Debunking Flat Earth Misconceptions
The weight of an object is the force exerted on the object by gravity. The gravitational force exerted by the Earth on an object is what we feel as the ‘weight’ of the object.
Many flat-Earthers fail to understand that the gravitational force is just another name for ‘weight’. Much misinformation in flat Earth communities arises from this misunderstanding.
Continue reading “What We Feel as “Weight” is the Force of Gravity”
Many misinformation within flat-Earth communities is present only because of their lack of understanding on how forces work on an object.
These are the seven traits of conspiratorial thinking: contradictory, overriding suspicion, nefarious intent, something must be wrong, persecuted victim, immune to evidence, reinterpreting randomness. Flat-Earth is not a scientific problem, it is a conspiracy theory. Like other conspiracy theories, these traits also apply to flat-Earth.
If we look toward the south at night in any location in the southern hemisphere, we will see the same set of stars. We will see the stars rotating around the south celestial pole, in the Octans constellation, near the star Sigma Octantis.
The flat-Earth model cannot explain the phenomenon. Looking at the so-called ‘flat-Earth map,’ we should see another set of stars on a different location in the southern hemisphere. The reason is that the flat-Earth model is a false representation of the Earth.
Continue reading “Stars in the Southern Sky Prove Earth is a Rotating Sphere”
Muslims perform their prayers by facing the Qibla —or the direction to the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Qibla direction is traditionally determined from the direction to the Sun when the Sun is directly overhead the Kaaba. If the Sun is visible during that time, it will indicate the direction of the Qibla.
If the observation results are drawn on the so-called ‘flat-Earth map,’ the Qibla will not consistently point to the Kaaba. Only calculations using the spherical Earth model will give us consistent results that agree with centuries of observation from various locations on Earth. The Qibla proves Earth is a sphere.
A periscope is an optical instrument that allows submarine operators to visually observe the situation above the surface while submerged. Like other optical devices, Earth’s curvature can obscure the visibility of a distant object.
Flat-Earthers claim a periscope can see objects that are too far, and they use it to “prove” a flat Earth. In reality, everything is consistent with spherical Earth. A ship 50 m (165 ft) high at a distance of 25 km (15.5 miles) can still be visible if the weather allows & the periscope is 2 m (7 ft) above the surface.
Earth is tilted relative to its orbital plane. The Northern Hemisphere experiences more sunlight in the months around June. The same is true of the Southern Hemisphere around December. This causes an annual temperature cycle and the seasons.
Flat-Earthers claim the Equator is the hottest place on Earth and use it to disprove Earth’s tilt. In reality, the Equator is not necessarily the hottest place on Earth. Earth’s temperature caused by the axial tilt has an annual cycle and cannot be shown in a single image. Additionally, the Earth is rotating, and therefore the Sun affects the same latitude similarly.
Clouds are moved by the wind. The average wind speed at the altitude of clouds is only about 18–70 km/h, relatively slow compared to the size of visible Earth’s surface from space.
Flat-Earthers use the lack of an apparent cloud movement to discredit videos taken from space. In reality, the clouds are moving far too slowly to appear moving in videos taken from space. To observe the cloud’s motion, we need to speed up the video.
Doublethink is the holding of contradictory beliefs or opinions in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting all as true or correct, failing to recognize the contradiction.
Doublethink is prevalent in conspiracy theories, including flat Earth. They would believe the different concepts that individually appear to support a flat Earth but cannot realize that these concepts are in reality in conflict with each other.
Flat-Earthers like to dismiss any evidence of spherical Earth by mentioning that we never went to space to witness it ourselves. In reality, to go to space, we need to know Earth is a sphere in the first place and other related knowledge, like gravity.
We knew Earth is a sphere 23 centuries before the first spaceflight. And it is easy to verify Earth is a sphere from simple observations that anyone can do from Earth’s surface.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a spacecraft orbiting the Moon. It is equipped with a high-resolution camera that has captured photographs of Apollo landing sites.
We often observe flat-Earthers demanding NASA to prove the Apollo missions with recent photos of the landing sites, and NASA has provided just that. However, this too will not be enough for them to accept that the Apollo missions did occur.
Continue reading “Images of the Apollo Moon Landing Sites Taken By LRO”
Superficial charm is the tendency to be smooth, engaging, charming, slick, and verbally facile. It is one of the attributes of psychopathic personalities. A person with this trait tends to easily manipulate others to hold them in high esteem. Some prominent flat-Earthers can be regarded to possess a superficial charm, which can turn many people to become flat-Earth believers.
Many flat-Earthers regard other people are like them. They think people do not believe in a flat Earth only because they have not seen a video from a certain prominent flat-Earther. In reality, many of us are still able to control our emotions and avoid becoming victims ourselves. On the contrary, many of us will wonder why these people are so gullible that they can blindly believe these peddlers and fail to use their reasoning skills.
The fallacy of the single cause occurs when it is assumed that there is a single, simple cause of an outcome when in reality, it may have been caused by a number of only jointly sufficient causes.
If it is said that “A causes B,” it is rarely that B is caused only by A, but usually, there are other things that cause B simultaneously with A that are not explicitly mentioned. Assuming that only A causes B from the statement without further consideration is the single-cause fallacy.
Newton’s cannonball was a thought experiment Isaac Newton used to explain the principle of orbital motion. It was the first explanation of an orbit and still the easiest to understand.
Newton visualizes a cannon on top of a very tall mountain where the air resistance is no longer a factor. As more charge is used with each cannon shot, the speed of the cannonball will be greater, and the cannonball will hit the ground farther and farther. Finally, at a certain speed, it will not hit the ground at all. It will fall toward the spherical Earth just as fast as the Earth curves away from it. In the absence of drag from the atmosphere, it will continue forever in orbit around the Earth.
NASA lost the telemetry tapes containing the recording of the raw video data transmitted by the Apollo 11 mission. However, all the data was also safely recorded elsewhere.
Flat-Earthers make a big deal out of this incident to discredit the Apollo mission. In reality:
Flight durations are a useful proxy for the distances between cities and easily debunk flat Earth. Flat-Earthers invented the “explanations” that the discrepancies of the flight durations in the flat Earth model are caused by winds and jet streams.
In reality, the required wind speed in such a scenario far exceeds the typical jet stream speed. Furthermore, the wind does not affect similar routes the same way in the flat Earth model. And we can easily account for the wind speed differences by averaging the flight durations in both directions. Continue reading “Wind & Jet Stream Excuses”
After a long deliberation about the sizes of various objects on the flat Earth model, we come to the conclusion that the sizes of these objects make sense and conform to observation.
The largest object in the entire universe is the brain of any flat Earther, allowing them to have an IQ of about 1000000. Due to their genius mind, they have the ability to know these facts, something that sheeples with their 1 cm brain cannot possibly do.
The Strait of Gibraltar separates the Iberian Peninsula and Africa. The two are separated only by 13 km (8.7 miles) at the narrowest point. We can easily see Africa from Spain as it is not that far away and that there are many highlands on both sides.
Flat-Earthers present the visibility of Africa from Spain as “evidence” Earth is flat. In reality, Africa is not that far from Spain. It is not far enough for the curvature of Earth to obstruct our view of Africa from Spain and vice versa.
Technobabble describes arguments that use the language of science without actually being in any way scientific. It uses scientific terms incorrectly to create a false sense of technical solidity.
Flat-Earthers often use technobabble to explain away the facts that cannot possibly occur if Earth is flat. They use these technical languages to overwhelm and confuse the audience, masking their dishonesty and give a false impression as though they are talking about actual science.
The Apollo Lunar Module needed to be as light as possible. It would also operate only in a vacuum and did not have to be sturdy or aerodynamic. To reduce weight, its hull was covered with various insulation blankets instead of rigid heat shields.
Flat-Earthers often ridicule the shape of the lunar module of being flimsy. In reality, there is no requirement to look pretty. The flimsy-looking things are just the insulation blankets. The actual hull underneath them provides structural support.
