Flat Earth Society

maiden · 361052. Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:36 pm

GeneralDouchebag, the link that djgordy posted was just as qi, if not more so, than your link. Are you just using this thread as a promotion for your 'society'??

I think we should be allowed to look at all manner of websites to find our own sources and information - not just the society's site. If someone else decides to post up another link to something relating to 'flat earth', please don't post up a link to the society's site again!!!, .. you've posted it twice now and we can all read it.

GeneralDouchebag · 361054. Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:37 pm

If not knowing isn't an argument, what's gravity? Anyway, I just don't like being marked as a backward religious nutjob by Stephen Fry without ever having met him. Sorry about the link thing, most REers on the society are, let's just say "special", and need everything spelled out. The link I posted was to the society, and we have no relation to the ancient Egyptians.

Oolon Colluphid · 361058. Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:52 pm

Last time I was on the Flat Earth Society forum, I was intensely baffled by the proposition of the "Shadow Object". Which, as I understand, is a large floating thing in space which sometimes covers up the planets/Moon/Sun which gives the illusion of what we call an "eclipse".

It just sounds like clutching at straws to desperately thwart science's contradictions of the theory.

QI (or at least funky word alert): Apparently the idea of a flat Earth is also called Platygaeanism.

CB27 · 361059. Sun Jun 15, 2008 12:53 pm

Ahhh, good question on gravity.

Current accepted understanding of Gravity is theory based on observation, and as such there are actually many competing theories to various aspects of Gravity and Gravitation, but basic elements exist in all because Gravity in it's many forms of theory is still based on observation.

When anomalies are detected (such as the Pioneer Anomaly) then it shows that there is still much that we are not aware of, but we cannot simply say it's an unknown and bury our heads in the sand, we continue to theorise and test those theories, we continue to observe and improve our observation methods.

As for Stephen Fry's comments, don't take it to heart, you'll have to remember that religious thinking dictated that the Earth was flat until just a few generations ago and it's mostly religious fanatics who insist on believing in this and various young Earth theories.

GeneralDouchebag · 361062. Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:00 pm

However, as yet it is unknown. The difference is RE has an unending budget, and we... don't. The Shadow Object is really just improvisation, we don't really know that. On conspiracy, that's a fairly poor description, really, it's more about saving face and a pigheaded unwillingness to admit to being wrong, like coalition forces still looking for those WMDs.

djgordy · 361075. Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:14 pm

djgordy · 361079. Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:20 pm

GeneralDouchebag · 361089. Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:35 pm

Sorry, I didn't know there were rules against exaggeration, but the two theories are very different, with the Egyptians having a flat earth map that isn't flat.

djgordy · 361091. Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:38 pm

There are millions of rules against exaggeration.

GeneralDouchebag · 361106. Sun Jun 15, 2008 2:10 pm

Then there is some relation, but it is incredibly tenuous.

ColinM · 361154. Sun Jun 15, 2008 2:44 pm

Given that the Earth has been thought to be spherical for thousands of years, how could this conspiracy possibly have been started by NASA? And given that the vast majority of knowledge from back then has since been shown to be bunk, why has this particular piece survived? I don't see any sense in a conspiracy from which no one benefits.

Incidentally, has anyone historically ever made a serious scientific hypothesis of the flat Earth proposition? Does this current form even count? Does it make any testable predictions?

Kasroa · 361155. Sun Jun 15, 2008 2:47 pm

Hi, I am a regular poster on the FES forum since Feburary last year and would just like to point out that although the forum is supposed to be a serious one for the discussion of FE theory, there is in fact NO evidence to support any of the conjecture made about the Flat Earth. For me it is merely a place to discuss, at most, the plausability of certain aspects of FE theory, in particular gravitation which is in fact the most solid feature of FE theory despite the need for
a) all experiments showing variation of g with altitude to be false
and b) Earth to not produce its own gravitational field due to its mass.
for it to hold together.

It is my belief that at MAXIMUM there are perhaps two or three genuine FE believers using the forum but personally I do not believe anybody there does, though obviously I cannot prove that.

Most of the time the conversation is very off-topic (in the several off-topic sections) with plenty of healthy spam/banter and various other scientific/religious/philisophical/politcal debates going on all the time. It's definitely worth checking out the forum especially if you're not a mindless troll but please don't go in there asking a million and one questions about FE theory because frankly you will not get the answers you desire.

I use it because it entertains me not because I believe the Earth is flat and I think that is the same for 90% of regular posters. Also some people might think there are religious reasons for this forum. Well most of us are non-religious or atheist so that doesn't really come into it.

Edit: Whatever you do, for the love of all that is Holy, do not at any time mention the conspiracy. That is one road of discussion you DO NOT want to go down! Think about it logically and you'll see why.

djgordy · 361164. Sun Jun 15, 2008 2:52 pm

GeneralDouchebag · 361177. Sun Jun 15, 2008 3:03 pm

I'm actually an REer devils advocate/troll hunter, so I'm not too knowledgeable of FE theory. Just to clear it up.

djgordy · 361179. Sun Jun 15, 2008 3:07 pm