Debunking Flat Earth Misconceptions
The Hafele–Keating experiment was a test of time dilation. Four atomic clocks were flown around Earth, following and against Earth’s rotation, then compared to those remaining on the ground. The results were consistent with relativity.
The theory of relativity can be counterintuitive & difficult to understand. The Hafele–Keating experiment demonstrates a direct measurement of time dilation, a specific aspect of relativity, using a practical concept in our everyday lives.
Nobel disease is a phenomenon where a Nobel Prize winner endorses a pseudoscientific concept in their later years.
Conspiracy theorists use these endorsements as “evidence” science supports their crank ideas. In reality, science relies on the scientific method to discover what is true, rather than the authority of any individual, not even Nobel Prize winners.
We have no problem saying that psychic is pseudoscience even though some Nobel prize laureates at one point endorsed it. Just because renowned scientists like Pierre Curie, Marie Curie, and Albert Einstein supported psychic, it does not mean it is scientific.
Albert Einstein used thought experiments as a tool for formulating his theories. His theories provided predictions that can be tested in observation and experiments. He did not perform the observation and experiments himself. Others did and confirmed his theories.
Some flat-Earthers dismiss Einstein’s theories —especially those about gravity— on the basis that they are founded on thought experiments and daydreaming. They are wrong. His theories have been repeatedly confirmed by various experiments and observation performed by many others, even to this day.
Continue reading “Einstein’s Thought Experiments and Daydreaming”
