Recent Posts

1
Flat Earth Theory / Re: Looking for curvature is a fool's errand.
« Last post by Alisa on May 29, 2023, 04:08:37 PM »

Trying to disprove that the earth is flat by looking for curvature is a fool's errand, because a circular shape is not proof of sphericalness. Hold up a flat, round placemat, and you will see a circular outline. Hold up a basketball, and you will also see a circular outline. So, what is it that allows you to perceive that the basketball is a sphere but the placemat is not? Depth perception - but only up to a certain distance. For a basketball that is only a few feet away from you, your depth perception can see that the sides of the ball curve away from the center of it and away from your face. This allows your brain to interpret it as a sphere (It probably helps that your brain already knows this and is predisposed to interpreting it as such).

If you were on a raft in the middle of a perfectly calm ocean, and spun around to view all 360 degrees, it would all look exactly the same. It would be like being in the middle of a large hoop that arcs around you at a constant distance and then attaches back to itself after describing a perfect circle. There would be exactly zero appearance of curvature in the dimension that would prove sphericalness. You can't see the 3rd dimension you're looking for because you can't see past a horizon that is equidistant from you at all times.

Now, magically levitate and repeat the process. No matter how high you go, nothing changes in terms of not being able to see proof of sphericalness due to curvature. The horizon is farther away (the hoop is bigger), but that's all. Perhaps if you went high enough, the earth would take on relative basketball proportions and your depth perception would kick in.
 
To be able to see sphericalness, you would have to be able to see farther to the left and right than you can in the middle (you could only do this with a transparent globe). So, the irony is that the spherical nature of the earth is the very thing that prevents you from seeing the spherical nature of the earth.
Yes, that's why lighthouses are built very high, to get a clearer view of the surrounding landscape and to see ships far from land, even in the dark of night. And as you rotate 360 degrees in the middle of the ocean, you will notice that the horizon changes with each rotation as it slowly bends away from you. If you look closely, you may also notice the curvature of the Earth's surface.
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Flat Earth Theory / Re: Curvature of the Horizon
« Last post by Alisa on May 29, 2023, 04:06:47 PM »
Yes, that's why lighthouses are built very high, to get a clearer view of the surrounding landscape and to see ships far from land, even in the dark of night. And as you rotate 360 degrees in the middle of the ocean, you will notice that the horizon changes with each rotation as it slowly bends away from you. If you look closely, you may also notice the curvature of the Earth's surface.
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Suggestions & Concerns / Re: Can't report PM
« Last post by xasop on May 29, 2023, 01:25:49 AM »
You might want to consider adding a reporting function in PMs.
Fair point, but in the meantime, you can add users to your ignore list if you don't want to receive PMs from them. I understand that this doesn't solve the core problem.
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Suggestions & Concerns / Can't report PM
« Last post by Dual1ty on May 28, 2023, 10:18:02 PM »
You might want to consider adding a reporting function in PMs.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Trump
« Last post by Lord Dave on May 27, 2023, 10:37:29 PM »
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/05/25/trump-classified-documents-mar-a-lago/

:-\
This is all perfectly normal, legal, and safe.  As a document storage place, you need emergency drills to move top secret dociments to a more secure location in the event of invasion.  Its like a fire drill, really.  So its a good thing that Trump is showing the dedication and responsibility necessary to have classified documents at his home.  Did Biden do that?  No.  He had them in a garage where no one even knew they were there! 
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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Trump
« Last post by Lord Dave on May 26, 2023, 10:08:46 PM »
It's like no one here paid attention at all. Trump was the best thing to happen in politics.



??
The same Foreign Policy where a giant novalty card about how great he is, convinced Trump to give Kim Jong Un whatever he wanted while getting nothing in return?
8
Weren't we talking about hate crime events? FE beliefs representation in MSM isn't even an event. And I beg to differ because they love FE beliefs that they can use as strawmen - the more absurd the better. They just don't love FE facts.

Sadly, FE does exist in the mainstream... Republican of course...
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kandiss-taylor-globes-anti-flat-earth-brainwashing-1234741082/
But being a Republican, we can't be sure if she's a real FE believer or if she's just pandering to her voting base.

One of the reasons FE ideology doesn't get much serious attention is because how can you take someone seriously who can't even explain the basic geography of the world around them. Why would you waste time talking someone who is baffled by the earth's continents?

I don't care whether the earth is round or flat. If FE could produce a map that was accurate, then we'd have something to talk about.
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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Trump
« Last post by Dr Van Nostrand on May 26, 2023, 08:29:06 PM »
It's like no one here paid attention at all. Trump was the best thing to happen in politics.




Trump was the best thing to happen to North Korean and Russian politics.

Kim Jong Un really appreciated the legitimacy Trump gave his oppressive dictatorship.
Putin enjoyed Trump's support of Russian expansion in Europe.

For America and any idiot who gave Trump money, not so much.

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Philosophy, Religion & Society / Re: Trump
« Last post by Dual1ty on May 26, 2023, 07:43:03 PM »
It's like no one here paid attention at all. Trump was the best thing to happen in politics.



No, THIS was the best thing to happen in politics: