Flat Earth Theory has been around pretty much since the dawn of civilization and has lost most of its relevance due to technological advancements although in recent years the idea has resurfaced in the form of controversy and conspiracy. A study done by the University of New Hampshire shows that out of every 100 people, 10 of whom believe that the Earth is flat or have skepticism towards the Earth being round. This begs the question: is there any precedence behind the theory? Of course, we have irrefutable evidence against it but these people still exist so why do they think this way?
How a map looks to a flat earther is somewhat subjective to the person but the most commonly recognized map of the world is centered at what round Earthers believe to be the North Pole and surrounding it is a thick layer of ice and glaciers that make up Antarctica. This is just a theory, as all of this is, and there is 0 evidence towards it. As you get farther away from the center of the disk, the gravitational pull against you would increase. If you traveled to what would be the ‘edge of the world,’ the force of gravity would be so high, you would effectively be falling back towards the North pole.
An experiment conducted by Mark Sargent contained a single beam of light and a camera spaced 15 meters or 45 feet apart as well as wooden boards with holes in them for the light to travel through. This experiment aimed at proving that the Earth is flat. If the light appeared in the camera, it would prove that the Earth is a flat plane but if it appeared any lower due to the curved effect from gravity, the light would simply hit the wood and the Earth would be proved to be spherical. The light was unable to reach the camera at the dismay of the Flat Earther who conducted the experiment.
Many flat earthers use the fact that when boats disappear over the Earth’s curvature, they can become visible again by zooming in with a camera but according to an article by Flat Earth, which, despite what it’s name would suggest, is actually a Pro-Round Earth organization, this is easily refutable by the fact that “our eyes have limited angular resolution and are unable to resolve the ship at the distance” and when we zoom in with a camera, it makes the boat more clear. This is also how we are able to see bacteria and other microorganisms under a microscope.
If someone were to claim that everything is just a conspiracy or a lie produced by NASA or the US government, they are also claiming that over a million people throughout the world that work in the space sector of their country are all holding the secret that the Earth is actually flat. That no single person goes off and admits to this being a complete lie is astronomically unlikely which is just one more reason that points to the widely believed fact that the Earth really is round.
If you are interested in learning more about some of the many conspiracy theories that revolve around space, take a look at the podcast segment we filmed outlining all of these conspiracies. After, check out the sister article to this one involving whether or not the Moon Landing Hoax has any precedence behind it or watch the video we produced on the existence of aliens.
