Why are people obsessed with flat earthers?

[crowmanyclouds]

@themapleleaf

When TikTok was young, someone went there and claimed the Roman Empire was a hoax. This is just insulting to people’s intelligence. The Roman Empire left us countless monuments and testaments to its existence, ranging from the ruins of the Roman Forum to amphitheatres in its former provinces,

Channeling my inner Flerf,
‘Of course those “Roman” ruins exist ,but they were built by the Tartarians.’

[Gyrate]

@Exapno_Mapcase

I wonder how FEs can not understand this and how they would explain their way out of it.

Denial and doublethink. From 1984:

To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself—that was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word—doublethink—involved the use of doublethink.

Some years ago I encountered a YouTube video putting forward the theory that the Earth was expanding and that the continents all fitted together into one sphere and then were split by the expansion. I asked in the comments whether the expansion was achieving by adding mass from within, adding mass externally, or by decreased density. I was told it was by adding mass from within. I then asked where the added mass came from and how did it get inside the planet. They promptly deleted my comments and blocked me.

Some people cling to the idea that they are the Keepers of Secret Truths very tightly, to the point that it is intrinsic to their sense of self and they cannot let go of it without their world crumbling, no matter how much evidence they face to the contrary. Conspiracy theorists of all ilks constantly demonstrate the truth of the maxim that you can’t reason someone out of a position they didn’t reason themselves into, and their ability to deny even basic logic and reality can be uncannily strong.

As such, poking fun at them won’t achieve anything but neither will rational discourse. So you might as well have the fun.

[Crane]

@Voyager

thinking they know the secrets that they think are kept from the sheeple by the powers that be.

I agree that is the point. Flat earth is just a small part of a fund of knowledge that they possess. My lack of that knowledge prevents me from understanding their arguments.

[dtilque]

@Gyrate

Some years ago I encountered a YouTube video putting forward the theory that the Earth was expanding and that the continents all fitted together into one sphere and then were split by the expansion.

The Expanding Earth hypothesis was, at one time, a legitimate idea held by geologists. Even after plate tectonics was widely accepted by most geologists, there was one respected geologist from Australia (I’m afraid I’ve forgotten his name) who held to the Expanding Earth idea.

Expanding Earth

OK, that page has the guy’s name: Samuel Warren Carey.

[Voyager]

@Crane

I agree that is the point. Flat earth is just a small part of a fund of knowledge that they possess. My lack of that knowledge prevents me from understanding their arguments.

It’s because you haven’t done the research. Those who refused to go to Antarctica to see the 24 hour sun of course have done the research, and those who did go didn’t.

@Saint_Cad

SciManDan
Conspiracy Catz
Creaky Blinder

I prefer Dave McKeegan, who went to Antarctica, over Creaky, who is fun but tends to repeat “science says so” too much. Also Dave’s dog is incredibly cute.

[Saint_Cad]

@Voyager

I prefer Dave McKeegan, who went to Antarctica, over Creaky

If I taught science, I would show Dave to my students t demonstrate what scientific hinking looks like. But there are a few more globers that are good too. If I had to pick 5 globers I would add Sir SIC.

[Voyager]

@Saint_Cad

If I taught science, I would show Dave to my students t demonstrate what scientific hinking looks like. But there are a few more globers that are good too. If I had to pick 5 globers I would add Sir SIC.

He’s my favorite, but doesn’t do a lot of flerf responses, so I didn’t include him. Despite his persona, he does a lot of research.More than SciMan Dan some times. Plus he is hilarious.

[Saint_Cad]

@Voyager

More than SciMan Dan some times.

SciManDan is not my favorite, but I put him on the list for Flat Earth Fridays.

[Jasmine]

@suranyi

My question is, why does anyone care what a tiny minority of kooks thinks?

Well, speaking for myself I can only say that, when stupidity becomes extreme enough, I find it totally fascinating.

[Gyrate]

@dtilque

The Expanding Earth hypothesis was, at one time, a legitimate idea held by geologists.

I see that page has flagged the same issue I had:

To date no scientific mechanism of action has been proposed for this addition of new mass.

[Stranger_On_A_Train]

A Bunch Of Flat-Earthers Went To Antarctica As An Experiment: How That Went

Best comment: “Flat earthers make me feel smart”

Stranger

[pjd]

A picture of last night’s eclipse.

[robby]

@dtilque

@Gyrate

Some years ago I encountered a YouTube video putting forward the theory that the Earth was expanding and that the continents all fitted together into one sphere and then were split by the expansion.

The Expanding Earth hypothesis was, at one time, a legitimate idea held by geologists. Even after plate tectonics was widely accepted by most geologists, there was one respected geologist from Australia (I’m afraid I’ve forgotten his name) who held to the Expanding Earth idea.

Expanding Earth - Wikipedia

I’ve heard about this crackpot idea twice in my life. The first time was here in this thread last week, and the second time was just two days later from one of my conspiracy-minded co-workers.

He started off by saying that plate tectonics had a supposedly fatal flaw because when Pangaea formed hundreds of millions of years ago, it would have made the Earth’s rotation unstable, because so much mass was in one spot. I immediately responded that he was missing the fact that he was only considering continental crust while ignoring the denser oceanic crust elsewhere, so it would likely not be as lopsided as he was imagining.

He then segued into his alternative theory to plate tectonics: the expanding Earth hypothesis. I was somehow able to keep a straight face as he described it until I figured out where he was going with it and cut him off with “Oh yes, the expanding Earth theory. I’ve heard of that,” with as dismissive a tone as I could muster. I then pointedly walked away.

(It would have done absolutely no good to engage with this guy any further—especially at work—so I thought that was the best response.)

Did I mention that this guy is a college-educated senior project manager and licensed professional engineer?

[Stranger_On_A_Train]

@robby

Did I mention that this guy is a college-educated senior project manager and licensed professional engineer?

The professional certifications are definitely no guarantee of resistance to wackadoodle notions. I’ve had the unfortunate experience of having a handful of respected colleagues (especially retired ones) with long lists of technical accomplishments falling down conspiranoia rabbit holes.

Stranger

[sunacres]

@Stranger_On_A_Train

The professional certifications are definitely no guarantee of resistance to wackadoodle notions.

I worked my way through high school and college working as a draftsman/surveyor for a civil engineer. The guy was a young Earth creationist. I still marvel at how the brain can be rational and fantastic at the same time.

[LSLGuy]

I suppose if rocks could become foamy the Earth could expand like that spray can foam we inject to weatherseal cracks in walls and such.

So we don’t need more matter or mass. We just need lots of magic gas to expand the solid rocks of the original small Earth into the much foamier rocks of today’s Big Earth.

Yeah, that’s the ticket.

[FluffyBob]

Engineering requires a mind that can handle some serious math, organization and work ethic to get through a degree. A BSc Eng is an impressive accomplishment.

Yet, I have met engineers that I am surprised can tie their own shoes.

Living in Calgary I have known many geoligists and engineers in the oil industry. Many believe anthropomorphic climate change is an unscientific hoax. I believe this is directly related to job insecurity.

[LSLGuy]

@FluffyBob

Many believe anthropomorphic climate change is an unscientific hoax. I believe this is directly related to job insecurity.

See also: It Is Difficult to Get a Man to Understand Something When His Salary Depends Upon His Not Understanding It – Quote Investigator

[Exapno_Mapcase]

I was friends with several engineers who were libertarians, which means they had exactly zero understanding of how the real world works as a society. I no longer can have even casual conversations with them. Everything that comes out of their mouths is slanted into some kind of conspiracy theory.

[robby]

@sunacres

@Stranger_On_A_Train

The professional certifications are definitely no guarantee of resistance to wackadoodle notions.

I worked my way through high school and college working as a draftsman/surveyor for a civil engineer. The guy was a young Earth creationist. I still marvel at how the brain can be rational and fantastic at the same time.

I have also met a couple of engineers (including one who was a submarine officer) who were young Earth creationists. I figured it was just religious dogma overriding their rationality.

I’m not aware of any particular religious association with the expanding Earth hypothesis, though. I think my co-worker is just attracted to conspiracy theories and crackpot ideas.

@Exapno_Mapcase

I was friends with several engineers who were libertarians, which means they had exactly zero understanding of how the real world works as a society. I no longer can have even casual conversations with them. Everything that comes out of their mouths is slanted into some kind of conspiracy theory.

This description fits my co-worker perfectly. He is also a hard-core libertarian. He actually sold his house and moved to a different town (one that is much more rural) because he disagreed with the funding priorities and supposedly high taxes of the municipality he previously lived in.