# What is the point to flat earth? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 31, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748 "2017-05-31T00:57:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/181 "2018-05-03T13:25:09Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > Proof? Ever done it? Not just blandly asserted it can be done? > It can’t be done because the Earth is curved. The closest part of the French coast is around 300 miles from Manchester. So he could see that provided he can find [a 60,000 foot mountain](http://www.ringbell.co.uk/info/hdist.htm) in the Manchester area. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/182 "2018-05-03T13:27:06Z")
> [@autan](#): > > Thats a good point and here is my answer. > > Lets say I am in the England (which I am) and I am in Manchester which is in Northern England. > Can I see the Northern Coast of France ? NO > > Why because my position in England means I do not have that in my perspective view. > > However if I am in Dover in Southern England, then I can see the Northern Coast of France all day long. > > If I could stand on a hill or mountain and weather permitting, I got out a telescope then I could zoom and zoom and I would be able to see the North Coast of France from Manchester. > > On a globe this is impossible because of the curvature of the earth means I cannot see around the corner. Light bends but not by 8 inches per mile. > > My point being if I had a telescope I could see in England, what they see in Australia only from a different perspective. Had you ever been to the seaside you would know that is wrong, telescope or not. Clear day, perfect weather, look at a boat going out to sea. You’ll note that long before it vanishes from your sight entirely, soon enough you’ll keep seeing the superstructure & masts while the waterline has disappeared - that’s not because the boat is sinking, merely gone beyond a distance where the curvature of the globe gets between your eyes and it. If the Earth is flat, why can you get from London to Tokyo with a stop at either LAX or Moscow ? Why does the shortest/most fuel efficient flight path from Europe to the US [go over Greenland](https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/flight-paths-and-great-circles-or-why-you-flew-over-greenland/) rather than in a straight line ? ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/183 "2018-05-03T13:33:04Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > The closest part of the French coast is around 300 miles from Manchester. So he could see that provided he can find [a 60,000 foot mountain](http://www.ringbell.co.uk/info/hdist.htm) in the Manchester area. I’ve been to the highest pub in England, which is in the Pennines, it is rather a bit short of 60,000 feet. Bloody miserable up there however. Very nice beef pie made up for it. Plus real ale. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/184 "2018-05-03T13:33:21Z")
Yes, you’re right, the Earth is flat. Flat as a professional female volleyball player. Also, as a direct result of the flat Earth, our organs orbit about the spleen as we get older. Welcome to the board, I love like minded people coming here. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/185 "2018-05-03T13:52:16Z")
> [@autan](#): > > I believe the world is flat and not a ball. > Show me a genuine unedited picture, unphotoshoped image of our planet from space in real time. Let me see Australians walking along Sydney Harbour Bridge upside down because of this theory of gravity and then I will believe we are on a globe. Ooh, finally I have my chance. So…is the Earth itself falling? Can material fall off the edge of the earth / can clouds drift away from the plane? ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/186 "2018-05-03T13:59:02Z")
> [@autan](#): > > I believe the world is flat and not a ball. > Show me a genuine unedited picture, unphotoshoped image of our planet from space in real time. Thought of another one : show us a picture of the edge of the world. Looking down over the edge, if possible. ETA : oh goddammit, \*\*Mijin \*\*! ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/187 "2018-05-03T14:28:24Z")
Another one would be the existence of time zones. If the Earth is a flat disk, then the Sun vanishing below the edge’s horizon should plunge the whole disk into darkness at once. Converserly, if the Sun always stayed above the disk, there would never be a night time at all. But it doesn’t and instead you can wake a Japanese person up in the middle of the night by calling them at Manchester’s noon ; and if you fly fast enough you can outrun the night/chase the Sun - in fact SR-71 pilot Brian Shul wrote[in his memoirs](https://www.amazon.com/Sled-Driver-Flying-Worlds-Fastest/dp/0929823087) that he once saw the Sun rise in the West, because their plane was going so fast it actually caught up with the Sun. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/188 "2018-05-03T14:36:09Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Another one would be the existence of time zones. If the Earth is a flat disk, then the Sun vanishing below the edge’s horizon should plunge the whole disk into darkness at once. Converserly, if the Sun always stayed above the disk, there would never be a night time at all. > > … The sun dims at night. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/189 "2018-05-03T14:44:04Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > The sun dims at night. Yes, I know, which is why the Belgian/Polish joint space program figured they could land on the Sun provided they launched late enough. It should still dim for everyone on the disk at the same moment. I dare ya to make timezones work on a flat disk without resorting to Pterry’s handwave that light moves more slowly on Discworld due to the Disc’s heavy magical field 😛 ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/190 "2018-05-03T14:57:10Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > Proof? Ever done it? Not just blandly asserted it can be done? > It can’t be done because the Earth is curved. Getting up on a hill and carefully observing what the change in range to what you can actually see can be done, and will yield a result consistent with a curved surface. You are invited to try it. One thing to watch out for is that the atmosphere, being denser closer to the surface, can act as a lens and bend the light a little bit around the curve. The flat-earthers can trot out pictures of cities on the horizon that you shouldn’t be able to see, but you can, because of air density effects. There’s a notorious one they use of the Chicago skyline taken across Lake Michigan, when you wouldn’t expect to see it, except that the air over the lake is acting like a lens because of density variations. Also, when we see the Sun or the Moon setting over the horizon, it’s actually already around the curve because of that. > [@Kobal2](#): > > …in fact SR-71 pilot Brian Shul wrote[in his memoirs](https://www.amazon.com/Sled-Driver-Flying-Worlds-Fastest/dp/0929823087) that he once saw the Sun rise in the West, because their plane was going so fast it actually caught up with the Sun. I would think that airline pilots would do this all the time, because when they fly from Europe to the US, or from the US to Japan, they’re going on a great circle route near the polar regions, and the speed you have to go to be going faster than the Earth’s rotation is lower. For example, I’ve flown from Los Angeles to Tokyo, and the flight goes up around 60 degrees north latitude. At that latitude, you have to go only half as fast as you would at the equator to see the sun rise, about 500 mph. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/191 "2018-05-03T15:01:00Z")
> [@autan](#): > > Radiation from Chernobyl in Belarus, where their was a sever nuclear accident in the 1980s is beginning to get into the water table. I think the Chernobyl disaster was more [melt](https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/the-elephant-foot-of-the-chernobyl-disaster-1986/) than sever. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/192 "2018-05-03T15:10:49Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Another one would be the existence of time zones. If the Earth is a flat disk, then the Sun vanishing below the edge’s horizon should plunge the whole disk into darkness at once. Converserly, if the Sun always stayed above the disk, there would never be a night time at all. That’s because the earth isn’t just ONE flat surface, it is SEVERAL flat surfaces. In fact, the earth is a cube. It is the little known but revolutionary Cubist Theory of planetary development that will eventually sweep away the stifling and short-sighted 2-dimentsional flat earth theory. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/193 "2018-05-03T15:20:54Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > That’s because the earth isn’t just ONE flat surface, it is SEVERAL flat surfaces. In fact, the earth is a cube. It is the little known but revolutionary Cubist Theory of planetary development that will eventually sweep away the stifling and short-sighted 2-dimentsional flat earth theory. Foolish. Everyone knows the earth is a dodecahedron. ---
**Author:** ![Doubticus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@Doubticus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doubticus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/194 "2018-05-03T15:21:04Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Nah, it’s an optical illusion mate. They’re flat too, just all oriented towards the Earth ! Funny thing, I was looking at the Moon with my telescope (yes I know, the Devil’s instrument) over several days, and noticed that depending on where you looked, some mountains would cast shadows and others wouldn’t. The lengths of the shadows would change, but there wasn’t a time where all the mountains cast a shadow. It’s almost like the Moon is spherical or something. ---
**Author:** ![wallewek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/71e660/32.png) [@wallewek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wallewek)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/195 "2018-05-03T15:32:32Z")
Life provides a series of lessons that get repeated until you learn them. One lesson is to not waste your own time arguing about stupid things. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/196 "2018-05-03T16:08:39Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > If the Earth is flat, why can you get from London to Tokyo with a stop at either LAX or Moscow ? Why does the shortest/most fuel efficient flight path from Europe to the US [go over Greenland](https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/flight-paths-and-great-circles-or-why-you-flew-over-greenland/) rather than in a straight line ? You are thinking of mercator-flat; the traditional FE model uses a pizza-Earth, where the North Pole is the central point and Antarctica is the ice-wall crust that holds back the oceans. In this model, the straight-line paths of travel from, say, London to Tokyo render as curves when traced on a Mercator-style map. Unfortunately, the shortest path from Quito to Singapore on the pizza map goes approximately over the North Pole; to use the equatorial route (which is about the same distance on a globe), one would have to follow a much longer curve. In fact, Quito and Singapore are nearly perfectly antipodean to each other, so almost any route you could fly straight between them would be very close to the same distance. These FE anomalies have rifted the CommuniTy, so [a new kind of theory](https://www.flatearthconspiracy.com/the-flat-earth-map-reset/) has come into development. It is commonly described as the “Pac-Man” model because it relies on spacetime anomalies to maintain as consistent map: when you approach an incontinuity/noncontiguity in the map, some sort of wormhole type thing transports you to the opposite side. There is no “edge”, as such, just a web of crossovers where you mysteriously end up on the other side of where you came from. In this way, the greater shape of the Earth could be any kind of polygon (it could have the biblical “4 corners), some other traceable shape or even no shape that could be described by Cartesian math. More research will be needed for the PMFECTs to determine how their model is actually laid out, but I suspect they will discover something that explains the globe illusion in an especially elegant way (\<- /s ). ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/197 "2018-05-03T16:16:33Z")
> [@wallewek](#): > > Life provides a series of lessons that get repeated until you learn them. One lesson is to not waste your own time arguing about stupid things. It’s not work if it’s play. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/198 "2018-05-03T16:22:42Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > These FE anomalies have rifted the CommuniTy, so [a new kind of theory](https://www.flatearthconspiracy.com/the-flat-earth-map-reset/) has come into development. It is commonly described as the “Pac-Man” model because it relies on spacetime anomalies to maintain as consistent map: when you approach an incontinuity/noncontiguity in the map, some sort of wormhole type thing transports you to the opposite side. At this point of twisting themselves into pretzels they might as well, in true DM fashion, just throw their hands up and shout “SHUT UP IT’S MAGICAL, OK ?! Now roll your fucking Will save.” ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/199 "2018-05-03T17:37:33Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > That’s because the earth isn’t just ONE flat surface, it is SEVERAL flat surfaces. In fact, the earth is a cube. It is the little known but revolutionary Cubist Theory of planetary development that will eventually sweep away the stifling and short-sighted 2-dimentsional flat earth theory. Yes, but is it a _[time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Cube)_ cube? ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2018, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748/200 "2018-05-03T18:40:08Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Yes, but is it a _[time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Cube)_ cube? I didn’t realize that Time Cube guy was dead and that the website was now defunct. That makes me feel old, for some reason. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-to-flat-earth/787748.md?page=11)