NationStates Jolt Archive

Flat earth theroy still around!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7540427.stm

Was wondering anyone else heard any crazy theory people still think are true contra to the evidence?

Well the other obvious one is Creationism, especially Young Earth Creationism

Also Freudian theories, especially to do with psycho-sexual stages and the oedipus complex, and don't get me started on penis-envy. Just... no.

I came to realise how much we take at face value," he says. "We humans seem to be pleased with just accepting what we are told, no matter how much it goes against our senses."

Mr Davis now believes "the Earth is flat and horizontally infinite - it stretches horizontally forever".

"And it is at least 9,000 kilometres deep", he adds.

Hahahahahahahhaahhaahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha-*Cough-hack*hahahhahahaha *Wheeze, wheeeeze* hahahh-ho-he-ha-hahahahahah*Cough, cough Cough* ha...ha...hoo.

That was a good one.

Well the other obvious one is Creationism, especially Young Earth Creationism

Also Freudian theories, especially to do with psycho-sexual stages and the oedipus complex, and don't get me started on penis-envy. Just... no.

You're just jealous of God's penis.

oh,yeah and when we look at it from space we only think that we see a ball http://assets.jolt.co.uk/forums/jolt/smilies/rolleyes.gif
:rolleyes:

You're just jealous of God's penis.

Aren't we all?:p

You're just jealous of God's penis.

Why ? He never uses it ;)

Have you ever looked at rain drops under a microscope? I think if you did, you'd find he does use it, and quite often!

Why ? He never uses it ;)

Except that one time... and we all know how that turned out.

Have you ever looked at rain drops under a microscope? I think if you did, you'd find he does use it, and quite often!

I'm never going to feel clean again...

Except that one time... and we all know how that turned out.

Many Christians do not believe God actually stuck his penis into Mary ;)

Of course, if we are talking about the great god Atum - the autofellatio was indeed quite nice.

If The Earth were a flattened disc, and these flat earthers are correct, then circling north of the equator would be indistinguishable from circumnavigating globe. Where it breaks down is south of the equator. If it's a disk, then it ought to take Longer to circle the disc south of the equator than at the equator.

...By the way, it doesn't. :p

If The Earth were a flattened disc, and these flat earthers are correct, then circling north of the equator would be indistinguishable from circumnavigating globe. Where it breaks down is south of the equator. If it's a disk, then it ought to take Longer to circle the disc south of the equator than at the equator.

...By the way, it doesn't. :p

Thats because of the teleporter arrays in the southern arctic ocean :P

If they are silly enough to believe that the earth is flat, then they are easily silly enough to ignore that piece of evidence, but i think it is more likely that there are teleporter arrays in the oceans. I mean, has anyone actually been down to the bottom of all this places to check? didn't think so, so they must be there! :p

If they are silly enough to believe that the earth is flat, then they are easily silly enough to ignore that piece of evidence, but i think it is more likely that there are teleporter arrays in the oceans. I mean, has anyone actually been down to the bottom of all this places to check? didn't think so, so they must be there! :p

I have the maintenance contract, thats how i know for sure.
Bloody huge things they are :D

What is it with hicks and their stubborn denial of reality?

What is it with hicks and their stubborn denial of reality?

And how the hell do we get them out of government?

And how the hell do we get them out of government?

Indeed. :D

I don't know, thats your problem. Mine is keeping upper class idiots out of the government, and sadly it looks like next election we are going to fail.

Young Earth Creationism and Holocaust Denial are the only two conspiracy theories I can think of which are in the same league as Flat Earthism.

Young Earth Creationism and Holocaust Denial are the only two conspiracy theories I can think of which are in the same league as Flat Earthism.Holocaust denial is the same as thinking the Earth is flat or only 6,000 years old. How about you just say that out loud to yourself and think about it for a while...

I have absolutely no problem with Flat Earthism. If that's what people want to believe then fine. Besides if they ever did try to put their theory into practice then they'd fail miserably and hence the theory would never gain much prominence at all.

Holocaust denial is the same as thinking the Earth is flat or only 6,000 years old. How about you just say that out loud to yourself and think about it for a while...

It's in the same league, yes: Both approach the evidence in the same way and draw absurd conclusions from it. Happily I'm not alone in this opinion, and am supported by Michael Shermer, founder of the Skeptics Society.

EDIT: for what it's worth Shermer has published numerous books on both Holocaust Denial and Creationism.

Of all the claims we have investigated at Skeptic, I have found only one that I could compare to [Young Earth] creationism for the ease and certainty with which it asks us to ignore or dismiss so much existing knowledge. That is Holocaust denial. Further, the similarities between the two in their methods of reasoning are startling:

1. Holocaust deniers find errors in the scholarship of historians and then imply that therefore their conclusions are wrong, as if historians never make mistakes. Evolution deniers ... find errors in science and imply that all science is wrong, as if scientists never make mistakes.

2. Holocaust deniers are fond of quoting, usually out of context, leading Nazis, Jews, and Holocaust scholars to make it sound like they are supporting Holocaust deniers' claims. Evolution deniers are fond of quoting leading scientists like Steven Jay Gould and Ernst Mayr out of context and implying that they are cagily denying the reality of evolution.

3. Holocaust deniers contend that genuine and honest debate between Holocaust scholars means they themselves doubt the Holocaust or cannot get their stories straight. Evolution deniers argue that genuine and honest debate between scientists means even they doubt evolution or cannot get their stories straight.

Perhaps you should try thinking before leaping in with patronising comments, no?

It's in the same league, yes: Both approach the evidence in the same way and draw absurd conclusions from it. Happily I'm not alone in this opinion, and am supported by Michael Shermer, founder of the Skeptics Society.

EDIT: for what it's worth Shermer has published numerous books on both Holocaust Denial and Creationism.



Perhaps you should try thinking before leaping in with patronising comments, no?Nope, I still find it staggering that you think holocaust denial is in the same league as the other two. This Micheal Shermer makes good points about their similarities, but they remain different in what I consider to be the prime motivation for the theories. Holocaust denial is deeply rooted in prejudice towards a specific minority. I do not see the same abhorent prejudice in Flat-Earthism or Young Creationism.

In essence I believe all three to be factually wrong, but only one to be morally wrong.

These people rock.

I honestly find Flat-Earthism no more silly than a whole multitude of beliefs that some of my friends hold. I am inclined to believe that the information we are fed by media and the government is often designed to manipulate and mislead us, so I think its quite possible that for some reason we're been lied to about lots of things. This example is an extreme one, but I don't think its the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard by any means.

I'd say that Flat Earthers are worse than Young Earthers. At least young Earther's views are based on the total ignorance of historical evidence. Flat Earther's views are based on total ignorance of current, observable evidence.

I'd say that Flat Earthers are worse than Young Earthers. At least young Earther's views are based on the total ignorance of historical evidence. Flat Earther's views are based on total ignorance of current, observable evidence.

If some chain of hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of concurrent mistakes had been made by scientists in the fields of ecology, biology, and evolution, then the Young Earthers could actually be partially right. However, the chances of that occurring are so minuscule that it is pretty much conclusive that they are wrong. The Flat Earthers (even with a similar chain of mistakes) could not be right as the science of a round Earth has been put into practice on countless occasions.

Nope, I still find it staggering that you think holocaust denial is in the same league as the other two. This Micheal Shermer makes good points about their similarities, but they remain different in what I consider to be the prime motivation for the theories. Holocaust denial is deeply rooted in prejudice towards a specific minority. I do not see the same abhorent prejudice in Flat-Earthism or Young Creationism.

In essence I believe all three to be factually wrong, but only one to be morally wrong.

Did you actually read the question which started the thread?

"Was wondering anyone else heard any crazy theory people still think are true contra to the evidence?"

In other words, this is about conspiracy theories like Flat Earthism which are wildly contradicted by the evidence. To this I replied:

"Young Earth Creationism and Holocaust Denial are the only two conspiracy theories I can think of which are in the same league as Flat Earthism."

Can you see where this is going?

You then respond with a patronising, "How about you just say that out loud to yourself and think about it for a while...", because they (in your opinion) differed according to criteria which you didn't specify and which are completely irrelevent to the thread? Are you for real?

It's like entering a thread which starts "I love chocolate ice cream, what flavour ice creams do you like best" and replying to "Vanilla and strawberry the only flavours I can think of which are in the same league as chocolate" by "How about you just say that out loud to yourself and think about it for a while... Strawberrry is a fruit, chocolate and vanilla aren't." It's utterly ridiculous.

Seriously, try reading the thread next time, k?

Well there are people who still think the moon landing was faked and that an Alien spaceship crashed in Roswell, N.M. and the government retreived alien bodies from the wreckage and that the Federal Government is capable of solving our problems. Those rank with Flat Earthers IMO.

If some chain of hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of concurrent mistakes had been made by scientists in the fields of ecology, biology, and evolution, then the Young Earthers could actually be partially right. However, the chances of that occurring are so minuscule that it is pretty much conclusive that they are wrong. The Flat Earthers (even with a similar chain of mistakes) could not be right as the science of a round Earth has been put into practice on countless occasions.

The science of an old earth has been put into practice on countless occaisons to find oil and gas, as well as to predict where different fossils would appear in the geological column, etc.

I honestly find Flat-Earthism no more silly than a whole multitude of beliefs that some of my friends hold. I am inclined to believe that the information we are fed by media and the government is often designed to manipulate and mislead us, so I think its quite possible that for some reason we're been lied to about lots of things. This example is an extreme one, but I don't think its the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard by any means.

What reason would 'media'(a vast and diverse group of businesses) have for manipulating us? It's in their best interests to tell us what we want to hear(which may be misleading) as much as they can while maintaining their reputation.

What reason would 'media'(a vast and diverse group of businesses) have for manipulating us? It's in their best interests to tell us what we want to hear(which may be misleading) as much as they can while maintaining their reputation.

Ah but don't you know that as soon as you enter the Media, you automatically become brainwashed into a great conspiracy designed to only tell us things the governement/UFOs/TheIlluminti/Cthulluh want us to believe.

It's the same that as soon as you realise that you may not be straight, you become brainwashed into pushing the Gay Agenda, and that as soon as you get your PhD is science, you automatically become part of a gestalt entity know as the Scientific Community.

This said, I do think there is currently a danger that more and more news outlets nowadays are becoming owned by fewer and fewer companies. This can lead to biases in reporting that follow along the lines of said companies/CEOs views (see Fox News and other Rupert Murdoch owned news). The increased commercialisation of media means that they tend to report things that "sell" or which will appeal to the broadest base as possible. Unfortunately the net result is a gradual reduction in content of news and an increase in sensationalising (because that grabs our attention, and really that's what they care about).

The science of an old earth has been put into practice on countless occaisons to find oil and gas, as well as to predict where different fossils would appear in the geological column, etc.

Good point, but it always easier to prove something that can be seen currently occurring rather than something that usually occurs slowly but has brief moments of great activity (none of which modern man has been around for - thank god).

Ah but don't you know that as soon as you enter the Media, you automatically become brainwashed into a great conspiracy designed to only tell us things the governement/UFOs/TheIlluminti/Cthulluh want us to believe.

It's the same that as soon as you realise that you may not be straight, you become brainwashed into pushing the Gay Agenda, and that as soon as you get your PhD is science, you automatically become part of a gestalt entity know as the Scientific Community.

This said, I do think there is currently a danger that more and more news outlets nowadays are becoming owned by fewer and fewer companies. This can lead to biases in reporting that follow along the lines of said companies/CEOs views (see Fox News and other Rupert Murdoch owned news). The increased commercialisation of media means that they tend to report things that "sell" or which will appeal to the broadest base as possible. Unfortunately the net result is a gradual reduction in content of news and an increase in sensationalising (because that grabs our attention, and really that's what they care about).

I figure eventually people will want actual current events in their news media and will adjust their purchasing accordingly. Either Murdoch's empire will start reporting actual news, or it'll fail miserably. My money would be on the latter, going by how long it's taken big companies to take this whole environmentalist thing seriously.

What reason would 'media'(a vast and diverse group of businesses) have for manipulating us? It's in their best interests to tell us what we want to hear(which may be misleading) as much as they can while maintaining their reputation.

The media and politicians are both controlled by the Jews and freemasons, who in turn are the representatives on Earth of the alien race that has been manipulating the development of our species since its very emergence. What is the aliens' motive? We are nothing but an elaborate scientific experiment looking at development of humanoids so they can better understand how they themselves developed. This works because nearly all aliens are humanoid or nearly so in their form, as one can clearly see from documentaries such as Dr Who and Star Trek.

The media and politicians are both controlled by the Jews and freemasons, who in turn are the representatives on Earth of the alien race that has been manipulating the development of our species since its very emergence. What is the aliens' motive? We are nothing but an elaborate scientific experiment looking at development of humanoids so they can better understand how they themselves developed. This works because nearly all aliens are humanoid or nearly so in their form, as one can clearly see from documentaries such as Dr Who and Star Trek.

OH GOD! It all makes sense now!

Many Christians do not believe God actually stuck his penis into Mary ;)

Most don't, actually. It wouldn't exactly be a virgin birth, would it?