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Flat Earthers

Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2017 8:15 pm
by Sothis
So this is a genuine thing - https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/ ... 06/page-89

My eyes. They bleed.

Re: Flat Earthers

Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2017 10:11 pm
by 2046
A few thoughts:

1. Knowledge that disproves earlier bad conclusions or superstitions doesn't take over the world all at once. Generally it only takes over when adherents to the other idea die out.

As counterpoint, though, note that the same is true of good ideas.

2. Conspiracist lunacy is the go-to defense for very bad ideas.

The sky is actually red, for instance, but They don't want you to know that. If you argue against it, you are just a fool who doesn't see the truth that Reddists are elite enough to know (despite being non-elite in every other way), shilling for the government, shilling for Big Blue, or some combination thereof. Hundreds of thousands of people are in on the conspiracy.

As counterpoint, though, there are some things that some folks haven't wanted you to know. Smoking is bad, declines must be hidden, et cetera. That's conceivable for very small groups of bad actors. Bear in mind, though, that groupthink is not a conspiracy.

3. Very bad ideas are not required to be internally consistent or rationally demonstrable. Good ideas must be perfectly known out of the gate and there must be no dissension of any kind.

It is not relevant that the planet's roundness could easily be verified as the most reasonable conclusion by comparison to other planets, a phone call to others around the world with sundials and star charts, observation of curvature via high-altitude balloon, et cetera. Somewhere there need only be some minor discrepancy or appearance of discrepancy and by damn the whole thing's a lie.

As counterpoint, though, note that there is precedent for edge conditions to break theories (or, more broadly, prevailing interpretations of evidence). However, the underlying evidence is the same in any case. The slit experiment results are still the results whether the electron passes through both slits or whether an underlying elementary wave causes an individual slit to be selected.

4. The problem with really ridiculous stuff like flat Earth is that explanations get crazy fast.

As counterpoint, though, we have modern quantum physics, where some of the folks seem bent toward taking the explanation crazy dial and turning it to eleventy. At least their wacky ideas aren't so easily disprovable, though, unless you can exit the universe or shrink yourself to atomic scales at will. Flat Earthers fail upon every high altitude flight.

Re: Flat Earthers

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2017 7:16 pm
by Mr. Oragahn
2046 wrote: The sky is actually red, for instance, but They don't want you to know that. If you argue against it, you are just a fool who doesn't see the truth that Reddists are elite enough to know (despite being non-elite in every other way), shilling for the government, shilling for Big Blue, or some combination thereof. Hundreds of thousands of people are in on the conspiracy.
Reddits?
As counterpoint, though, there are some things that some folks haven't wanted you to know. Smoking is bad, declines must be hidden, et cetera. That's conceivable for very small groups of bad actors. Bear in mind, though, that groupthink is not a conspiracy.
Conspiracies have existed countless times through the past though. But loonies use an extreme variant of an appeal to ignorance because, typically (and it is true), a conspiracy you know about is either one that has failed or one that could be revealed (like, much later on) because it wouldn't change anything fundamental.

The funny thing about the flat earth is that it was a strawman argument built against the Church itself in order to ridicule it.

Re: Flat Earthers

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 1:57 am
by Praeothmin
What? The Earth isn't flat???

Say it ain't so!!!



:-)

Re: Flat Earthers

Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 5:50 am
by Darth Spock
Praeothmin wrote:What? The Earth isn't flat???

Say it ain't so!!!



:-)

It isn't so. ;)

Don't worry, Dogbert will save us from the Round Earth Oligarchy!

http://dilbert.com/strip/1989-10-09
http://dilbert.com/strip/1989-10-10