Do what Columbus did. Stand on the wharf, look out over the sea, and watch a departing ship disappear, bottom, middle, and top, as it passes the horizon. Of course, we know the planet is round (an oblate spheroid, actually), and we know the ship disappears in that order because it passes over Earth’s curvature. To think otherwise, to think that Earth is flat, means there’s a waterfall out there on the horizon, and strangely, ships slowly fall over the precipice of a very big infinity pool.
For Flat-Earthers, a returning ship seems to defy gravity. It appears top, middle, and bottom, rising over the powerful slow waterfall that drops into some unknown. Yes, for Flat-Earthers a waterfall seems to be what frames the oceanic horizon. Believing in a flat Earth challenges logic. Watching ships disappear and reappear at the horizon, one realizes that roundness explains observations. Roundness explains how ships can return. Flatness doesn’t.
As you know, you might frame this argument for a round world logically but still not get a Flat-Earther to believe. Why is that? Apparently, Flat Earthers, even if they take a cruise beyond the horizon of a ship’s homeport, won’t accept roundness. Belief dominates observation.
Not accepting the nature of the place where one lives serves little purpose except to satisfy some need for securing a belief. And that applies to those in places where social and professional interactions are inimical to one’s life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You can’t make a world just by thinking it. You can’t make a worldwide waterfall that plummets into who knows where and that keeps you bound to a place, afraid to explore. Falling off Earth is not possible. Your ship can return if you want, and there’s a continuous round world of places to explore if you choose not to return.
Places have character. Some are inhibiting. Some are dangerous. Some, not so much. Others, even beneficial. Get real about the place where you live, and see whether or not you are in the best place for YOU. Don’t keep yourself from exploring different places because of that imaginary slow waterfall on the distant horizon.
For Flat-Earthers, a returning ship seems to defy gravity. It appears top, middle, and bottom, rising over the powerful slow waterfall that drops into some unknown. Yes, for Flat-Earthers a waterfall seems to be what frames the oceanic horizon. Believing in a flat Earth challenges logic. Watching ships disappear and reappear at the horizon, one realizes that roundness explains observations. Roundness explains how ships can return. Flatness doesn’t.
As you know, you might frame this argument for a round world logically but still not get a Flat-Earther to believe. Why is that? Apparently, Flat Earthers, even if they take a cruise beyond the horizon of a ship’s homeport, won’t accept roundness. Belief dominates observation.
Not accepting the nature of the place where one lives serves little purpose except to satisfy some need for securing a belief. And that applies to those in places where social and professional interactions are inimical to one’s life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You can’t make a world just by thinking it. You can’t make a worldwide waterfall that plummets into who knows where and that keeps you bound to a place, afraid to explore. Falling off Earth is not possible. Your ship can return if you want, and there’s a continuous round world of places to explore if you choose not to return.
Places have character. Some are inhibiting. Some are dangerous. Some, not so much. Others, even beneficial. Get real about the place where you live, and see whether or not you are in the best place for YOU. Don’t keep yourself from exploring different places because of that imaginary slow waterfall on the distant horizon.
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