let the facade break. He will never-ever admit that he is joking, but his statements will continue to be obviously outrageous and deliberately goading.

The English would say he enjoys "taking the piss out of people." Most if not all "flat-earthers" are this way. Perhaps a few are indeed mentally ill, but it's hard to tell the difference.

Personally I find that sustained, dead pan humor is the funniest and most successful of all kinds. This FES has milked the one joke way too long, but it was hilarious to me at first to read these apparently ernest assertions that something which has been proven to be toroidal in so many ways, as far back as the Greeks, up to and including the first Russian satelite pics of our doughnut planet, was flat. I got a kick out of it.

 

[Chi Meson]

Personally I find that sustained, dead pan humor is the funniest and most successful of all kinds. This FES has milked the one joke way too long, but it was hilarious to me at first to read these apparently ernest assertions that something which has been proven to be toroidal in so many ways, as far back as the Greeks, up to and including the first Russian satelite pics of our doughnut planet, was flat. I got a kick out of it.

You of course don't mean torus, per se, right? It's techinically a cyclide.

 

[DaveC426913]

It is a game, and the game is to never let the facade break.

Oh.




(Well, my world makes just a little more sense than it did yesterday.)

 

[DaveC426913]

I wonder if http://www.thesecret.tv/home.html" are tongue-in-cheek or just money grabbers.

 

[rocketboy]

I wonder if http://www.thesecret.tv/home.html" are tongue-in-cheek or just money grabbers.

LOOOOOOOOL!

that deserves a 40x40 of rolling laughter smileys...but I'm not going to waste time doing that... I'm going to order "the secret" instead. *bursts out laughing*

 

[Norman]

I wonder if http://www.thesecret.tv/home.html" are tongue-in-cheek or just money grabbers.

And they even give a synopsis!

My favorite quote on the site is this:

The Secret is temporarily unavailable to viewers in Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Australia due to contractual obligations.

 

[scott1]

So I guess they think the moon landing is a hoax too.:rofl:

 

[slugcountry]

its hilarious to see people get so steamed actually trying to argue with the flat earthers when its such an obvious joke too

 

[Schrodinger's Dog]

Indeed it is in the main a joke, but there do appear to be a few hardcore believers there, or am I just being mislead? Could be...

I'd like to threadjack a little if I may, I'll send myself a pm'd apology later, I'm a hardass at times, but I'm also pretty good at diplomacy, so I reckon I'll forgive myself?

Anyway in the same vain ask yourself about Creationsism with a big C or Young Earth Creationism, how in the wide wide world of sport do so many people believe in this? And trust me they do sincerely believe that the Earth is around 6000 years old or so, despite the weight of evidence against them.

I've seen and read, hundreds of creationist links utterly trashed by humble learned amateurs and bonified scientists alike, I have seen a palientologist completely destroy notions of untenable evolutionary links or excerts about fossils not being able to survive in an environment, about DNA's fragility being unable to explain fossils; geoligists showing how volcaninc activity can account for the age of rocks and erosion; how the sea can be as salty as it is; biologists explain chemicle blunders and misapropriations about DNA and about protein formation; physisists explain how the universe must be larger than 6000 light years to incorporate all the matter we see.

And yet there's always something else they can attack or something more they can work into their argument, how the great flood alone could account for the Erosion, how light did not refract before the floods, accounting for inbreeding and Adam and Eve, and Noah with his eight survivors, all of this is marvellously credible and yet science is not? And and they always bounce back! You've got to admire their tenacity I would say that given the things they do believe and the things they don't, it's easily the equal of the FES, but without the tongue in cheek humour obviously

 

[Anttech]

It seems to me this could well be tongue-in-cheek played to the hilt. A few of us sustained such non-sensical whimsy for quite a while here in the Stupid Quetion thread. It's not funny unless you're totally commited to pretending you believe it.

Exactly, its a 'troll hole' :)