Can the earth be flat

[YNCS]

Here's a picture of our world taken by astronauts and surpressed by The Great Scientific Conspiracy!

 

[Taliesin]

The remnants of Magellan's crew that limped back into Portugal in 1522 proved that the world was spherical. It was Friday in Lisbon, but the crew insisted, by its records, that it was Thursday, the reason being that they had gained a day by circumnavigating the globe. The Earth had rotated one fewer time relative to the ship because the ship had completed a full "rotation" in the same direction, cancelling one day out. (Actually, of course, this disproved geocentrism as well.)

Another obvious objection is that acceleration due to Earth's gravity would be noticeably less as one travelled outward from the middle of the disc, unless the disc were many, many times deeper than it is wide. But even so, someone standing near the periphery and dropping a plumb bob would notice, with careful observation, that it didn't point downward, a phenomenon sufficiently odd that somebody would have noticed it by now.

 

[Marla_Singer]

The remnants of Magellan's crew that limped back into Portugal in 1522 proved that the world was spherical. It was Friday in Lisbon, but the crew insisted, by its records, that it was Thursday, the reason being that they had gained a day by circumnavigating the globe. The Earth had rotated one fewer time relative to the ship because the ship had completed a full "rotation" in the same direction, cancelling one day out.

But don't you know all that is just a lie ?

It's only part of the big worldwide conspiracy.

And if in a plane we would make Paris-Tokyo, then Tokyo-Los Angeles, and finally Los-Angeles-Paris... we would actually not move at all... Conspiracists have installed big screens watching you the sea of the Pacific with several mirrors to make it looks like it's very far below...

 

[Hamlet]

The earth is flat and it's all part of the International Chinese Communist Conspiracy that this fact is supressed.

 

[CivCube]

Here's a picture of our world taken by astronauts and surpressed by The Great Scientific Conspiracy!

Ahh, Discworld! Great bookseries.

 

[Marla_Singer]

Well, I guess what "Too Great" tried to explain in his first post is that there are many things which are learnt to us as if it were objective truth. I find the example of the earth shape being rather awckward since that is actually an objective truth... and a lot of hypocrisy is needed to deny it.

Nevertheless, I think that most of the incomprehension between different cultures or countries come from the fact we don't learn the same "truthes". For instance, we learn in the US that democracy is born in America where in Britain we learn it's born in Britain and finally where in France we learn it's born in France.

It's also a stupid example but the point is that we don't see the things through the same eyes.

Have I been clear ?

 

[Yuri2356]

Well, I guess what "Too Great" tried to explain in his first post is that there are many things which are learnt to us as if it were objective truth. I find the example of the earth shape being rather awckward since that is actually an objective truth... and a lot of hypocrisy is needed to deny it.

Nevertheless, I think that most of the incomprehension between different cultures or countries come from the fact we don't learn the same "truthes". For instance, we learn in the US that democracy is born in America where in Britain we learn it's born in Britain and finally where in France we learn it's born in France.

It's also a stupid example but the point is that we don't see the things through the same eyes.

Have I been clear ?

'Objective' history says that democracy was born in Greece.
(Not that I don't get what you're saying, you just chose an odd example)

 

[Marla_Singer]

'Objective' history says that democracy was born in Greece.
(Not that I don't get what you're saying, you just chose an odd example)

Ok Yuri. Let's call it "modern representative model of democracy" and start again.

 

[Yuri2356]

Ok Yuri. Let's call it "modern representative model of democracy" and start again.

Or perhaps 'true' democracy would get your point across. Where Americans say 'true' democracy is their republic, whereas in Britain it's their Parliment, and so on and so forth.

 

[Marla_Singer]

Or perhaps 'true' democracy would get your point across. Where Americans say 'true' democracy is their republic, whereas in Britain it's their Parliment, and so on and so forth.

You've got it.

 

[Marla_Singer]

That makes me think by the way that Republic hasn't at all the same meaning in France and in the US.

Over here, Republicans are those believing in the French model of democracy as it's born during the 18th century. We talk about Republican values such as freedom, equality, universality or secularism.

In the US, the association between the Republic and secularism would sound totally awckward. But actually, as in France the religion is associated with the Old regime (where the French king was representing God on earth), we associate directly the Republic with secularism, which is considered as the respect of all religions, none being above the other.

Among left-wing extremists, you can even have people calling themselves "real republicans" and who are purely anti-clericalists.

 

[Quasar1011]

Ah, so we're just living on one side of the coin. If that's the case, then why are there disrepancies in day and night between areas on the Earth? If it were a flat surface, then there would surely be an instant where all places on one side of the Earth were illuminated at once, which is not the case.

That is not really proof of a spherical Earth. At any time, roughly half of the Earth's surface is illuminated by the sun. It would depend where the line was drawn, dividing day from night, defining your "one side". But in any case, the edge could not be at the equator, nor at any latitude or longitude line at all, because of the tilt of the Earth's axis.

 

[CruddyLeper]

If the earth is flat, how come the shadow causes lunar eclipses? And how come there's such a thing as satellite TV? What keeps the satellite up there is the same reason the earth keeps spinning.

Also, if you've been to different latitudes, you will notice how the sun and moon seem to move at different speeds across different arcs - impossible with a flat earth.

 

[Marla_Singer]

If the earth is flat, how come the shadow causes lunar eclipses? And how come there's such a thing as satellite TV? What keeps the satellite up there is the same reason the earth keeps spinning.

Also, if you've been to different latitudes, you will notice how the sun and moon seem to move at different speeds across different arcs - impossible with a flat earth.

Well, it's currently day time in Australia and night time in Europe.

Many observations we do every day makes the hypothesis that the world is indeed spherical more credible than the hypothesis it's flat. Of course if we stop the observation of our planet at the limits of our village we can still pretend it's flat, but at the age of the globalization, there are so many evidence that it's hardly defendable.

The best evidence of this is that even the Vatican recognized that the earth was indeed spherical... in 1989.

 

[A'AbarachAmadan]

For the many reasons stated, the Earth ain't flat. All my sense tell me so, unlike the original post that said your senses tell you its flat. Of course, I actually talked to some flat Earthers in Arizona and nothing would change their mind. Every physics or personal example was disputed and considered my own naiveness or lies. Felt like I was talking to Rush or Ralph.

 

[CruddyLeper]

I think they recognised it unofficially before that - like, when the Pope divided the New World between Portugal and Spain. Along a line of longitude IIRC.

 

[Birdjaguar]

If the earth is flat, how come there's such a thing as satellite TV? What keeps the satellite up there is the same reason the earth keeps spinning.

There is no satelite TV, you've been snookered by the same people who brought you the moon landings. It's really just broadcast TV with a price tag. Free TV that cost $45 a month!

 

[Too Great]

Before I go on. A Giant tortoise is ridulous.
Edit: And it's not about Democracy.
Edit: And yes, the pictures were done on Solidworks. I'm Educated

How do you have day and night with a flat Earth? I'm genuinely curious, actually.

That question is child's play for me. Light travels not in a straight line, but in waves. As you can see from Figure 1, the lightwave hits half of the earth but not the other half. Once the earth rotates, the other half would see light.

-Orion was upside down when I was in Australia. That would be explainable only if I was at the other side of the flat earth; but that would mean I'd noticed the brim of the coin. I didn't.

Orion can be upside down or right side up depending on which way you turn.

Too Great, go find the edge. Until then, "BAH!"
Oh, and learn physics.

On the contrary GOVna, I know more physics than you, and I have already found the edge.

It is more likely that I'm the star in some sort of Truman Show than it is that there is a worldwide conspiracy to cover up the fact that the Earth is flat.

Maybe the reason you think that the Earth is round is because you're the star on the Truman Show. Perhaps you were shown the Truman Show as a hint that you're on the Truman Show. Perhaps I'm tell you this as another hint. Perhaps, I'm not talking to you, but to you.

1. Even if there were an equator on a flat Earth (are we just living on one side of the coin or both?), only the outside edges along a line orthogonal to the axis would be going a lot faster.

2.The weightlessness comes from the fact that they are orbiting the Earth and therefore constantly falling towards it (that's essentially what orbit is). When you are freefalling, you experience weightlessness, which is why they feel weightless.

3. Any theory that depends on a supernatural being to control it violates Occam's Razor and is not scientific.

1. Conduction
2. That would explain the shuttle not falling, but it wouldn't explain why the astronauts aren't forced to the walls because of the acceleration. What about astronauts repairing the telescope outside, why do they feel weightless.
3. Perhaps the idea of a higher being is somewhat controversial. I'll try to stick to the more neutral stuff. But remember Occam's words are not golden, just because he said it, doesn't mean it's true.

How airplanes could go from Sydney to Los Angeles if the Earth were flat ?

Going from Sydney to LA can be explained for an earth of any shape. Even my 1-D Earther friends would be able to explain that using their theory.

But if the earth was round, how do you explain the Bermuda Triangle, where ships just mysteriously disappear? Things don't just mysteriously disappear, but they can be accidentally flicked off if they sail too close to the edge. See Figure 2

 

[CruddyLeper]

That diagram has a transparent Earth.

It doesn't look transparent to me in real life, flat or not.

 

[Too Great]

That diagram has a transparent Earth.

It doesn't look transparent to me in real life, flat or not.

I'm an engineer, not an artist. Focus on the beauty of the argument, not the art.