Re: Why do we accept the religious biases of FE-research?
« Reply #20 on: August 24, 2018, 07:07:31 PM »
Pinky, I fear you've fallen into the dark miasma which is the basis of conspiracy theories. People use loose logic and a complete lack of any scientific method to propose an alternative reality (Elvis is alive, aliens are among us, etc.) and defend it by simply denying all evidence to the contrary. Typical signs are

  • The belief that some faceless, usually government, organization is behind the conspiracy.
  • Requiring a massive coverup without taking into account the problems with such an endeavor
  • Using the fact that other people with weak reasoning skill believe in the theory as an argument for the theory
  • Failure to use Occam's razor. The conspiracy becomes more and more complex to account for all of the data it cannot explain
  • Generally people receptive to a conspiracy theory are going to get into several conspiracy theories. It's the basic inability to see there own failed reasoning that pulls them into these things
If you are a reasonable person and with slightly above average reasoning skills arguing with conspiracy theorists can be as frustrating as trying to answer the last 'Why?' from a 5-year-old.

However, allowing yourself to get frustrated is counterproductive. It's like trying to push water back up a mountain with your bare hands. If you find yourself going there, it is probably best to walk away. Remember that proving the conspiracy wrong isn't your job, nor is it really necessary.

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Offline Pete Svarrior

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Re: Why do we accept the religious biases of FE-research?
« Reply #21 on: August 24, 2018, 07:22:31 PM »
I'd like to see Tom's evidence of this FE movement growth.  Any charts with sources, Tom?
Well, I'm not Tom, but I am the claimant here.

Here are a couple of conventionally reputable sources conceding the point (while disagreeing with our movement, naturally):

https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2018/04/04/only-two-thirds-of-american-millennials-believe-the-earth-is-round/
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/11/28/americas-flat-earth-movement-appears-to-be-growing
Read the FAQ before asking your question - chances are we already addressed it.
Follow the Flat Earth Society on Twitter and Facebook!

If we are not speculating then we must assume

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Offline Bad Puppy

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Re: Why do we accept the religious biases of FE-research?
« Reply #22 on: August 24, 2018, 08:01:19 PM »
I'd like to see Tom's evidence of this FE movement growth.  Any charts with sources, Tom?
Well, I'm not Tom, but I am the claimant here.

Here are a couple of conventionally reputable sources conceding the point (while disagreeing with our movement, naturally):

https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2018/04/04/only-two-thirds-of-american-millennials-believe-the-earth-is-round/
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/11/28/americas-flat-earth-movement-appears-to-be-growing

Thanks Pete.  I've seen these articles online.  The trend from the Economist shows the increase in searches for the term "flat earth" and doesn't indicate the beliefs of those doing the search.  So, while this doesn't show a growth of the movement itself, it does show a growth in the popularity of the movement.  I can imagine a bunch of people saying "What?! People still believe the earth is flat?  I gotta google this!", along with genuine flat earth believers.

The survey done by YouGov seems to be the first of its kind, and hopefully next year they'll do it again and we'll be able to identify whether the flat earth movement indeed is growing.  Without another point of reference this survey alone can't show a trend.

The flat earth movement has to go against the grain enough, and I wonder if these articles are just put out there to poke fun or to actually bring awareness of a different point of view of the rock we live on.
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...circles do not exist and pi is not 3.14159...

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Do you have any evidence of reality?

Re: Why do we accept the religious biases of FE-research?
« Reply #23 on: August 24, 2018, 09:12:37 PM »
I'd like to see Tom's evidence of this FE movement growth.  Any charts with sources, Tom?
Well, I'm not Tom, but I am the claimant here.

Here are a couple of conventionally reputable sources conceding the point (while disagreeing with our movement, naturally):

https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2018/04/04/only-two-thirds-of-american-millennials-believe-the-earth-is-round/
https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/11/28/americas-flat-earth-movement-appears-to-be-growing

This is a bit depressing. Our public schools are so screwed up these days. Millenials no longer learn even the basics of critical thinking and rational thought. For love's sake, they listen to CNN! Such a short fall from Aristotle-Aquinas-Luther-Payne&Jefferson to Miley Cyrus.