Off Topic > Other Conspiracy Theories
Flat Earth
Peter B:
--- Quote from: molesworth on August 01, 2018, 04:06:02 PM ---...One thing that baffles me about it is that if the earth is indeed flat, then why, and by whom, was the "spherical earth conspiracy" started. The curved earth idea has been around for maybe as long as 4,000 years, so why would it have been created back then, for who's benefit, and to what end?
--- End quote ---
Yes, that's one question I've never seen a satisfactory answer to, even at the UM forum, where the FE story gets an occasional vote of confused support.
--- Quote ---And how has all the evidence of a round earth been "faked" so well as to stand up to careful scrutiny, and "the truth" so well hidden for all that time?
--- End quote ---
And that leads to another example that's worth investigating if you have a slightly more technical mind, and an interest in British nautical history.
Go to http://southseas.nla.gov.au/journals/maps/01_world.html (don't worry, it's a government site)
The page shows sections of the first voyage (1768-1771) of Captain Cook. For those who don't know, he commanded an expedition which circumnavigated the world by travelling from Britain, around Cape Horn, across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand and Australia, then across the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope, then north back to Britain.
If you click on the highlighted map sections it shows his ship's location on a daily basis, plotted against latitude and longitude. Record those lats and longs, and now plot them on a FE map. Compare how far his ship travelled each day, particularly when it was at its most northerly and southerly locations.
You'll find that if the FE story is true, the Endeavour travelled massively faster in the southern hemisphere than in the northern hemisphere: in fact, the further south it travelled the faster it went. Does this make the slightest bit of sense? Or is it more likely that the ship travelled at roughly the same speed in all oceans, travelling across a (roughly) spherical Earth?
And very simply, this applies to all voyages which travelled in the southern hemisphere: da Gama, Magellan, Drake...you name them.
AtomicDog:
--- Quote from: smartcooky on August 02, 2018, 12:48:03 AM ---
--- Quote from: Peter B on August 01, 2018, 09:05:41 AM ---But for me, the main argument against a Flat Earth is the fact that I live in the southern hemisphere. Whatever arguments seem plausible to people living in the northern hemisphere completely fail when dealing with the reality of the southern hemisphere.
--- End quote ---
There are two "most obvious" differences
1. In the NH, the sun rises in the east, passes through the southern sky and sets in the west, so that, if you are facing the path of the sun during the day, it travels from your left to your right across the sky. In the SH, the sun also rises in the east and sets in the west, but it passes through the northern sky, so that, if you are facing the path of the sun during the day, it travels from your right to your left across the sky. On a flat earth, this would be impossible.
Bonus: The same thing happens with the moon...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6Omzvkg_kg
--- End quote ---
That link was swiped. Here's the genuine link from the real creator of the video :
Here's the photographer's page that shows how he did it:
http://theartofnight.com/2013/01/full-moon-silhouettes/
benparry:
thanks a lot guys for all of that. he has actually blocked me on FB now lol
benparry:
--- Quote from: Peter B on August 01, 2018, 08:51:49 AM ---
--- Quote from: benparry on August 01, 2018, 07:33:16 AM ---Good Afternoon All
every now and again while debating the moon landings on facebook I come across somebody who believes they were fake because they believe In the flat earth theory.
my always to go answer is ships over the horizon, different stars etc but a guy recently showed me a video of somebody just zooming in onto a ship in the distance to show it was still there. they also quote the world photograph distance record showing no curve.
am I correct in saying that 1. the earth doesn't curve very much at all over those short distances...
--- End quote ---
Yep, the Earth doesn't curve much over small distances. But it does curve to a measurable and visible extent.
These sorts of things are more easily visible if you live near a large body of water - either a lake where you can get a sightline of a few kilometres, or the sea. However it's worth keeping in mind that the air itself can play tricks with light, making small effects sometimes difficult to detect.
As for the video, never mind one video where the ship remains in sight for a while. Ask yourself instead what happens to the ship after the video ends? But if you live somewhere like south-east England, and can watch shipping cross the English Channel, you'll soon see the effects of the curvature of the Earth.
--- Quote ---...and 2 with photos you don't know if you are on the same level.
--- End quote ---
Can you provide a link to these photos, please. I don't fully understand the nature of the claim.
--- End quote ---
peter it was a general claim that basically when taking a picture with a claim of a flat earth and the horizon one should be on the same level as the object you are photographing.
bknight:
As others have noted taking a picture from 6' above ground level, one would NEVER see any curvature of the Earth. I'd have to do the math, but maybe 50 miles would give you enough coverage to discern curvature, perhaps lower. One can't even see curvature from airplanes flying +/-40000 feet (~7 miles). So all those negative responses won't prove the Earth isn't roughly a sphere.
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