Do they really think the earth is flat?

[xelasnave]

every idea has its problems
alex

[BerrieK]

In relation to the Terry Pratchett Discworld novels that Dogstar mentions, there is a fantastic book on the science of the discworld. A great read for anyone whe has read any of the novels...or for anyone al all really!

He has also recently released a novel called 'Nation' whist not one of the hilarious discworld series it it a great read with an astronimical twist towards the end.

[peter brown]

think that these flat earthers are either delusional ie mental illness sufferers, or the strange personality disorders that seek attention...the same attention that we are all now giving in this discussion.

[ngcles]

Hi All,

If you thought the "Flat Earth Theory" was interesting, then try this one:

http://www.cabotia.com/stationary-earth.html

Hmmm ...

Best,

Les D

[wraithe]

Leinad, they do have satellites that dont move...lol...(geostationary)...
I thought damm thats a point then went, "hang on, TV, Internet etc, dish dont move"...
But shhh, dont let the flat earthers hear that one...

Jungle11, that thought about speed being limited, as light is not possible to be exceeded...I agree with current technology...
But the possibility to exceed light speed may be possible one day..Probably not in my lifetime but who knows. The sound barrier was supposed to be impossible to break and if you did there where hundreds of stories saying it would never happen...

As most know here, the limit is no longer the sky, but more our present ability. If we could keep looking outside of the box and not get restricted by those that cant, then we are but one step on the journey of a 1,000 kilometre walk.

xelasnave,
Discussing education, I have a friend who over 50 years has become one of the wealthiest members of our local community, now thats a good achievement for any body, but the best bit of the whole thing with him, is he has no education, is very much illiterate(I know that for fact, I do all the paperwork as a friend) and the most laughable bit, he loves physics and science, absolutely amazing to talk to and the grasp of these subjects is phenominal.
He will discuss the planets, and a lot of the theories that are thrown about, he will either support with a good knowledge of them, or dispute them with the same ability..
he also agrees that education today is making our kids into puppets as he has noticed the lack of ability to question things...

Anyway, I must go and be a Redneck, I have to help cut more hay tomorrow...

[xelasnave]

Thank you for sharing that.
Unfortunately folk think education comes from and stops with the school/university system... but education is a never ending process and anytime we think we know everything is the time to chalenge all you have learnt as an education that leads one to this point is too shallow in my view.
Folk look to folk like Mr Hawking for the answers as if he has a monopoly upon ideas..this is unfortunate... everyone has the right to think...enjoy that aspect of our society there is no gaurantee such freedom will continue.

alex

[jungle11 (Greg)]

Originally Posted by wraithe

...Jungle11, that thought about speed being limited, as light is not possible to be exceeded...I agree with current technology...
But the possibility to exceed light speed may be possible one day..Probably not in my lifetime but who knows. The sound barrier was supposed to be impossible to break and if you did there where hundreds of stories saying it would never happen...

he also agrees that education today is making our kids into puppets as he has noticed the lack of ability to question things...

Hi Wraith, i agree that we shouldn't accept what may or may not be possible based purely on our current theoretical and technological base.
I may be risking some derision here, but i've read a lot on the ufo phenomenon. Im not saying it's for real (i've definetly never seen one!) but the more you study this subject, mass sightings, military and civil aviation sightings, released government files (Look up Bill Chalker) the more you wonder. If these craft are real, they defy physics as we know them, inertia being one of the fundamentals and the ability to slip through an atmosphere as though it wasn't there.
If it is real, then we have a lot to learn indeed

Also, im only 26 and i've got alot of young friends. I was talking to a girl awhile back who thought the moon was the nearest star! I showed my cousin's husband a picture of M101 to awe him, and he asked if it was a solar system. Maybe space may seem irrelevant to alot of people but shouldn't schools teach childeren something about it?

[erick (Eric)]

Originally Posted by ngcles

If you thought the "Flat Earth Theory" was interesting, then try this one:

http://www.cabotia.com/stationary-earth.html

"The earth is NOT TILTED 23.45°degrees....It is UPRIGHT as God created man to walk UPRIGHT. The tilted earth probably came from Galileo as he looked through the telescope and saw that some of the planets were tilted in their orbits around the sun. A tilted EARTH could be an explanation for the seasons, he reasoned, as people were still apt to ask difficult questions about the reason for the seasons!!"


Oh dear!

[sjastro]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

Folk look to folk like Mr Hawking for the answers as if he has a monopoly upon ideas..this is unfortunate... everyone has the right to think...enjoy that aspect of our society there is no gaurantee such freedom will continue.

alex

To the average person in the street Hawking may as well be talking in a foreign language, in which case the acceptance of what Hawking says is a matter of faith.

On the other hand Hawking has been shot down more than once by his academic peers which illustrates the advantages of having an education.....

Steven

[andrewk_82 (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by ngcles

If you thought the "Flat Earth Theory" was interesting, then try this one:

http://www.cabotia.com/stationary-earth.html

I wonder how they explain the rotation of the stars each night. By my calculation if the stars were rotating around the earth, at 4.2 light years away, Alpha Centauri would be travelling at roughly 9600 times the speed of light to make that trip in one day. Imagine how fast the Andromeda Galaxy or anything further out would be travelling . There must be some pretty fast things out there.

Maybe they didn't consider this .

[leinad (Dan)]

Originally Posted by wraithe

Leinad, they do have satellites that dont move...lol...(geostationary)...
I thought damm thats a point then went, "hang on, TV, Internet etc, dish dont move"...
But shhh, dont let the flat earthers hear that one...

[wraithe]

Sorry leinad,

Originally Posted by andrewk_82

I wonder how they explain the rotation of the stars each night. By my calculation if the stars were rotating around the earth, at 4.2 light years away, Alpha Centauri would be travelling at roughly 9600 times the speed of light to make that trip in one day. Imagine how fast the Andromeda Galaxy or anything further out would be travelling . There must be some pretty fast things out there.

Maybe they didn't consider this .

Actually if that is the case then physics needs to catch up, they got it all wrong again...

Oh the possibilities of physics if the earth is totally stationary in space...

I wonder if they all try and lean in the direction of rotation to see if the pressures from rotation force them upright?
I know the world spins, after a bottle of butterscotch schnapps I can actually experience the spin first hand, it even has a tendancy to wobble too...hmmm... must give that another try and find the exact direction of wobble and spin...last time i was sure it was the south pole that i was experiencing...

[wraithe]

Now i must point out that relatives of mine live in this country here and they are from farming backgrounds, some even still live in the homes built a 90 years ago from the local trees...
So we can relate to this mathematics problem in the video below...
Its just amazing that someone has made a video of such simple maths, whats so funny that the people laugh at it...

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfq5kju627c

[leinad (Dan)]

They'd still need to explain how a geostationary sat' stays in a fixed position in the sky an doesn't move.

Originally Posted by wraithe

Now i must point out that relatives of mine live in this country here and they are from farming backgrounds, some even still live in the homes built a 90 years ago from the local trees...
So we can relate to this mathematics problem in the video below...
Its just amazing that someone has made a video of such simple maths, whats so funny that the people laugh at it...

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfq5kju627c

Classic.

[xelasnave]

The world is flat ....not in topography but certainly it is when it comes to thinking..there are few that stand out as being prepared to point out our stupidity...leaving aside those wonderful folk, my friends, who can point out mine.

alex, my friends