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Conspiracy theories are probably as old as the world itself. Chances are that you've probably heard some of them too―for example, of 9/11 being an inside job, or Jews ruling the world, or vaccines causing autism, etc. Psychologists say that in uncertain times or after experiencing certain traumas, a person can be more prone to believing in conspiracy theories. But as with everything in life, it's way more complicated than that.
So when one Redditor asked a question Former flat-earthers, what made you realize the earth is, in fact, not flat?, the thread was bound to go viral. Although only a handful of former flat-earthers came forward, it's still interesting to see what made them change their minds. Or, what made them believe in conspiracy theories in the first place. So scroll below to read the answers from 20 people and share in the comment section whether * you * (or your loved one) have ever found yourself deep down of the rabbit hole of conspiracies.
More info: Reddit
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#1
Former flat-earther here. I started to realize that I was doing mental gymnastics every time I saw everyday evidence that the earth is round. i.e. telling myself that live footage on the space station was just CGI propaganda as that's what flat-earthers believe. It just got to the point where I started feeling desperate to make myself believe it and started to see that there wasn't much real evidence in the first place.
Vanta Black 5 years ago
Not to mention all their arguments are b******t. That stupid "It's 'Sea Level' not 'Sea Curve'!" sign that keeps making the rounds on sites like this and on social media platforms is one of thousands of examples of why Flat Earthers should be abandoned on a raft at sea, and never allowed to interact with society in any way ever again.
Yehudit Hannah Cohn 5 years ago
Yes, because that way, they couldn't learn the way that person #3 was able to. Why don't you stop deriding every single person and applaud the ones who have learned and grown.
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Buyer Frimstone 3 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNRi-gIYxMw It is flat and here is our map. read em and weep
RELATED:
#2
My husband got trapped in a YouTube black hole of flat earth videos for awhile. Drove me up a wall. As of recently I discovered he changed his mind. His reasoning? He discovered the majority of flat earthers are Trumpers with extreme political views and who agree with trumps stupid logic. Husbands flat earth ideas died that day.
Shelley Russell 5 years ago
The fact that he believed it in the first place, and now only doesn't because some of them like Trump? Wow. I think it's funny that Trump is the one with stupid logic in this scenario.
Coffee 5 years ago
I know right. That means if they were Democrats, he woulda kept on believing.
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Bridgette Blumenthal 5 years ago
My brother wouldn't stop with this and a few others, anti vax, vegan, on and on... 'we may be living in a 'Matrix' attitude. He just got his own apartment after 12 years and two kids, So sad. He wan't like that when she married him!
Buyer Frimstone 3 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNRi-gIYxMw the earth is firm and immovable and we now have the most complete and accurate map EVER. yall got too cocky now you look like fools
Michael Amato 5 years ago
I'm a trump supporter and don't believe the earth is flat and neither do any trump supporters that I know so try again
Michael Amato 5 years ago
I am a trump supporter and I or no other trump supporter believes the earth is flat of all bs on this
yuyan 5 years ago
wow, you're husband is a complete tool. got sucked into a conspiracy theory, then decided, "hey, since i don't like the people who believe this, i'm not gonna believe it anymore!" he may have ended up with the right answer (completely by chance, btw), but he's still an unimaginable moron who is clearly completely incapable of thinking for himself
Up All Night 5 years ago
Emotionally based belief. Nice. He can go back to being a flat Earther any time.
#3
Not sure if this counts, but what the hell, I'll go for it. I was brought up in a crazy Zionist-Evangelical-but-also-non-denominational Christian household. Ideas that my mom either believed in for a while or that she still believes to this day include: faith/prayer-based healing, young earth creationism, spiritual warfare, anti-vax, Fit for Life, anti- antibiotics, anti-doctors (in favor of naturopathy and phytotherapy), and of course, a flat earth. I drank the kool-aid from the ages of 3-12 ish, but came to my senses around age 12-13 and progressively learned that all of the above concepts are BS. When I was 12, my mom (with her grade 11 education) decided to homeschool all her kids, which actually helped me to learn some important universal truths for myself. Up to the time of starting homsechool I had been in Christian private schools which entertained young earth creationism and flat earth ideology. One thing you need to know about my mother is that she's a lazy, delusional narcissist and nothing is ever her fault. It wasn't her fault when she failed to get out of bed to teach us and slept in until after 1pm every day. It wasn't her fault that we were left to a scant few workbooks and textbooks which we spent about 30 minutes per day on. It wasn't her fault when she left me, the oldest child, to teach my siblings. It wasn't her fault that her youngest daughter didn't know how to read when she was supposedly in grade 3. It wasn't her fault that the only teaching resource we had after briefly going through textbooks each day was cable TV. It wasn't my mom's fault that science shows on Discovery and other educational channels taught me that the earth is round, over 4 billion years old, that there were no dinosaurs on Noah's Ark, and that antibiotics are good when used correctly. Edit: Thanks for the award! Also I just want to be clear that I have nothing against Zionism, just against one single church that claimed to be Zionist/Evangelical for a while before re-branding into a non-denominational church while I was still a child member of said church. Be kind to one another :)
elfin 5 years ago
It is possible that your mother is deeply depressed. She show some of the symptoms. Of course it's also possible that she's just a lazy loony.
Mike Deaton 5 years ago
Maybe they afraid discovering what Kierkegaard said might be true, "Life can be only understood backwards; but it must be live forwards" Eventually they will catch up and see how they have lived a wasted life.
Martha Meyer 5 years ago
Now I wonder how this person and her/his siblings managed to graduate, if at all.
Buyer Frimstone 3 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNRi-gIYxMw the earth is firm and immovable. We now have a flat earth map that no one can refute.
Joel Emmett 5 years ago
FYI: Sounds a bit similar to my mother (you know, the most perfect person on Earth). This helped clarify things for me: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/personality-disorders/symptoms-causes/syc-20354463
AzKhaleesi 5 years ago
That is the strangest "christian" church I've ever heard of, I grew up christian and we whole heartedly believed in a round earth, getting us vaccinated etc. The only thing I do believe in on your list is spiritual warfare, only because I've seen it with my own eyes. But the rest, that's just wow.... I'm sorry for your crazy upbringing
#4
I have an acquaintance I met in the Navy, who joined specifically so he could see that the earth was flat while at sea. Every day he would chart the ships location, speed, heading, etc, a few times a day so he could make a map of their path. Ultimately he realized that the path the ship was taking would be impossible if the earth was flat, based on the distance they were travelling vs their speed. When he finally got skeptical of the earth being flat, his LPO went topside with him and pointed out the curvature by giving him binoculars and explaining that if the earth was flat, he should be able to see the land they were making for. He couldn't see anything off the horizon. After that, he was convinced. Edit since this got some traction; he didn't just take a cruise because he was convinced that if he wasn't part of the crew, the bridge crew would lie to him since they would be paid off by the government. Also, his LPO tried to show him the curvature of the earth more than once, but until he realized that the ship couldn't travel the way it was traveling if the earth was flat, he was convinced that the curvature was just an illusion. Dude ended up reenlisting and is still in the Navy, he's a very successful machinist mate and a really good sailor. He now believes the earth is a globe.
Rissie 5 years ago
No, he believed the Earth to be flat, he now understand that it's a globe. There's a distinct difference.
Ian Adams 5 years ago
The earth isn’t a globe. A globe is a 3D representation of the earth. There is a distinct difference.
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RaroaRaroa 5 years ago
Where do these people think the edges of the earth are? If it's flat, how can you not reach the edge? Are "teh governments" hiding it somehow? Surely they don't really believe it and are just winding people up.
Christophe Beunens 5 years ago
It amazes me that people believe that the government is so rich that they can pay people to tell lies about something trivial as the earth's shape.
ChickyChicky 5 years ago
It amazes me that people who think the government can't be trusted to fix a pothole because of its incompetence believe that the government is competent enough to have thick webs of intelligence to hide obvious facts.
Load More Replies... Johnny 5 years ago
I don't see how being on a ship and charting what the ships instruments say would convince someone that's already rejected all of the science that says the earth is a sphere. How could he trust the science behind the instruments? Maybe time behaves differently as a ship approaches the "edge" of the earth
Buyer Frimstone 3 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNRi-gIYxMw you people think you are so brilliant . Here is our map of the flat earth.
Podunkus 5 years ago
As a sailor doing the navigational math, he eventually was forced to confront the fact that on the surface of a sphere, the shortest distance between two points is not a straight line. We are always more convinced by reasons we discover for ourselves than any amount of information from elsewhere.
Up All Night 5 years ago
The bad thing is that navigational math only made him a bit skeptical. Even after that, he needed visual evidence, like a kid; and reasoning from someone with critical thinking. He knows the math, but he couldn't ask himself why he does not see all the other ships on the ocean? Just imagine him demanding a long time research every time he has doubts.
Load More Replies... #5
I think my favorite recorded Flat Earther interaction was when Elon Musk tweeted at the Flat Earth Society and asked them why they believed the Earth was flat when we could plainly see that Mars is round. They responded that unlike the Earth, Mars has been observed to be round.
Vanta Black 5 years ago
"Mars is officially round because we've seen photos of it. Those photos of the Earth are clearly photoshopped, and all astronauts and astronomers are liars." - Flat Earth Idiots
Great Panda Mamu 5 years ago
And the fact that every other large body in the solar system has been observed to be generally spherical is beside the point, apparently.
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elfin 5 years ago
As far as I'm concerned the Earth is a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which are in turn standing on the back of an enormous turtle, named Great A'Tuin as it slowly swims through space.
Lynn Morello 5 years ago
Mars and the Moon The Sun and every other planet in our little galaxy, as well as every other planet we have seen throughout the Voyager Satelite Photographs, So why should Earth conform to the 'ROUND' Earth theory. Earth supposedly is less than 3000 years old, and is flat. There has to be some sanity somewhere, something that says. KNOCK KNOCK PEOPLE. Round planets, round suns, rounds moons, round Earth.
Maryanne Roberts 5 years ago
I so wanted to believe that 911 was as said above "an inside job" because when thinking about it I couldn't think of anyone who would benefit from it more than the Bush administration - and the corporate military elite structures in this country. It got us into an endlessly vicious and financially profitable war etc etc etc but I no longer cling to the belief that the benefactors were necessarily the cause of the situation because there is no extant evidence of such a case and changing the situation - ie: ending war - doesn't require the entities who benefited from 911 to have caused it.
Martti Laurson 5 years ago
Mars is also flat, but it is not on its side for us to see. We see the top or the bottom of Mars
Samantha Lomb 5 years ago
I hope its sarcasm, but if not mars rotates on a wobbly axis so actually all parts of it are visible from Earth as all parts at some point face us. Also spacecraft have flown completely around mars photographing it. We know its a rather lopsided sphere.
Load More Replies... Buyer Frimstone 3 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNRi-gIYxMw the earth is flat, mars is not an object but a celestial sphere outside our toroidal field. Elon Musk is a dumbass and he is going to hell (outer darkness) here on the flat earth map that you can't refute
#6
I wasn't entirely a flat earther but when I was younger, I was falling for everything I could find on the internet: hollow earth, flat earth, we're actually inside the hollow earth etc etc I fell in and out of the belief over time until I saw a video of an expirement where one group flew a helicopter far out over the ocean and another group watched it with a powerful telescope as it slowly lowered to the horizon. It dissappeared behind the horizon while the helicopter was still a considerable distance from the ground. That ended that phase for me for good.
Rissie 5 years ago
It's ok to consider theories as long as you're willing to learn more and acquire knowledge to better differentiate between what seems real. Conspiracy theorist find a fork in the road (from a young child's perception and knowledge of the world it's is by all means flat). The problem enters when people start to dismiss more abstract knowledge and become fixated.
#7
I doubt you'll find many, if any reformed flat earthers. For people like that who are so entrenched within their ideology, the flat earth isn't just something they believe, it's who they are. They have flat earth friends, listen to flat earth podcasts, watch flat earth YouTube, and wear flat earth clothes to their flat earth meetings. Even if deep down, someone like that had an epiphany and realized that they were wrong, imagine how hard it would be to reject all of these relationships, the community, and the friends that are held together because of that one common belief. It's similar to why it's so hard for people to leave cults or extremist religious or political groups.
Troux 5 years ago (edited)
EXCATLY. This can extend to things that are seemingly non-ideological also; Why someone won't sell stocks that are obviously losing, or give up on their business that is obviously failing, or root for another team that is obviously better. We are emotionally invested and suddenly saying "No." isn't as simple as a logic quiz - it's admitting that several hours/days/weeks even YEARS of your life have been wasted, and that hurts. Similarly, disavowing a religion that you were raised on is like deciding that everyone in your family and community is a liar - it's bold.
LauraLee Foley 5 years ago
It’s like leaving an abusive relationship that’s been going on for years..... it CAN be done. I am a perfect example. I left them, and this is why dating is not for me right now.... hard as he!!.... doable though!
Load More Replies... Max L. 5 years ago
All around the globe, like they stated in a famous post 8F468751-C...3-jpeg.jpg 
pusheen buttercup 5 years ago
There appear to be some "ex-flat-earthers" in this article if you read them all...?
Alex Newell 5 years ago
These posts are from redditors that don't know their stories are being aggregated to a Bored Panda article.
Load More Replies... Buyer Frimstone 3 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNRi-gIYxMw all of you are so arrogant and IGNORANT. here is our map that you can't contradict ever again. flat earthers WIN.
Carmen Honacker 5 years ago
Yep, it's known as cognitive dissonance. Any fact/evidence to the contrary of a belief system strengthens said belief. It's how our brains are wired. Requires strong cognition to overcome
#8
Hey something I can finally answer! Not me but my good friend and room mate fell into the flat earth black hole while in university. Started out as a joke but then he just fell into it more and more. Eventually I challenged him to do an experiment to figure it out ourselves. We went to opposite ends of a big inlet - bay. He had calculated the supposed curvature of the earth and figured out that from the distance between us me at one end and him at the other we should have a few metres of water between us. We both took some powerful green lasers that he had smuggled back from China in years past. While on the phone I would shine my laser somewhat into the air, watching to avoid plains and helicopters, then now that he could see me he would shine his laser up into the sky and slowly lower it until it disappears or just me. If it hit me, the earth was possibly flat. Well it disappeared 3 or so metres above my head every time. He accepted it and we moved on besides a brief time where he thought it was refracted from the water
SoozeeQ 5 years ago
This is clever. They did a rational experiment to prove it one way or the other and then accepted the answer that the experiment provided. Critical thinking, at it's best.
SparklePony94 4 years ago
I love it when people use the scientific method to settle arguments and it actually works.
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Robert Bailey 5 years ago
Wait. How could it be refracted by the water if there's no curve, the light wouldn't go through the water?
Max L. 5 years ago (edited)
Id expect those non flatearthers would definitely invent anything to prove their theories, to be a good answer at this point.
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#9
My ex husband is a flat earther. Literally nothing you can say to him will make him think otherwise. Including that damn “fifteen degree drift.” He acknowledges that he doesn’t think like everybody else but insists that everybody else is wrong. I can’t tell you the countless hours that I wasted in YouTube rabbit holes with him explaining the logistical ways the earth is flat, and that there is an ice wall encapsulating us to prevent the oceans from pouring over. They are a different breed of people. Edit: a word Second edit: holy cow this blew up. Now 90 percent of my karma is due to a comment about my crazy ex husband, who y’all seem super intrigued by. To answer a few questions, he HAS had a court appointed mental evaluation, but refused to get anymore help. He has not been diagnosed with any kind of schizophrenia but I’m almost positive he does have it. Also, to everybody telling me how patient I am, I wish you were right. I gave up eventually, because there was no winning. I sometimes wonder if I had pushed harder if he would have snapped out of it. But I know deep down he won’t. I’m trying to keep up with comments but there’s a lot and I have 3 young ones!
LauraLee Foley 5 years ago
Hope you and kids are well. I married 2 narcissist and it is still hard after 6-20 years leaving them. I don’t date... obviously I attract the wrong people. Healing and joy for you and the kiddos👍❤️
Buyer Frimstone 3 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNRi-gIYxMw your ex-husband is lucky to have gotten rid of such a dummy like yourself.
Joel Emmett 5 years ago
There is no winning with schizophrenics. Because they're perfect and actually better than everyone else on Earth, flat or not. They'll tell you all about it. In detail. Good for you; best to get out while you can. (Schizophrenia worsens during young adulthood, so if things are getting weirder and weirder, and they're at that age, well.) https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/personality-disorders/symptoms-causes/syc-20354463
Bridgette Blumenthal 5 years ago
My brother's wife told him to move out, 12 years and two kids later. He wasn't like that when they married. He'd rather have this theories than his wife and kids. Seriously, can't stop.
Christophe Beunens 5 years ago
I guess some people would see it as a failure to finally admit that they are wrong. So, they keep the lie up by surrounding them by other people that have the same conviction.
Vanta Black 5 years ago
If you had pushed hard enough to snap him out of it, you would have had to have shoved him down the stairs so he hit his head and came to his senses.
#10
Was never a "flat earther" but I humored the theories and felt like some of them had some strong points that made me think they could be right. However, I realized it took away all the hard work and dedication from amazing scientists who spent their lives trying to educate and expand our knowledge and understanding of our world and space. Also The fact that you can see Jupiter rotate with a personal telescope was a huge turning point for me. Flat earth theories make it seem like NASA is lying about everything but fail to mention you can see SO much from your backyard. You can also use a star tracking mount and watch the earth tilt through the sky TLDR , I thought it was possible for everything to be doctored without realizing that everyday people can see so much.
Vanta Black 5 years ago
It sounds like you spent way too much time in front of a screen, then stuck your head out the window.
Buyer Frimstone 3 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNRi-gIYxMw scientists are blinded through their work, they waste their time on formulas and math physics they never actually do any alternative research. scientists are dummies.
#11
I think I was about 3 when I first saw a globe and had it explained to me.
Daria B 5 years ago
It's a joke, mocking those who are indeed old enough to know better.
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Buyer Frimstone 3 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNRi-gIYxMw well, however old you are now, this just set you straight.
#12
As someone who entertained but never genuinely believed the idea and went pretty deep down the rabbit hole it's distance/time. On a flat earth map circling the north pole should be an extremely short trip while circling the south pole would be the longest route on the planet. The further south you get the further apart things should be and the longer trips would take. The flat earth map really falls apart there. Once they start arguing that time works differently based on location you know there's no way to justify the argument. Edit: okay I get it time works differently in different locations sometimes but every one of you that pointed that out knows it doesn't apply to my example enough to explain things.
D Gangwere 5 years ago
Quote: time works differently in different locations No, not really, at least in the way most of us can measure. We are talking differences in the nanosecond (a *billionth* of a second) range. A normal watch is good enough. Any variation from the expected time is due to airspeed, wind speed, and the exact route. Any N trips where the time is within an hour is close enough variation. A "true" flat earth circling of Antarctica would take days. A real circling of Antarctica should take a few hours.
#13
My mother was always getting into crazy conspiracies, and one time she discovered the flat earth theory. She introduced me to it, and I was skeptical at first, but then I tentatively gave it a chance. The videos she showed me were very convincing, using some real science to explain phenomena we see on the earth could happen if it were flat, such as atmospheric refraction causing the sun to disappear beyond the horizon. But I never fully accepted the theory, since I had a relatively good grasp of astronomy and didn't see how some effects could happen on a flat earth. For example, we know there are two hemispheres of stars that can be observed from the earth, in the northern and southern sky. It's been well-documented throughout history. But if the earth is flat, wouldn't we see only one hemisphere of stars from any point on the earth? And then there was some complete nonsense like the moon producing its own light... despite having visible shadows in craters. By asking these questions, my mom eventually realized that the flat earth "theory" made no sense. My mindset when approaching the theory was "We can make observations about how things behave, and come up with different explanations for what causes them. So let's compare the flat and globe earth theories and see which holds up better." We both came to the conclusion that the flat earth doesn't adequately explain many of the things we observe on earth, and several weeks later she ended up watching videos by an airline pilot who debunks the flat earth theory, and showed a few to me. Deep down, I think she also had an understanding of how the solar system works, since she used to teach science and math as an elementary school teacher. I even have a model of the solar system we made when I was a kid. So letting go of the flat earth theory was probably easier for her than some who don't know about moon phases or the tilt of the earth, or anything like that. Many flat-earthers just lack basic knowledge to begin with, and the flat earth theory fills that void for them.
Vanta Black 5 years ago
Wait wait wait... she taught Science, and became a Flat Earther? What happened?
Bunzilla 5 years ago
Wait, wait, I'm confused. If flat Earthers think the generates its own light, htf do they explain the moon phases? Lunar eclipses? My head hurts.
Martha Meyer 5 years ago
Clearly the man in the moon turns the lights on and off in different parts of the moon!
Load More Replies... Joel Emmett 5 years ago
I taught in, well, an island nation. Let's leave it at that. No one -- and I mean NO ONE -- realized the Earth traveled around the Sun, and that the Earth's rotations caused night and day for different nations around the world. So I'd explain to everyone I could, as politely as I could, literally working it into casual conversation and such. Stunned. Looks. Every. Time. They'd sometimes ask about it days and days later, still freaking out, just to clarify.
#14
I'm not a flat earther, but I think it truly hit me the world was not flat when I flew from Toronto to Singapore in two different directions, both east and west. Before that, I have this concept that the earth is round and accepted it through the (overwhelming) evidence presented to me. Maybe we should get some flat earthers on some planes and throw them around the globe.
cybermerlin2000 5 years ago
Can't we just throw them? You know... just throw them. Anywhere. Make it a sport! See how far you can throw the flat earther. Like a discus or a frisbee... There you go! Flat earther Frisbee!
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Paloma Vita 5 years ago
I want to see a reality show where we send flat-earthers to look for the giant wall of ice...
D Gangwere 5 years ago
Apparently, a "ranking" flat earther has gone to Antarctica, determined to only come back once he finds the Great Ice Wall, if NASA does not capture/kill/brainwash him first. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2019/03/16/flat-earth-supporters-now-plan-an-antarctica-expedition-to-the-edge-of-the-world/#60ec46175916 https://www.livescience.com/65053-flat-earther-cruise-antarctica-ice-wall.html google "flat earther antarctica ice wall"
Load More Replies... Buyer Frimstone 3 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNRi-gIYxMw the earth is flat faggots. look at our new map! hahahhahahahahhaahahahahhaaaaaaaaaaaahahahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhahahah SUCK IT BITCHES.
#15
Sunrise and sunsets can't be explained on a flat earth model. That's what "de-converted" me originally. After that it was easy to see the world of proof for a spherical earth.
tuzdayschild 5 years ago
That 's because you have the intelligence to interpret it properly. Some do not.
Buyer Frimstone 3 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNRi-gIYxMw HERE IS 100% PROOF THE EARTH IS FLAT. WE HAVE A MAP!
#16
I thought oceans were a myth, sort of. When I was a kid the largest body of water was a river I could swim across. When I eventually say the Pacific Ocean for the first time it scared the [hell] out of me.
Vanta Black 5 years ago
I get that a lot of people can go a long time without seeing the ocean, depending on where they live, but this is the first time I've heard of someone who was seemingly landlocked for a while believing oceans were a myth. Did they not have access to books, or TV, or an adult that would help them learn oceans exist?
Giovanni 5 years ago (edited)
I've read about a kid who belived that the stars were a myth\TV thing because he grew up in a big city and the light pollution makes the night sky pink
Load More Replies... #17
I got a tattoo about a year ago. The guy was highly rated in tattoo and his photo realistic style was exactly what I was looking for to commemorate my mothers passing 20 years prior. While he is setting up, he puts on the tv and the first thing that comes on is a youtube channel about flat earth theories. What followed was the wildest 4 hours I have eve or had strapped into a chair with a man going at my arm with a device that stabs my skin hundreds of times per second. What was craziest about him was he had his pilots license. He flies an airplane. When he goes up, he can clearly see the curvature of the Earth. As he explained everything though, it kind of made sense why he would believe it. I cant remember specifics, but I came to realize that all his points would make perfect sense if you were applying them to making 3 dimensional art on a 2 dimensional plane. It was pretty fascinating. The tattoo ended up pretty sick, too. He gave me a discount at the end because I guess no one actually listens to his rants patiently. Edit to clarify: The tattoo artist was the flat earther. Also edit to add, I have only ever been in an airplane twice in my life and i barely remember either.
Max L. 5 years ago
Not sure what kind of jets he flies, however with a cessna 172 You can’t fly that high, might be if you’re looking to a very big lake or the sea at the horizon, but.. I won’t fly above those with a cessna.
D Gangwere 5 years ago
you need at least 30K-ft to get a good curve. but there are simple experiments you can do.
Load More Replies... Buyer Frimstone 3 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNRi-gIYxMw you're tattoo artist is RIGHT.
Vanta Black 5 years ago (edited)
Just because his ideas were fascinating doesn't mean he was right.
#18
I had a friend, an old guy i used to play pool with, he used to believe the earth is flat until I stepped in and told him something he couldn't explain with a flat earth theory. We was outside the Pool Club on a late afternoon, and I said to him "Do you see the sun?" He said "Yes,". Then I turned around and said "Now there is the moon, right", he looked at the almost half-moon and nodded. Then I said "Why is it that the light from the sun isn't exactly hitting the moon in a straight line. The light reflection on the moon is in a different position," Example of This Here He was confused, but I explained that it is hitting the moon at a curve. He never said another word about the earth being flat after that day because there is no curves on flat disc-like planets. Maybe I'm wrong but to me, if the earth, the sun and moon were flat the light would travel in a straight line.
Charlotte A. 5 years ago
Light does travel in a straight line, unless refracted or reflected by something... When you see a half-moon the sun's light is only reaching part of it (the sun is to the side of the moon from our viewpoint on earth). Unless you see the shadow of earth cover the moon (a circle due to the planet being round) all you can really tell from the above example is that the moon is round... But if it was enough to convince someone who was wrong, that they were indeed wrong, I guess it's all good. Fairly good... Hopefully...
Vanta Black 5 years ago
Imagine being wrong, but the other person being so much more wrong that you change the way they think. OP was still wrong, but made it right the wrong way.
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#19
Well, my ex was a flat earther. I listened to her foolish lies and I became one too. I guess this just goes to show how much being 'in love' with someone can blind you. As I got to know her it became clear her first language was a language of lies. So I started to reevaluate what she had told me. Trust me if there was a way to push someone off the edge of the earth I would have done so.
Vanta Black 5 years ago
What did she say that made you think she might also be lying about the Earth being flat?
Buyer Frimstone 3 years ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNRi-gIYxMw too bad she didn't have this new map we just found that reflects off the firmament into the ionosphere creating a moon that has an x-ray/analglyph of the flat earth.
#20
Former flat earthers here. It was the horizon. A flat earth could never explain the horizon. It surrounds the observer and it is typically assumed to be a circle, which we know it's not a true circle, drawn on the surface of a slanted model of the earth. That's why the earth is really a triangle.
What do you think ?
TheReader19 5 years ago
Even as a child it never occurred to me that the earth was anything but round. I don't even understand why anyone would think it's flat. What is the logic behind the earth being flat?
Up All Night 5 years ago
They don't see the curvature. This is their main reasoning. But they never think about when ships start to disappear behind the horizon, why you can still see the sails?
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Chris DiFonso 5 years ago
It's amazing how much time and energy people use to believe nonsense, such as that the earth is flat.
Tiny Dynamine 5 years ago
It's really simple to shut up flat earthers. You can ask them how it can be daytime in one part of the world and nighttime somewhere else at the same time. Or how there are differences in seasons in different hemispheres at the same time.
Up All Night 5 years ago
Ironically, flat Earthers live around the globe, but they have no brain capacity to video chat with each other, showing what part of the day is on another continent.
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Grumble O'Pug 5 years ago
I am amazed that in an age where satellite imagery is so prevalent, STEM education is emphasized, and even basic access to the internet gives good information, these idiots even bought into "flat earth" garbage thinking. I mean, it's not 1287, it's the 21st century. FFS
Geth 5 years ago
The thing that baffles me about it is why flat-earthers are so emotionally invested in the shape of the planet. Why THIS thing? I get that conspiracy theorists are among the dumbest people on earth, and thinking that they understand something that most people don't makes them feel smart, but why the flat-earth thing? Aren't there 1000 other conspiracies out there to cling to?
Podunkus 5 years ago
If you want to get REALLY technical, the Earth is not a round sphere. Rather, it is an oblate spheroid (ellipsoid), which means that it bulges ever so slightly at the equator, due to the rotation of the planet. The radius at the equator is about 6,378 km, squishing slightly at the poles to about 6,357 km. 3E1E2C08-B...57-png.jpg 
Geoffrey Holland 5 years ago
I think if you believe the Earth is flat then you also have to believe in all the other stupid conspiracy theories out there because the kind of people who believe in them believe in all of them. So you have to believe that 9/11 was an inside job and you have to believe that the moon landing was a hoax and you have to believe this and you have to believe that and eventually you have to realize that you're just being a f*****g idiot.
Up All Night 5 years ago
They actually believe that GRAVITY DOES NOT EXIST. In case you want to lose a few brain cells, their explanation is: objects are pushed toward the ground because the Earth is moving upwards with an amazing speed. As to why, they give no further explanation.
Load More Replies... Henry Saravia-Melara 4 years ago
my uncle thought the earth was flat because of something in the bible saying that a single strike of lighting would warn the world when the end came.I gave him proof but he stills believes it.
TheReader19 5 years ago
Even as a child it never occurred to me that the earth was anything but round. I don't even understand why anyone would think it's flat. What is the logic behind the earth being flat?
Up All Night 5 years ago
They don't see the curvature. This is their main reasoning. But they never think about when ships start to disappear behind the horizon, why you can still see the sails?
Load More Replies... Chris DiFonso 5 years ago
It's amazing how much time and energy people use to believe nonsense, such as that the earth is flat.
Tiny Dynamine 5 years ago
It's really simple to shut up flat earthers. You can ask them how it can be daytime in one part of the world and nighttime somewhere else at the same time. Or how there are differences in seasons in different hemispheres at the same time.
Up All Night 5 years ago
Ironically, flat Earthers live around the globe, but they have no brain capacity to video chat with each other, showing what part of the day is on another continent.
Load More Replies... Grumble O'Pug 5 years ago
I am amazed that in an age where satellite imagery is so prevalent, STEM education is emphasized, and even basic access to the internet gives good information, these idiots even bought into "flat earth" garbage thinking. I mean, it's not 1287, it's the 21st century. FFS
Geth 5 years ago
The thing that baffles me about it is why flat-earthers are so emotionally invested in the shape of the planet. Why THIS thing? I get that conspiracy theorists are among the dumbest people on earth, and thinking that they understand something that most people don't makes them feel smart, but why the flat-earth thing? Aren't there 1000 other conspiracies out there to cling to?
Podunkus 5 years ago
If you want to get REALLY technical, the Earth is not a round sphere. Rather, it is an oblate spheroid (ellipsoid), which means that it bulges ever so slightly at the equator, due to the rotation of the planet. The radius at the equator is about 6,378 km, squishing slightly at the poles to about 6,357 km. 3E1E2C08-B...57-png.jpg
Geoffrey Holland 5 years ago
I think if you believe the Earth is flat then you also have to believe in all the other stupid conspiracy theories out there because the kind of people who believe in them believe in all of them. So you have to believe that 9/11 was an inside job and you have to believe that the moon landing was a hoax and you have to believe this and you have to believe that and eventually you have to realize that you're just being a f*****g idiot.
Up All Night 5 years ago
They actually believe that GRAVITY DOES NOT EXIST. In case you want to lose a few brain cells, their explanation is: objects are pushed toward the ground because the Earth is moving upwards with an amazing speed. As to why, they give no further explanation.
Load More Replies... Henry Saravia-Melara 4 years ago
my uncle thought the earth was flat because of something in the bible saying that a single strike of lighting would warn the world when the end came.I gave him proof but he stills believes it.
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